May 25, 2013
Russia's first capsule hotel opened in the heart of Moscow, with sleep boxes available under $100 per night.
Located just minutes away from Kremlin on Tverskaya street, close to the railway station, the new Sleepbox hotel is the first of its kind in Moscow and in fact Russia.
Hotel owner Leonid Chernikov says that many might find sleepboxes more comfortable than hostels as they provide more personal space.
"We came up with this (idea) of course after we have analysed the market, we tried to think of something extraordinary we could offer to people. And so as a result we came up with sleepbox. It provides personal space. It might not be big but it's soundproof, it has all the necessary things one might need such as plugs, light, table, bedside chest. So you can always place your belongings there and be safe. Unlike, for example, in a hostel you can always be disturbed by a new guest in your 14 or 16 people bedroom," he said.
Modestly furnished, sleepboxes only have the basic stuff: bed, lamp, small wardrobe, a folding table, and Wi-Fi. There're also small windows in each sleepbox, but no view to the street is available.
The project was based on the concept of Japanese "capsule hotels" and can be executed in any sort of space, be it an old factory or a space with no windows, project co-designer Alexei Goryainov said.
"This idea was created a little later. Initially we created a single bed sleepbox for an airport. But then somebody approached us in Amsterdam and suggested to us that we create a hostel based on these boxes. So the idea is that we take some premises that are not made for hotels - some industrial factory or just a big and empty space with no windows and so on - and then the details are assembled quickly and so you can open in a month or so," he said.
The Sleepbox hotel offers standard rooms with double beds for about $85 per night and suite bathrooms (the capsules don't have bathrooms). But this room will cost almost twice as much around $160.
Hotel visitor Igor Bigdan said he was fascinated with such an extraordinary idea and found the hotel nice.
"I've found out that such an unusual place opened and obviously I wanted to try it so that's why I came here. The hotel is very different and this is the first thing that attracts in it. It's quite nice here," he said
In Japan, such hotels may have up to 600 sleepboxes and they are usually located near railway stations. Separate sleepboxes were installed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport last April, but the hotel is still something new to Russia.
