Hotel Wi-Fi is terrible. Captive portals, device limits, and privacy concerns.
I tried the GL.iNet Beryl AX on my last trip as a workaround. My dad had been using a similar setup with the Slate AX and had a positive review.
Small router, big difference.
How This Works
Simple concept: bring your home network with you. The Beryl AX broadcasts your home SSID, so your devices connect automatically. Behind the scenes, the router handles the hotel internet and VPN. You get automatic device connection plus privacy protection.
The Beryl AX itself is tiny – about the size of a deck of cards. Runs off USB-C, so any phone charger or power bank works. Wi-Fi 6 support means it’s not a bottleneck for modern devices.
Setting This Up
Do this at home before you travel. You’ll need a VPN provider that supports WireGuard. I used Mullvad.
Router Configuration
Power up the Beryl AX and connect to its default network (GL-AXT1800-XXX). Open 192.168.8.1 in your browser (bookmark this – you’ll use it later) and set an admin password.
The key step: configure the wireless settings to match your home network exactly. Both 2.4GHz and 5GHz should use your home SSID and password. This is what makes everything automatic – your devices can’t tell the difference between this and your actual home router.
Restart the router. Every device that knows your home Wi-Fi will now connect to this instead.
VPN Configuration
In the Beryl AX interface, go to VPN → WireGuard Client. Input your Mullvad account number and click Next. Give the profile a name and click Add. The router will fetch the WireGuard configurations automatically and provision it for you.
Choose your server configuration and click Connect. The router will show connection status and your VPN IP address.
Test it by checking your IP from a connected device – it should show your VPN server location, not your actual location. All traffic from every device connected to the router now flows through the encrypted VPN tunnel.
Connecting to Hotel Wi-Fi
When you reach your destination, the router needs internet access. Go to Internet → Repeater → Connect. Choose the hotel network from the available list and enter the password.
For public hotspots with captive portals, enable “Auto-Enable Login Mode for Public Hotspots” in the settings. This helps the router detect and handle captive portal authentication automatically.
If you hit connection issues, try enabling “Camouflage” mode, which makes the router appear as your laptop or phone to the hotel network. Some networks are picky about device types.
The router remembers networks, so returning to the same hotel chain means automatic reconnection.
What You End Up With
Your devices connect seamlessly using familiar home credentials. No password entry, no per-device authentication, no device limits.
All traffic flows through the encrypted VPN tunnel. The hotel network sees encrypted data going to Mullvad servers, nothing else.
You can choose VPN server locations (or providers) based on what you need. Connect to your home country for geo-restricted content. Pick nearby servers for better performance.
Trade-offs
Bandwidth takes a hit since everything routes through the VPN. Fine for browsing, email, and streaming. Heavy downloads will be slower than direct hotel Wi-Fi, but the privacy trade-off is worth it.
Some corporate networks aggressively block VPN traffic. Mullvad offers multiple connection methods and server options if you hit blocks.
Battery life on devices might see a slight impact due to the constant encrypted connection, though it’s minimal in practice.
Next: Extending The Home Network With Tailscale
The Beryl AX also supports Tailscale, which is different from traditional VPN. Instead of routing through commercial servers, Tailscale creates encrypted mesh tunnels directly between your devices.
With Tailscale, you could access your home network resources while traveling. Print to your home printer from Tokyo. Access files on your home NAS. SSH into your home server. It would extend your home network to wherever you are.
I haven’t tried this yet, but it’s next on the list.