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| Pod Hotel New York/ photo: hotel |
WE ALL LOVE PODS. From the iPod and Dopod to the blundering but sadly extinct Sauropod, pods have been and will remain an obsession. We are mutating into a master race. The signs are everywhere. Wherever you turn, people are plugged into some snazzy POD or the other, nodding, staring blankly into the middle distance, mouth open, drool spilling out.
So if pods are hot, why not take things to their logical conclusion – and live in one. Live in a pod? That’s right.
Pods are now storming the hospitality business. Drawing their inspiration from the toaster-size Japanese capsule hotels – where sozzled salarymen, having missed the last train home and forgotten their wife’s name, crash for the night for Y4,000 (US$42) – pod hotels are the next big, or small, thing in accommodation.
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Most people just get back to their rooms for a brief kip before that dawn departure on the next red-eye. So does space really matter? And should we be getting mugged in broad daylight for it? While it may not appeal to all, The Pod Hotel (www.thepodhotel.com), New York, offers stylish centrally located digs at 230 E 51st St. Just don’t attempt to swing a cat by the tail. If you’re sharing the bath and toilet, your Single Pod Room could start from as little as US$99 a night. There’s a small work area, flat-screen TV, an iPOD dock and free Wireless Internet. For a more real sense of space head up to the rooftop garden with bar, or opt for a larger room with queen-size bed that comes with its own glass-enclosed bathroom. Not for the shy or faint of heart.
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| easyHotel Standard/ photo: hotel |
There are bunk bed configurations too, with an in-room display indicating if any of the shared bathrooms are available. A bit like being in an aircraft cabin, only more spacious, with room to swing a modest-size mouse by the tail.
Pod hotels are aimed at hip travellers with slim hips and slimmer budgets who want all the convenience of location and the odd bit of chic design chicanery without shelling out for it. Step out of The Pod Hotel New York and it’s a short stroll to Times Square, Radio City or Rockefeller Centre.
The Jane (www.thejanenyc.com), in New York’s West Village, has all the efficiency of a pod hotel, albeit with a bit more character. Originally built in 1908 as a hotel for sailors with cabin-like rooms, The Jane was restored in 2008 to become a convenient and whimsical option for budget travellers. Standard “Cabins” are a cosy 50sq ft and come with single beds, wall-mounted luggage rack, free WiFi, 23-inch LCD TVs, DVD players and iPod docks. Captain’s Cabins feature almost the same amenities except with a flat panel TV and a phone, but range in size from 150sq ft to 250sq ft and have queen or king beds. Bathrooms are shared, and rates start from US$79.
In London, budget airline easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou has taken his signature cheery orange into the compact, futuristic first-class cabin shapes of his easyHotel (www.easyhotel.com) franchise that offers truth in travel. The range starts with the Small Room (with or without a window). And that pretty much says it all. Rooms are not serviced daily, but they will be cleaned if requested (though there is an extra charge). There are Special Needs Rooms and Standard Rooms.
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| Yotel, compact and futuristic/ photo: hotel |
Check out London South Kensington at 14 Lexham Gardens; London Earls Court at 44-48 West Cromwell Rd; London Victoria at 36-40 Belgrave Rd; Luton, in the centre of town; or London’s Paddington – just a few steps from the station. At the easyHotel South Kensington a six sq metres Small Room with no window starts at around US$65. The easyHotel at London’s Heathrow Airport is now open.
In Basel, Switzerland, you can get a foot in the door from around US$51. Another easyHotel has opened in Zurich. The hotel claims, the earlier you book, the less you pay. The easyHotel franchise has extended into Hungary and Cyprus and will eventually spread into Dubai, North Africa and India.
London Heathrow’s Terminal 4, Gatwick South Terminal and Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport are the locations for the Yotel (www.yotel.com) where “cabins” can be booked from 29 pounds a night (about US$38). A Premium Cabin will set you back 40 pounds in the London Yotels, and 60 Euros (about US$85 77) in Amsterdam. Cabins must be booked for a minimum of four hours. YO! founder Simon Woodroffe, the evil genius behind this butt-squeezing brand, took a pinch of British Airways First Class, a hint of Airbus, and a dash of Japanese capsule hotel to create the Yotel.
Premium Cabins feature a “techno wall” with an iPod or MP3 player port, a workstation with a stowable chair, flat screen LCD TV with surround sound, free WiFi or plug-in Internet, mood lighting, bespoke toiletries and all the storage space you need. Private bathrooms boast showers, heated mirrors and towels. Beds even turn into couches at the touch of a magic button. There’s a cabin service menu, which you can order from any time day or night. Unlike an easyHotel, the Yotels are crammed with amenities. It looks like a plane, feels like a plane, but does it fly? Take a test run and find out for yourself. Yotel, backed by Kuwait-based IFA Hotels and Resorts, has plans to bring more of their cabins to airports and city centres across the globe.
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| Qbic Amsterdam, mod/ photo: hotel |
In Europe, check out Qbic Hotels (www.qbichotels.com) where bright “Cubi” rooms beckon mod bods and their PODS featuring a Hästens four-poster bed, LCD TV, in-room safe, high-speed Internet and those obligatory Philippe Starck design touches that can be enjoyed in Amsterdam, Antwerp and Maastrict, The Netherlands from just 69 Euros a night (about US$98).
Each Cubi comes with different coloured mood lighting – try "mellow yellow", "red romance" or "deep purple love". There are self service check-in terminals dispensing room keys to guests, and "grab and go corners" providing home-made food and other amenities like toothbrushes, chargers, condoms – not that there’s room to really use one – and phone cards.
