Airport hotel or not?

Well first of all, you do not know what time your flight is really going to arrive. Scheduled to arrive is one thing and actual arrival is another.

You might not arrive in Mexico City until 9 pm.

Will you be just boarding or do you have to go through another security / immigration at Mexico City before your trip to Istanbul?

What is the seating like in the Mexico City Airport?

I would just shower at home and bring a bunch of food with me and hang out in the Mexico City Airport . You can people watch. Maybe restaurants will still be open. Hopefully they have comfortable seating. You will have your technology.

Lane, for me option 3 is a hard no. My concern would be my personal belongings. I don't know if you check or carry-on your bag, but I'd be concerned that if I dozed off, I might wake up to find something missing.

I've never done the pod thing, but I'd maybe give it a try just for the experience. By the time you arrive, grab something to eat and check in, you won't actually be spending a lot of time in the pod.

Thanks for the reply, bostonphil!

Well first of all, you do not know what time your flight is really
going to arrive. Scheduled to arrive is one thing and actual arrival
is another.

You might not arrive in Mexico City until 9 pm.

True; but it's a short domestic flight from Mérida. The likelihood of a long delay is small. Weather won't be a factor.

Will you be just boarding or do you have to go through another security / immigration at Mexico City before your trip to Istanbul?

Two separate tickets. So yes, I will have to go through security. At 3am, the lines will be very short. I've done this early morning Turkish Airlines flight from MEX to IST before and zipped through security. And MEX doesn't have a passport control line to go through. As a permanent resident, I just have to go to a counter to get my US passport stamped. There's never a line to do that.

There's an outside chance I will already have my Turkish Airlines boarding pass on my phone, but usually they require me to check in at the counter.

What is the seating like in the Mexico City Airport?

Terrible. It's an awful airport to have to hang around in, both landside and airside. I'm flying Business Class on Turkish Airlines, so once I get through security, I can use the lounge, but that'll be after 3am or so.

I would just shower at home and bring a bunch of food with me and hang
out in the Mexico City Airport . You can people watch. Maybe
restaurants will still be open. Hopefully they have comfortable
seating. You will have your technology.

Yes, that's what I'd do if I go with option 3. You've done a nice job of encapsulating the debate I'm having inside my brain!

Terrible. It's an awful airport to have to hang around in, both landside and airside.

If that's the case, your layover is relatively short, and you're watching your pennies, then the pod appears to be a no-brainer.

This is a 10:5 hour overnight layover which I definitely wouldn’t consider a short layover. Are the hotels just outside the MEX airport a lot cheaper? I’ve twice stayed at the MEX airport Courtyard and while pricey, had to bite the bullet and mine was a shorter layover.

Lane, if it were me, I'd go with at least the pod and possibly the hotel. I just can't see myself hanging out at the airport overnight, especially with a bag or two to worry about.

Usually my rationale for spending money like this is that I've already spent a lot of money on the trip. So what's the point of suddenly going cheap, knowing I will be uncomfortable? Also keep in mind that your flight to Istanbul is going to be a long one, and it would probably help if you'd had a comfortable place to stay the night before.

But that's me. I like to be comfortable. :-) Others are okay with roughing it to save $$.

Our flight was cancelled last spring while we were already at Atlanta airport. We actually were on the plane and were forced to deplane because crew timed out (plane had been delayed because of flooding at my home airport). We quickly booked a 6 am flight. And took a taxi to the hotel. We took a 4 am shuttle back to the airport. It was a short night but definitely the right call. Because it was weather it was on our dime. I can’t remember how much it was but definitely over $100.

So I certainly would not sit in the airport over night and would probably pay for the hotel but certainly the pod, even though I can be really cheap. Getting on a long flight like that with no sleep sounds miserable to me.

The Pod option looks like the best compromise to me. MEX is not an airport I would relish spending many hours in. And 180 bucks is a lot for what could be just "kissing the pillow" for a few hours (a term used by a former flight attendant family member - that's what they called short overnight stays).

I'd want a secure place where me and my stuff could pass the time without worry, and I'd want a shower before heading to my TK flight (you'll get enough food on the flight that I wouldn't bother trying to find breakfast in the airport). I'd either eat a big dinner before leaving Merida, or find some tolerable dinner in the airport as you have plenty of time to kill (whether or not I could confidently secure my bags in my pod while hunting down dinner would be a concern...depends on what kind of/how much stuff you're bringing).

The Pod looks like it would check most of my must-have options, but I'm picky about sleep environments so I'd want to know some more details... Potentially some concerns about security of my stuff if left there unattended while dining. Also would wonder a bit about the noise level while trying to get some sleep - it would suck to be stuck in that thing for 8 hours if it's in a noisy environment (ear plugs? but don't miss your flight...). I'd want some assurances about aircon, too.

Go for the pod, at least. You will get a few hours' rest even if not a full night's sleep. With sitting in the airport, you would be exhausted before even starting your flight to Istanbul

I've been to MEX a few times, it sucks. Get the room. Sleep well. Arrive several hours early because its a zoo.

I'm careful with money but there's no way I'm sitting in one all night, unless it's a destination airport such as Singapore.
London Luton staggered me when I was there at 2am once- packed with all nighters, every seat taken. With 24 hour transit it made no logical sense.
Are there not other cheaper hotels (as opposed to pods) at the airport, as a half way house?
Wikipedia says there are others, but I have no idea what their price point is.

I'd get an airport hotel or pod - letting your guard down with a locked door and a shower to kick off a long travel day is worth some funds. I'm claustrophobic so I'm not too sure I would thrive in a pod hotel, but that's me. Since you travel quite a bit, do you have any airline, hotel, or credit card programs that might save you some $? Sometimes my Capital One credit card or my status on Booking.com leads to a bargain.

In 2006 we landed at Gatwick airport from Toulouse in the evening, and our flight back to Canada was at 6AM the next day. We chose to stay at the airport. The only chairs that could accommodate 4 people with luggage were just outside the arcade. The sounds of the machines went on ALL night long, regardless if there were any people in the arcade. There was also the what seemed like every 15 minutes announcement about not leaving luggage unattended. It was hell. I would not hesitate to pay for the hotel room with guaranteed AC, noise abatement, hot shower, a comfortable bed, and a secure place for your things. Set yourself up for the beginning of a great holiday.

How well do you sleep before a trip generally? I never sleep well before a flight and definitely wouldn’t if I had to get up at 3am. I don’t remember MEX being a great airport but even $65 is a lot to spend if you’re not going to sleep anyway. If I felt like sleeping (or not) on my stuff would be safe, I’d opt for the $10 shower and hope that I’d be so tired that I might actually sleep in the plane. And I think you said you were in business class so sleeping on the plane might actually be possible!

Consider that spending an additional $115 to get a hotel room is really not significant when considering the total cost of your trip.

Thanks for all the perspectives you've provided. Everyone who replied offered valid thoughts.

I have stayed in izzzleep at MEX before, so the novelty of that or doing it just for the new experience isn't a factor. I can say, though, that if I stayed there on this trip, I wouldn't spend non-sleeping time in my pod. I'd just use it to sleep.

And for that reason, I'm leaning toward the hotel. I will be more comfortable, and that matters when you're about to get on a plane for 12 hours, even if you're flying business class.