Canada’s First Pod Hotel to Open in Whistler in 2018

Canada’s first pod accommodation concept is set to open in Whistler Village in the Spring of 2018.

Popular in Japan, capsule hotels feature a large number of small “rooms” (capsules or pods) intended to provide basic overnight accommodation for guests who do not require the services offered by more conventional hotels. Soon Canada will have it’s own version of the concept when the Pangea Pod Hotel opens in Whistler next Spring.

The founding partners, Jelena Kling and her husband Russell, are banking on the fact guests to the most popular mountain vacation resort in North America, want to stay in a boutique accommodation but only pay for the part they actually use.

In essence the Pangea will be an upscale travel hostel with mini rooms instead of bunkbeds. There will be central areas such as a living room and patio where people can congregate, eat and drink purchased items (there isn’t a communal kitchen) as well as a gear area called the “Toy box” where guests can lock up bikes, skis and other equipment.

“Pangea is unlike anything else offered in Canada…Our unique pod hotel experience will speak to sophisticated, value-conscious guests,” says co-founder Russell Kling. “Currently we are working obsessively to perfect the industrial design of the pods and suites, as well as the interior design of the communal spaces.”

Pangea will feature a series of custom suites housing a total of 88 private sleeping pods. Each pod will be lined in wood and outfitted with a memory foam double mattress and linens. They’ll also be equipped with individually controlled LED lights, multiple charging points (including USB ports) and an integrated fan for ventilation and white noise. There’s also a lockable cabinet, hangers and hooks for clothes, and a storage area for luggage. Curtains, rather than doors, provide the privacy.

Another unique aspect of the hotel’s design is its modular bathrooms that are broken down into four individually accessed components: shower cubicle, toilet, vanity, and changing room. More than 60 of these bathroom components will be spread around the hotel.

“After travelling the world extensively with my husband, Russell, we knew we had to approach the ‘bathroom situation’ differently to excite the kinds of travellers we want to attract,” says Jelena Kling. “By creating these four-piece bathrooms and locating them all within the suites themselves, we add a level of privacy and convenience not commonly found in hostels or other capsule hotels.”

The Living Room will be the hotel’s hub on the second floor and will feature long, shared tables in the café and sitting areas in the bar and lounge. The other shared lounging space will be the rooftop bar on the third floor and will offer views down to the Village Square in Whistler.

“Pangea will reinvent accommodation in Whistler for a generation of travellers who expect more for less and want to spend their money on experiences, not on several hundred feet of hotel room space in which they simply sleep,” Russell says.

For more about the pod hotel concept, click the promotional video below.