Taking your room with you - camping urban style

Here's a story for you if you like traveling and also the comforts of home - the "world's first mobile hotel room".

in the field

The Travelodge hotel chain said today that its Travelpod would soon be available at events such as music festivals and sporting competitions.

Designed to be set up anywhere you might put up a tent, it's cheering news for anyone who books into B&Bs at music festivals or panics about camping holidays.

The pod is sealed in a polycarbonate glass box, but includes features offered in conventional hotel rooms such as TV and air conditioning.

Leigh McCarron, Travelodge's director of sleep, called it "a ground-breaker in outdoor accommodation". The Travelpod, which measures 6 metres by 2.4, includes a double bed, bedside lights, carpeted floors, and dressing table - plus blinds.

night time

A spokeswoman for Travelodge said: "The Travelpod is a ground-breaker in outdoor accommodation."

She added, "With the popularity of outdoor sleeping we saw a definite niche in the market for something a bit more up-market".

When asked who will be hiring this glamorous answer to a tent, she replied

"One woman wanted 20 of them for the guests at her garden wedding to sleep in."

"One man wanted one delivered to a beautiful spot in the Lake District, so he could propose to his girlfriend in it".

The Travelpod will be tested over the next couple of months.

Here's what the press release said:

Today Travelodge unveiled its second generation Travelpod - the world's first mobile hotel room. This latest version has been designed with new features in response to findings from the initial Travelpod trials in 2006.

the pod

The modified Travelpod is 40% bigger than the initial prototype. It has been styled in the hotel company's contemporary room design, incorporating a red, white and blue colour scheme and has the following new features:

- Air conditioning

- Heater

- Flat screen TV

- DVD player with a collection of DVDs

- Ambient lighting which includes bedside lights and a illuminated headboard

- Tea / coffee making facilities

- Washroom with biodegradable toilet and washbasin with running water facilities

In addition, the furnishings are made from recyclable timber and lighting has been designed to use low wattage bulbs. The room comes complete with a luxury double bed, bedside lights, duvet, pillows, fully carpeted floor, window blinds, dressing table with light, mirror and chair.

The palatial pod is sealed in a 6 metre (length) by 2.4 metre (width) x 2.6 metre (height) clear polycarbonate glass box but inside, the features replicate the conventional Travelodge hotel room just recently re-designed.

Leigh McCarron, Travelodge's Director of Sleep said: "The Travelpod is a ground breaker in outdoor accommodation. We ran some tests on the original Travelpod concept last year and those findings have been used to develop this second generation model for customer trials."

The new Travelpod will be tested over the next couple of months and the general public will have the opportunity to participate in trials by entering a prize draw at www.travelodge.co.uk.

The Travelpod is the ultimate accessory for lovers of outdoor entertainment. It's the world's first mobile hotel room that can be transported to any out door event such as a music festival, sporting event or any other major outdoor event.

Another article said this:

Although you may have skipped the whole Boy Scout thing as a kid and still can't envision yourself ever setting foot on a campground, Travelodge's Travelpod may be of interest. Chances are if you've never tried roughing it in the wilderness just for kicks, you may still have considered camping out for certain launches of inexplicable importance, or found yourself homeless after a long day at name-your-music-festival. Travelodge is aiming squarely at those who turn their noses at the the thought of a tent by offering a semi-portable hotel room at various outdoor venues. The palatial pod is sealed up by clear polycarbonate glass to keep those pesky creatures out of your dwelling area, and features a "luxury double bed" (since when have hotel beds been luxurious?), tables, lights, duvets, pillows, carpeted flooring, a mirror, and even a fully functional bathroom. While we're unsure how similar the restroom is to an indoor outhouse, we do admire the effort, and the sealed nature of the pod helps to quell the noises of the nocturnal. The Travelpod will be offered at various concerts and festivals in the UK next year, and if catching a good night's rest just doesn't happen while you're flat on the ground, you can shack up in style for £26 per night.

But it hasn't been met with universal approval. Here's what the critics are saying:

okay, this has to be the most retarded idea ever. I could only see this being used in an old folks community so they can still go camping lol...no true camper in their right mind would EVER use this. My how time has turned men into pansies....of course if it is to be used at festivals then that is another story, that would be pretty sweet watching a concert in this. But no way for camping!