Where to Ski And Snowboard - Pod hotel to open in central Whistler

Pod hotel to open in central Whistler

13th June 2017, by Abi Butcher

The Pangea Pod Hotel is aimed at discerning solo travellers

A new pod hotel will open in the Canadian ski resort of Whistler this winter, offering skiers and snowboarders a revolutionary type of accommodation.

The Pangea Pod Hotel will open for the winter season in the centre of Whistler’s pedestrian village, aimed at “the discerning solo traveller seeking a boutique hotel feel, impressive design and a prime location at an affordable price-point”.

There will be 88 private sleeping pods, each lined in wood, equipped with memory foam mattresses, LED lights, multiple charging points and an integrated fan for ventilation and white noise. Pangea says it will fill the void in Whistler between hostels and hotel — and is unlike anything else offered in Canada. While no prices have yet been released, the hotel says it rates will be “firmly between the rate of a hotel room and a hostel room in Whistler”.

“Our unique pod hotel experience will speak to sophisticated, value-conscious guests unwilling to compromise on location, function, and aesthetics,” 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. We are also relentlessly focused on the significant gut renovation to the interior and complete update to the exterior to bring this prime property into the 21st century.”

Read Where to Ski and Snowboard’s review of Whistler here

Each pod will have a lockable cabinet for valuables, hangers and hooks for clothes, and a storage area for luggage, as well as mirrors and artwork as well as curtains to provide a “fundamental level of privacy”. The pods have 60 bathroom “components” — shower cubicles, WC, sinks and changing rooms — spread around the suites rather than individual en-suite bathrooms.

There will no reception desk, with guests instead left to check themselves in — though there will be several communal spaces including a living room on the second floor, with glass panels overlooking the village, plus a café and rooftop bar on the third floor.

There’s also an open-plan gear area offering secure storage for skis, snowboards, mountain bikes and places to hang wet gear along with lockers for boots.

“Pangea will reinvent accommodation in Whistler for a generation of travelers 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,” says Russell. “Our guests seek a killer location, brilliant design, a cool vibe and certain key elements of privacy. They have money to spend, but not to waste.”

For more information, visit pangeapod.com