I think this will be my very first hotel review on this blog. So I'll try my best to write it as comprehensive as I can. Let's begin!
My recent visit to Bandung last November was to attend my friend's graduation, Nadia. Usually when I visit Bandung, I will stay at Nadia's place but since Nadia said her bed is not enough for 2 person, I have to find a place to stay for a night. Then I suddenly remember about Bobobox, a new affordable hotel in Bandung, so it is the perfect time to try the place! At first I planned to stay alone but then I decided to invite Nadia's friend, Intan to accompany me attending Nadia's graduation and stayed together. She said yes not for a minute. Then I booked the hotel from Traveloka and got the rate only for IDR 172.000! I got special discount from IDR 188.000 because I booked a train ticket to Bandung from the app before we booked the hotel. Actually the 188k was a discount rate too, so the original rate is around IDR 200.000. There are two different rate, IDR 165.000/night for 1 amenities and 2 amenities for IDR 188.000/night. We can also book a room from Bobobox's website.
Bobobox Pods is a capsule hotel located in Pasirkaliki, Bandung and it is nearby Bandung Station (about 200-300 m walk). To stay in Bobobox, we need to download the app because everything will be connected to our phone. When we arrived at the hotel we haven't download the app so we have to download and register first, then after we finished the receptionist set the information of our stay to the app and then told us how it works. In the app there is QR Code to open the pod, and we can unlock/lock the pod and also change the lighting color. So, basically everything is controlled from our phone. Oh, and also we need to show our ID (KTP) to the receptionist because only guests above 18 years old that are allowed to stay in Bobobox. The concept of the room in Bobobox itself is a one big white pod that divided into two side, the upside and downside. The upside room is called Sky Room, the downside is called Earth Room. Each room is only allowed for 1-2 person only. The rate of the rooms here are not included with breakfast, but we get amenities (towel and toothbrush + toothpaste) and as I told you previously there's a rate difference between one and two amenities. To enter the room of pods we have to use slippers provided by the hotel and leave our shoes/sandals in receptionist desk.
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| The big white pod that contains Sky and Earth Room |
Next, the room itself. Actually, we got to experience both Sky and Earth Room by chance because Intan's relative was joining us to stay in Bobobox. So, Intan booked another room with 1 amenities for around IDR 170.000 and we got our room on the same big pod yay! Our room is in second floor, we need to take stairs since there was no lift at all. To open the room, we scan the QR Code in the app and voila...welcome to the room! Inside the room there are king size bed (and it's pretty spacious), chair, table, mirror, and settings panel. The settings panel itself consists of colorful dots to change the lighting color and we can adjust the brightness of the lamp. There are also unlock/lock button and....room id and password to connect with the bluetooth speaker that located besides the settings panel! But unfortunately there's only one electric socket/source, so we need to bring an additional. That is the overall room content, next is each type of room. I'll start with Sky Room since I booked that room in the first place. We can already expect from the name that the bed's placement is in higher place. At first I thought there's some kind of stairs to climb up to the bed, but in fact there's only a multi-functional table and chair that can use as stairs. After I tried to step on them, both are pretty strong and solid to be stepped on, so don't worry. I actually kinda regret my decision to choose Sky Room 'cause height is not really my jam, but it was still okay. Then let's go down to the Earth Room. I think Earth Room is more suitable for those who are afraid of heights.
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| The bed in Sky Room. Look at that lighting! |
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| The space in Sky Room. A look of the multi-functional desk. |
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| The appearance of Earth Room with default lighting. |
When staying in capsule hotel, it is obvious that the bathroom will be outside our rooms but don't worry because gents and ladies bathroom are separated and it's quite clean but it's not really spacious. In the shower booth, there is a storage box to save our phone from water since we need to bring our phone to open the room afterwards. And.....there is one hair dryer provided to dry our hair (plus point!). Actually, there is a room near the bathroom in the second floor that filled with some chairs and tables but I didn't take a closer look of it but I think it's a pantry.
Overall thoughts
I really love the concept of the pods, sophisticated and minimalist. The room is spacious, bed is comfortable enough and the air conditioner is pretty cold for me. I really love the idea of the color changing led lamp and the bluetooth speakers to entertain ourselves in such small space like that. The bathroom is clean although it's a little bit narrow. The rate I think is affordable for budget traveler. Oh and one thing that you should keep in mind, since it's a capsule hotel we should keep our voice normal so it won't disturb other visitors. Overall it is a great experience staying in Bobobox and will definitely come back here on next chance!!
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