Category: Pod Hotels

Qbic: Dutch answer to Easy Hotel, Yotel and Hotel Everland

Qbic

Begin November 2006 the launch of Qbic Hip Hotels was announced by Paul Rinkens, Rino Soeters en Marcel Voermans, the people behind Design hotel La Bergère and Hip Hotel St Martenslane, both in Maastricht, as the Dutch answer to cube alike hotel concepts as Easy Hotel, Yotel and Hotel Everland:

Qbic Hip Hotel Amsterdam Center (at WTC, Strawinskylaan 241) is anticipated to open in March 2007.

Qbic Hip Hotel Antwerpen (at Sint Paulusstraat 42 / Lange Koepoortstraat 6) is anticipated to open in June 2007.

Each Cube will cover 7 m2 with a living room, King Size Hästens beds, Philippe Starck design bathroom elements, TV, radio, safe and wireless Internet access.

With individually adjustable varicolored led lights guests can establish their own atmosphere. Easily changeable wall panels will give the guest the possibility to adjust the atmosphere further.

The lobby in Amsterdam will be designed by Feran Thomassen and for Antwerp by Ontwerpers.nu (i.e. Designers.Now!). They envisage a digital “concierge kiosk” where through an ‘i- touch’ screen guests can gather the necessary information about things to do, where to wine and dine and where to party, or to contact a Qbic staff member who will be available on site.

Also a self service shop is anticipated for all amenities and necessities.

Pricing will be done by the “the-earlier-the-reservation-the-lower-the-price” system and vary from Euro 39,- to Euro 139,-.

Realization by PRM.

Last edited by GJE on December 3, 2011 at 11:43 pm

The one room cube: Hotel Everland

Everland

Hotel Everland is a hotel with only one room. It includes a bathroom deluxe, a king-size bed and a lounge. It is created by the Swiss artists Sabina Lang and Daniel Baumann The L and The B of “L/B”.

It was first developed for the Swiss national exhibition Expo.02 and was located on the lake of Yverdon. Afterwards the mobile pavilion was brought to Burgdorf and placed on the factory roof at L/B’s studio.

From June 2006 until August 2007 the cube is placed on the roof of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Leipzig, Germany. During the opening times of the museum, visitors can take a peek at the Hotel. After closing hours it’s reserved to the happy ones that have booked the room for a night.

In September 2007 Hotel Everland moves on to Paris where it will be installed on the roof of Palais de Tokyo. It will also be exhibited for one year and run as a hotel, but this time with a view on the Eiffel Tower.

The Hoxton Urban Lodge: One day til opening

Thanks to Hotelchatter and The Observer I came across this new 205 rooms Urban Lodge that will open 1st September, 2006.Opening promotions included rooms for just an amazing one (1) UK pound per night – sold out off course, but the Hoxton site promises more similar promotions for the near future. Normal rates start at UK pound 59 and become higher the nearer to the night of your choice you make your reservation.

The “Pret a Dormir” has been created by the take away sandwich (Pret A Porter) mogul Sinclair Beecham. The breakfast included in the roomrate is a nice “Pret” sandwich.

The Observer:

Everywhere you look in Beecham’s hotel there are no-nonsense feel-good touches: the internet is free, so is the coffee and the mineral water in the bedrooms, and the Pret breakfast left on a hook outside each morning. Instead of a ruinous minibar, you buy wine, champagne, beer and snacks at the reception desk for normal shop prices.

But all this is window-dressing next to the really revolutionary idea: a room pricing system borrowed from the budget airlines….

There’s no denying you get a lot of room for your money. The mattresses are by Hypnos (‘same as at the Metropolitan’, says Beecham), the towels thick and fluffy (‘same as Claridge’s’) and the lighting soft and discreet (‘done by same company as the Schrager hotels’). The TVs are flat screen and swivel so you can watch in bed, the bathrooms small but swanky, with huge shower heads and full-length mirrors.

The corridors on each of the six floors are lit with different coloured lights and there’s lots of exposed metal, giving a slightly unwelcome echo of Beecham’s previous business. The decor isn’t exactly exciting and the lobby’s industrial design – polished concrete floor, exposed bricks, dark wood – is getting slightly passe in this cutting-edge part of London. But let’s be frank: for the money, and compared with Britain’s other mid-range hotels, it’s jaw-droppingly good.

Easy come Easy go

Easy Hotel 2

Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the man behind Easyjet, develops a new hotel concept: Easyhotel. Mid May 2005 the first will be opened in South Kensington, Londen (UK).
As with Easyjet the earlier the reservation the smaller the rate (from approx UK pnd 7,25 to 87/room).

Sleeping in a survival capsule

In my search for extra ordinary hotels I found this: Sleeping in a survival capsule. An artists’ collective has placed two capsules in The Hague (NL) to sleep in.