Pangea Pod Hotel in Whistler, BC, now taking reservations
This week I took a day off for an escape up to Whistler to check out the new Pangea Pod Hotel. Yep folks, pods, not the spacious rooms we’ve been lounging about in lately. However, for those solo travelers and those looking to getaway without the price tag that most Whistler accommodation comes with (an overnight stay is $99-$149) these pods are a pretty cool way to stay and play in Whistler.
Unlike traditional hostels, the hotels 88 “rooms” are divided up into eight units so you are really only sharing with ten people, and there’s four separate toilets, showers and change rooms in each unit. The actual pods were more spacious than I had imagined and only once, during the night, did I get bit claustrophobic, and I have a pretty serious case of this spacial challenge. I had to open the curtain that encloses sleepers into their own unit for a bit to get some air. There is a fan that provides some white noise, and this made the evening and morning fairly quiet, even though people were coming and going.
The showers here are pretty small, but they do provide body wash and a conditioning shampoo and you can get changed in the change rooms where there’s more room.
Downstairs there’s a “Living Room” where there’s a kitchen that put out some very tasty sandwiches, charcuterie and cheese plates and a tasty breakfast.
And there were some very interesting cocktails made with local Sons of Vancouver vodka at night and excellent coffee in the morning. You can also take things upstairs to the outdoor patio.
The owners, husband-and-wife team Russell and Jelena Kling here are super passionate about treating travelers right, as they’re world travelers on a mission to bring the hospitality they’ve encountered to Whistler, and the staff is keen to ensure you’re stay is a comfortable one. “Pangea combines the affordability of a hostel with the perks of a boutique hotel,” says co-founder Russell. “We wanted to cater to the type of traveller who enjoys the conviviality of shared spaces but prefers their own personal space at the end of the day.”
Each cleverly-designed, wood-lined pod contains artwork and mirrors, as well as a comfortable double memory-foam mattress, individually controlled LED lights, a built-in fan that provides both air circulation and white noise, a lockable cabinet for valuables like iPads and phones, hanging space for clothes, and a storage area for luggage.
Pods are now available for booking at pangeapod.com/bookings.