Another choice is the 215-room CitizenM Amsterdam City (www.citizenmamsterdamcity.com) in the Netherlands. Starting at 77 Euros a night, all rooms have wall-to-wall windows, king-size beds, free WiFi and complimentary on-demand movies. A touch screen MoodPad controls everything in your room from the TV to music to coloured lighting, letting you be as chilled as you want. There is also self-service check-in and a 24-hour canteen. Perfect for world citizens on the go.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from Tony Fernandes who gave us the shocking reds and mad cut-price scrambles of AirAsia, comes a budget lodging concept that will be music to any budget traveller’s ears – Tune Hotels (www.tunehotels.com). The flagship 173-room Tune Hotel at No. 316 Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman is reasonably central with rates priced at just RM48 (around US$14). Some rooms at certain times of the year start from as low as just a couple of ringgit but expect to pay extra for amenities – towel rental is RM5, 12 hours of air-conditioning is RM13.50, and WiFi is RM12 per day.
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| Tune Hotels room/ photo: hotel |
The Tune Hotel in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, is located in the largest lifestyle "hypermall" in East Malaysia. There is a free shuttle service between the hotel and city centre. Other Tune Hotels include the 135-room Kuching, Sarawak; 258-room Georgetown, Penang and the 135-room KLIA-LCCT in the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), Sepang. The no-frills hotel group hopes to emulate the success of high-flying AirAsia, pushing its marketing – and bookings – online. The ever-ambitious Fernandes aims to have 100 Tune Hotels in Asia by 2011 in destinations that include The Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.
And now London is ripe for a tune-up too. The Tune Hotel at Westminster is the first in a long line of 15 planned hostelries in London offering “five-star beds with powerful wake-up showers” at one-star prices. Hard to argue with.
Another option is the StayOrange.com Hotel (www.stayorange.com) Kuala Lumpur with its bunk, single en suite and double en suite offerings. Rooms all feature complimentary WiFi, express check-in and check-out among others. Double en suite rooms also have workstations, double beds, bathrooms with hot water, mirror and flat screen TV. Bathroom amenities, towels and DVD players can be rented for a small price. Bunk bed rooms start as low as RM47.
For the real thing you’ll have to head to Tokyo, Japan, get chased by Godzilla, end up legless on sake, miss the last train, and stagger to the Asakusa Riverside Capsule Hotel (www.asakusa-capsule.jp/english) where a capsule room starts as low as Y3,000 (US$31). There is a ladies floor too. There are separate public baths and changing rooms for men and women. Relax in the bath on the observation platform and take in the view of Sumida River. Included are complimentary toothbrushes, dressing gowns, towels and razors (for men) and toothbrushes, dressing gowns and robes (for women).
A small kitchen area is available for cooking up a bowl of cup noodles. Bathe, soak, slip into something comfortable and then squeeze into your room to watch TV or suffer a panic attack. Most TV channels are in Japanese. You may find a beckoning large red button next to the television. Don’t press this. It’s not room service. It’s the porn pay-movie channel.
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| Capsule hotel: merry morgue/ photo: hotel |
The Capsule Inn Akihabara (www.capsuleinn.com) has 169 rooms for Y4,000 a night. Men and women occupy separate floors. Capsule claustrophobia it is: you won’t find much wiggle room in the 1m x 1m x 2m rooms. Amenities include TV with satellite channels, radio, alarm clock and adjustable lighting. The ground floor lounge offers high-speed Internet, WiFi, and three computers to check e-mail free of charge. Mineral water is free, and coffee can be had for Y100. Women travelling in a group of two or four can try the Group Capsule that offers the added convenience of a small common space with table and chairs next to the slide-in capsules.
Toothbrushes, towels and yukata (robes) are provided free of charge in lockers on the second level, shavers found on the ground floor, and there is a hairdryer on each floor. Women have shower rooms while men use a public bath. No dining facilities are in the hotel, but there are plenty of eating options nearby and vending machines in the complex if you’re feeling thirsty. There is luggage storage space for guests who stay longer than one night. Remember to doff your shoes at the door. Shoe lockers are provided upon check-in.
A capsule room at Capsule Hotel Asahiplaza Shinsaibashi (www.asahiplaza.co.jp) in Osaka, Japan will set you back Y2,800, though you can take a five-hour "Capsule Nap" for Y2,100. Capsules have TVs, towels and not much else. The hotel has complimentary use of high and low temperature saunas for guests, a public bath and a lounge that is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Vending machines, game machines, public phones and laundry facilities are scattered around the complex. Group rooms for two to four people are available for extra privacy. Get a massage or rent a mahjong table to pass time. Dress shirts, ties and underwear can be purchased in the lobby.
Also in Osaka, the newly opened First Cabin Midousuji-Namba (www.first-cabin.jp/en/) takes capsules to the next level. Imitating airplane cabins but with a futuristic edge, it offers business class rooms for Y3,800 while first class cabins are Y4,800. For a quick snooze, day stays are also available at Y800 per hour (two hour minimum). Both cabins offer TVs, comfortable cabin wear and toiletries, but the latter is much roomier and even has cable Internet access. Pop by the lounge for a quick bite, or relax the bathhouse and sauna. Shower booths are also available.
This is a members-only establishment with registration and subsequent reservations done via mobile phone or Internet. Quick, easy, painless. In a sign of true Japanese efficiency, your phone can double as the room key by downloading the "APLI" program onto it. A stroke of security genius.
Listen up space cadets. Get your bod to a POD. NOW.
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