Late last month, The Pod located at 289 Beach Road invited Jacelyn for a "staycation" and she invited Nadia, Fidelis, and me along!
The Pod is a Boutique Capsule Hotel, which is actually like a hostel where there are a number of beds in a shared room. However, instead of creaky metal double-decker bunks, the beds are stylishly modeled after capsule beds in Japan.
I have never stayed in such hotels before, so it was an entire new experience for me!
We were ushered to the guest lounge area to check in before being brought to our room, which was a female-only pod for girls who are uncomfortable staying with male strangers!
Our cozy capsule! There are side entry or front entry capsules and we got the side entry ones.
Each capsule comes with
- Personal light
- Fold-down table
- Comfortable mattress, pillows, and duvet cover
- Clothes rack & hanger
- Power socket
- Lockable locker under the bed
I also liked that I could "close" the doorway of my capsule with a screen, so that I have my own privacy! It was indeed very clean and comfortable as I lay in my own space at night. Loved the modern and minimalist design too!
Honestly, I was quite unhappy that despite us confirming our stay quite awhile ago, they didn't manage to get us four capsules together. I was allocated a capsule one block away from the other three girls.
The common washroom:
The cubicles each have their own sink and mirror, so we could bathe and do our skincare/makeup inside at our own privacy. This area is quite clean and didn't stink at all.
Out we go to explore since we don't really have anything to do in there. I guess in such hotels with no in-house entertainment, the location and nearby facilities are very important! We found a Korean supermarket in the vicinity! Can buy cup noodles back for supper!
We walked around the area and found this shop selling pretty and quirky items.
Walked and walked and walked. Heritage-rich buildings and spotted some interesting cafes along the way!
We settled at a random cafe along Haji Lane for tea time!
It was a scorching hot day and we are happy to rest and sip on cold drinks.
I always have ice-cold home-made ice lemon tea whenever I'm hot and thirsty!
The cafe serves rainbow cake but was sold out by the time we gathered at the counter! Fidelis got herself this pretty mille crepe, which was so yummy! I'm craving for it now!
Jacelyn's late lunch
Picture after a satisfying meal! Nadia kept singing the "What did the fox say?" song to irritate Fidelis. Hahaha.
Shopping time! Didn't manage to get anything for myself though! :(
Went back to the hotel to take a quick rest and head out for dinner. This is a photo of me, selected out of thirty over similar angles taken in my own capsule. Haha.
Walked over to Golden Mile for mookata! Just can't stop craving for mookata ever since the first time I had it! Although this place don't use traditional charcoal, the marinated meat is damn good!
Picture first! Nadia & Fidelis! To tease Fidelis, Nadia sang "What did the fox say?" song whenever a piece of meat on the dome drop into the soup. Lol.
Me and Jacelyn! She's the opposite of me. I kept going for the meat and she kept going for the vegetables. Haha.
We stink so much after the meal! Wanted to make use of the laundry facility but we encountered a problem..... There are only two washing machines and two dryers. The first time the girls went in to see, the machine has stopped but the previous user's clothes are still inside. We did not want to touch their clothes, so we left the laundry room. After awhile, we went back and saw the machine was running again with another user's clothes. Damn, we should have waited inside the room! The timer was 1 hour plus on one machine and 2 hour plus on another machine. Why so long ah, even the washing machine at home takes at most an hour. Does this mean that for every guest's clothes to be cleaned, some might need to wait till after mid night? Well... I guess that's the inconvenience we have to accept for sharing with others.
Jacelyn had a terrible experience though. The next day, she managed to use the washer but when she went back to collect her clothes, she found another guest's clothes (and underwear!!!! Ewwww!) inside the dryer with her clothes. So unhygenic!!!!! Jacelyn was very displeased of course, but the staff could not do anything about it even though there was a CCTV installed in the room.
Isaac and Vanessa dropped by and we chit chat for awhile at the lounge.
The girls were tired after a long day so we had an early night after snacking at the lounge! Fidelis read a magazine, Jacelyn and Nadia watched Scream on TV, while I blogged in one of their business center rooms! There are 3 enclosed rooms with laptop and internet, and I liked the privacy that came with it!
We were lucky to get quiet neighbours. No loud snorings/ constant coughs/ farting or burping. Well, at least around my area, because Fidelis said that the girl that slept opposite her was scratching the whole night. Sounds disgusting!
And because it was so quiet, we couldn't really have a proper chat like normal staycations because it would be quite inconsiderate to disturb the other guests. I feel that such stays are good for budget conscious single travelers as it's quite a economical option without compromising on quality of sleeptime. However, for gatherings/staycations, I would opt for a hotel room any day!
The Pod is having a promotion at the moment.You all can check out the website for more information if you are keen to try the experience. For me, I would say that overall it was an eye-opener for me and an interesting experience, except for some areas which wasn't optimal.
