There is nothing more frustrating than getting stuck in a foreign city when you desperately want to get home.

This is what happened on my recent trip back from India. 90 minutes into my Jet Airways flight from Delhi to Bangkok, the plane still hadn’t left the tarmac.

When the plane finally landed in Bangkok, the frantic sprint to the departure gate did nothing to help my case. All the Sydney passengers had already been offloaded.

Me and my five new Indian friends found ourselves stuck at Suvarnabhumi Airport for the unforeseen future. I threw a tantrum at the Emirates counter. I sulked. I waited for three hours. And then an entirely unflappable Thai Airways staff member told me that I was being sent to the Airport Novotel for the night.

Happiness, thy name is a free hotel room.

And what a hotel! Hotel Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport is off the charts. The pool is direct from a five star fantasy and the buffet (included in the package for stray airline refugees) is almost enough to make you forget what you’re missing at home.

There is an in-house spa that further cements the idea that life in limbo is actually pretty sweet.

That is, until you go back to the airport and the staff at the Emirates counter tell you that they have lost your booking and that there are no seats available for the next five days. Yes. Five days.  On stand-by.

I begged a Black Ops lookalike at the Jet Airways counter to get me home. I waited another three hours. I looked at my new Indian friends’ wedding albums. I sulked some more.

And then I was sent back to the Airport Novotel for another night. Not so exciting the second time but I would wholeheartedly recommend this absolutely impeccable hotel to anyone who finds themselves in Bangkok by choice (or otherwise).

There is a free shuttle bus every 15 minutes between the hotel and the airport. All you need to do is find the Novotel counter on the Ground Floor and make a booking.