Privacy at Pangea

It’s one of the things that makes us different from any regular hotel. It’s also something that makes us different from a hostel. You could even say it’s one of the things that defines us, or what puts us in a completely new category of accommodation. Yes, it’s privacy. Or more specifically, the level of it we provide. Not so much as a hotel (and we’re completely upfront and even proud about that), but far more than a hostel. For our money (and perhaps yours too), it’s just the right level of privacy, and in this blog post we’re going to explain why.

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.

We’ve travelled a fair bit. If you put our collective travel experience together, you’d find that the team at the Pangea Pod Hotel has most of the countries of the world covered. One thing we’ve come to realise in our time travelling, backpacking and general vacationing is that it’s quite difficult to get a decent level of privacy in a hostel, and frequently impossible to get any sort of social vibe in a hotel.

It’s not hard to work out why: in a hostel there’s pretty much nowhere you can retreat to for some “me time”, while in a hotel you can’t easily interact with fellow travellers when you’re cooped up in your own room. Sure, you can make small-talk at the breakfast buffet, perhaps an awkward “good morning” in the corridor, but you’ll never really get the chance to know anybody.

So we pondered. How could we provide the fundamental level of privacy that most of us need, but still offer a great social vibe and ensure our hotel remains affordable for our guests? The answer, we found, is a pod hotel.

WHAT KIND OF PRIVACY DO WE OFFER?

We want to make one thing very clear: our pods are not 100% private. They do not have fully closeable doors, and they are not totally soundproof – although they have been designed in a way that significantly reduces noise. Instead, our pods have curtains that you can pull across when you want some basic privacy. The rest of your pod is enclosed by solid walls, tastefully finished with natural wood.

With a curtain on one side and walls on all the others, you’ll be completely cocooned in your private pod: nobody will be able to see you sleeping, and if you want to shut yourself off for a few hours to watch latest episode of The White Lotus on your iPad, you can.

Worried about security because your pod doesn’t have a full-width door? Don’t be. Each pod has an internal lockable cabinet for your valuables and an additional place to secure your luggage (and your skis, boards and bikes have a separate, secure home on our main level). The fact that our pods are housed within suites that can only be accessed by the guests who are staying in them (via an encoded wristband keycard) means there’s an added level of privacy and security at Pangea.

WHILE WE’RE ON THE SUBJECT OF SUITES.

We’ve placed our bathrooms within the suites themselves, rather than in some large block at the end of a long corridor. Having bathrooms so close at hand and limited to a finite number of guests makes us very different to a hostel, where this kind of privacy is almost impossible to come by.

OUR SHARED SPACES INCREASE YOUR PRIVACY.

Sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? Well, actually it makes sense. At Pangea we have several large common areas (the Living Room and the Patio) where our guests can meet up, have a coffee or a craft beer, share travel stories, or even play board games. Meeting and hanging out with fellow travellers is positively encouraged (which is why we have large family-style tables). In fact, it’s one of the founding principles of our hotel (the clue is in the name).

This means that all of the socialising at Pangea tends to be done away from the suites, which leaves them surprisingly serene places to escape to when you need a bit of peace and quiet.

WHY OUR KIND OF PRIVACY IS THE BEST KIND OF PRIVACY.

At Pangea, we believe that privacy doesn’t have to be all or nothing: there’s a middle ground, and that’s what we offer – an essential level of privacy that doesn’t cost a fortune and which still allows room for social interaction as and when you want it. It’s a fine balance that makes the Pangea Pod Hotel the ideal choice of accommodation for the kind of person who loves to meet like-minded travellers, but also likes to have their own space.

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