First pod hotel experience in Singapore
- Damien Chung
- May 25, 2022
- 5 min read
I know that Pod hotel has been made quite famous especially in places like Japan where space is limited, not to mention the lower cost which is great for budget and backpackers who are looking to make the most of their money.
This is my first time staying in a Pod hotel, but given they do offer individual rooms instead of a pod, I took the room as I am a light sleeper and I wouldn't get a restful sleep if people are snoring or moving around. The cost of the room is still lower than staying in a hotel room, but the bathroom is shared which is how they can keep the cost down.
I will be staying at The Pod Boutique Capsule Hotel tonight, located in the Muslim quarter with landmarks such as the Malay Heritage Centre and the Sultan Mosque nearby. You will be able to access the Nicoll Highway or Bugis MRT stations with both within walking distance, and shopping malls such as Bugis Junction on top of the MRT station. It is definitely not the best location to access the central area or Orchard if you are planning to stay for a longer period, with travel time upwards of 30 minutes to be expected. All buses and MRT can accept credit cards so there's no need to purchase a transit card either, which is very handy if you are staying for a short period. This includes the train to/from Changi Airport.
CHECK IN
The entry into the building is secured, so you will have to read the instruction on the comm system to call up the hotel, which they will open the door momentarily. There are a couple of stairs to get to the elevator, and up to the 3rd floor where the reception is located. I was checked in by the staff and shown to my room, which is on the same floor and given a quick guide to the hotel. Shoes are not permitted beyond the corridor into the rooms, they provide lockers to store but you will have to BYO locks, which they did not mention or at least I didn't read about it, however luckily I had a lock with me so I got saved. They claimed no responsibility for lost shoes so the only other solution is to hand carry it to your room I suppose?
THE POD
There are half a dozen pods/rooms divided up in a what I would assume is a regular size hotel room, the room corridor is fairly cold as that is where the AC unit is installed to cool all the rooms, and my room is directly opposite it, which I thought it would be fairly cold as my bed was also located on top so I am getting the direct cold air flowing in (there's a big hole on top of each room to allow airflow) but it was fine during my stay.
The room is very small so you will not be able to fit a suitcase in there either, there is a work desk and a power port, a rail for your towels and then your bed which may be on top or bottom depending on which room you're assigned to. I was worried given there may be people on top or bottom of you that could cause some noise but most of the noise was actually from guests playing music or speaking/on the phone late at night, and there was a no noise policy from 11pm if I remember it correctly as that's roughly the time they shut off the corridor lights as well. There may have been people complaining so the staff did come in to tell the person to be quiet, but it did not deter the same person or other people to still be making noise, which I think is fairly disrespectful given we all share the space and if you are a late night owl you shouldn't disrupt others from getting their sleep, and earphone is a thing which I would think 99% of the people should already have owned one, if they are able to afford to travel they can afford to buy one as there are some fairly cheap ones out there if they are not fussy.
I had to get up at about 4am to catch my flight departing at 7am, fair to say I didn't get enough sleep or quality sleep but it was one of the more reasonably priced accommodations in Singapore so I didn't have too much of a choice.
The bathroom I visited was not the best nor the worst, there could be better lighting in there and more hanging space, but that's the situation I have to deal with. There seem to be around 6 bathrooms, 3 on each side, and some common use sinks located outside only on one side with some amenities like hairdryer. There is also a toilet only room but it wasn't marked clearly and I only stumbled upon it by choice.
On the side that I was located in, I noticed around 3 entrances which if set up similarly would have about under 20 rooms in total, and there were more on the other side of the corridor after passing the bathroom area but I didn't walk through that section. Since they are a pod hotel, there may be some pods room in one or a few of them, which will definitely increase the number of guests significantly but I was having my shower very late so I didn't encounter any issues with occupied bathrooms.
There was supposed to be complimentary breakfast but due to Covid they are not serving any, I'm not sure if that is reflected on the price but I was informed of that only after I've booked it. They may have mentioned it on their website but I didn't pay too much notice to it as I would have been leaving too early for the breakfast anyway.
CONCLUSION
I've never really wanted to try a pod hotel due to the lack of space, privacy and most of all, the noise. As a light sleeper I value having an entire room to myself and not having to share a space with someone else so that I can get better sleep, but of course noise could still be an issue in hotels as people do occasionally speak loudly in corridors when they are walking past, but better than having to listen to someone snore, play music or be on the phone for the entire night.
As I've booked a private room, I was expecting to have a room with ceiling to floor wall but the hole on top allowed noise to be a big issue, the only upside is having a work desk and more privacy. This is definitely an interesting experience and further appeals to my reasoning for not staying in these accommodations while I travel. I would have booked a hotel room instead if the price and location weren't a factor, but given this was at the right place and price, for my short overnight layover, I just took a chance on it, and now I get to share my experience of staying in a pod hotel.
looks rly fun !