Great Hotels

One hotel is offering a unique experience when it comes to its check-in staff. Instead of humans, guests at the hotel are greeted by robot dinosaurs to help them check-in to their room

Most of us like to encounter unique experiences when we travel, and one hotel based in Japan is certainly offering that with its check-in staff. Instead of humans, guests at the hotel are greeted by robot dinosaurs to help them check-in to their room. The unique experience was shared over on Instagram, with influencer Anna-Lynne posting a reel about it. Her video saw her walk in to a ocean-themed room as robot dinosaurs greeted her at the check-in desk.

Overlay text read, ‘POV, it’s 8pm in Japan, you’re tired and you just want to check in to your hotel…’ Following up in the caption, she wrote: “Booked this stay not knowing I’d be checked in by dinosaurs and low-key, I was terrified.

It was 8pm, I was exhausted after a flight, and I had to walk from the train station in pitch dark just to get here. Then these prehistoric receptionists welcome me and I was like uhhh the f**k.

“But real talk they were somehow more polite than some humans I know. The check-in was smooth, and this place is super clean and quirky in the best way.”

The hotel in question is Henn na Resort & Spa Kansai Airport in Japan.

The unique, high-tech hotel in the Izumisano area is famous for being the world’s first hotel brand staffed primarily by robots, including dinosaur receptionists.

It is located along the coast with scenic views of Osaka Bay and airplanes landing at the nearby airport.

As well as guests being greeted and checked in by multilingual dinosaur robots in the ocean-themed lobby, they can also make use of many facilities such as indoor and open-air baths with bay views, a mineral mist sauna, and a dry sauna.

The on-site restaurant, Seian (Aoi-an), serves Japanese cuisine made with local ingredients and is supervised by a Michelin 1-star chef.

In addition to standard rooms, the hotel offers unique concept rooms like Ninja, Pirate, and Peach Aviation collaboration.

The hotel is approximately 15 minutes by car or one train stop (6 minutes) from Kansai International Airport (KIX). It is a 10-minute walk from Rinku Town Station.

Attractions nearby include Rinku Premium Outlets, Rinku Park, and the Seacle shopping mall, which are all within walking distance.

The hotel is often highly praised for its magnificent views, clean modern rooms, and the fun novelty of the robot staff. However, some guests found the walk from the station difficult with heavy luggage and noted that the automated check-in may occasionally require human assistance.

People were loving the look of the robot dinosaur staff from Anna-Lynne’s video, with it racking up more than 811,000 likes.

One person exclaimed: “Wait this is so epic.”

While another added: “My introverted self would prefer the awkward robot dinosaurs.”

However, many others predicted they’d encounter a few issues too.

“Lol, this would send me over the edge of laughter and despair,” one person wrote.

While another added: “Imagine trying to complain about room service and staying serious.”

The same hotel has been crowned the best of its kind for 11 consecutive years, thanks to its connectivity, innovation, technology and the unusual experiences it offers

A five-star stay at one of the world’s busiest hubs has been named the best airport hotel in the world for the 11th consecutive year.

Skytrax’s 2026 World Airport Awards are commonly referred to as the “Oscars of the airport industry,” and are based on the largest annual airport customer satisfaction surveys in the world, which gather feedback from travellers across more than 550 airports.

This year, the awards have crowned the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport in Singapore as the World’s Best Airport Hotel yet again this year, in a ceremony at PTE World in London.

Pushing the boundaries of what is expected of a stereotypical airport hotel – business-focused, strictly practical and visually simple – the hotel transports guests into the world of aviation in more ways than simply by giving them seamless access to terminals.

Crowne Plaza Chang has aviation-themed family suites designed in collaboration with Kiztopia. There, kids can make their trip even more exciting by playing with plane-inspired spaces and interactive features.

For those looking for special experiences without having to venture into cities, the Crowne Plaza Changi also offers a range of curated experiences, from hands-on cooking to cocktail sessions: all part of the hotel’s Crowne Plaza Social feature.

And if you just want to kick your feet up and rest for the entire time you’re there, you’re also in for a treat with the wellness-focused routines called Daily Rituals, which are designed to help guests recover from travel.

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But the hotel’s innovations don’t stop at interior design and experiences. It is the first hotel in Singapore to offer in-room NuCalm sleep technology in every room, making use of the patented neuroscience techniques for stress relief, better sleep, focus & recovery, and ensuring you wake up refreshed before or after that long flight.

If all of that wasn’t enough to justify its top spot on the ranking of best airport hotels, the Crowne’s location is another major highlight. It gives guests direct access to all of Singapore Changi Airport’s terminals and the impressive Jewel Changi Airport complex – so no need to stress about what time to catch the airport shuttle.

General manager Greg Gublani said: “We are deeply honoured to be named the World’s Best Airport Hotel by Skytrax for the 11th consecutive year. This remarkable milestone is a celebration of our incredible team and unwavering dedication to deliver True Hospitality every day. In addition to delivering unique experiences, our stays are designed to enrich guest journeys, bringing blended travel to life through curated experiences. – from Crowne Plaza Social, where guests engage in hands-on activities crafting fresh pastas and classic Negronis, to energising Daily Rituals that support well-being.”

Singapore Changi Airport itself once again topped the list of the world’s best airports for 2026, followed by Incheon International Airport in Seoul, Tokyo International Airport, Hong Kong International Airport and Narita International Airport in Greater Tokyo.