Places to Stay in Israel

I first stayed in a capsule hotel about four years ago, in September 2019. It was the Capsule Inn in Jerusalem. Ever since, I’m searching for opportunities to stay at capsule hotels and see if there are any good ones in the genre. Last week, my partner and I wanted to spend some time in Tel Aviv, so we decided to try The O Pod Hotel. It was also one of the cheapest stay options in Tel Aviv, and we’re always happy to pay less.

So, here’s my full review of The O Pod Hotel in Tel Aviv.

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A short summary about The O Pod Hotel

Location: 5 stars – The location is fantastic! The O Pod Hotel is located on the beachline, a few steps from Charles Clore Beach, so it’s excellent for beach lovers. It’s about a 15-minute’ walk from Old Jaffa, Florentin, and the Carmel Market, so it was very central.

Cleanliness: 4 stars – The common areas are very clean. The towels and bed sheet could have been better, but it wasn’t too bad. 

Staff: 5 stars – The staff were very friendly and helpful. When we had trouble with the locker key, they immediately came to assist.  

Security: 4 stars – It felt safe. There’s a doorkeeper in the lobby of the building. The hotel itself is on the 4th floor. You get a card that opens both your capsule and your locker, and security cameras are everywhere.  

Facilities: 3 stars – The capsule is spacious and comfortable. Still, the way up was not so comfortable, and the fan inside could have been better. The common area has many seating places and even a balcony with a fantastic view. There were enough toilets and showers, but there was a hairdryer that wasn’t working, and one of the showers had a shower head that wasn’t working properly. There’s also a water bar and machines selling snacks and drinks, but no free coffee and tea.

Atmosphere: 5 stars – It’s a really cool place with a beautiful view of the Tel Aviv promenade. Seems like a great place for travelers who want to work on the go. 

Value for money: 4 stars – We paid 250 ILS for a double capsule. The O Pod Hotel was one of the cheapest options in Tel Aviv, and overall, we enjoyed our stay. Still, if they had included free coffee, tea, or breakfast, it could have been even better value for money.

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A detailed review of The O Pod Hotel

Location

We loved the location. The O Pod Hotel is located on the beachside, on the other side of the road from the Jaffa-Tel Aviv Promenade. It’s a few steps from Charles Clore Beach, one of my favorites in Tel Aviv. So, it’s an ideal location for beach lovers and joggers.

It’s also within walking distance from the main attractions in Tel Aviv. It’s about 15 minutes on foot from Old Jaffa, 15 minutes from the Carmel Market, and 15 minutes from the trendy Florentin neighborhood. The old and beautiful Neve Tzedek neighborhood is only 5 minutes away, and Rothschild Boulevard is 20 minutes away on foot. For farther away places, you can easily catch a bus from right below the hotel.

The hotel doesn’t serve breakfast, but you can find Aroma – a chain selling sandwiches and salads – right below the hotel. There are also great restaurants within walking distance.

The O Pod Hotel is located at Kaufmann Street 2, on the 4th floor of the building.
The hotel is located in the building right in the middle - on the 4th floor

The capsule

We stayed in a double capsule that was very spacious. We had plenty of room to move around. It’s a basic capsule with a comfortable mattress, USB ports, electricity, a shelf, and a hanging hook for clothes or towels. To open the door, you have a room card, which is convenient.

There’s also a small fan that you can control. The small fan didn’t really help us in the afternoon when we wanted to nap. It was very loud and didn’t really cool us down. In the evening, the capsule was cooler.

We had an upper capsule, so we had to climb to it whenever we wanted to lie down. The steps that lead up to the capsule aren’t very comfortable. It felt like you really need to lift yourself up to reach the capsule. But maybe I’m just getting old.

Our capsule also had a glass door that faced the common corridor. Luckily, there’s a curtain that you can use to cover the opening, which offers ultimate privacy. It doesn’t block all the light from outside, but it blocks enough to fall asleep. And unlike other places where it was impossible to sleep because of the noise, it wasn’t too noisy at night. You could hear doors opening and closing and sometimes people talking, but it was bearable.

Aside from the capsule, we also got a personal locker to store our stuff. The weird thing was that it was located quite far from our capsule. Also, it doesn’t have too much space in it. We were able to keep our small backpack inside, but if you’re coming with a large suitcase, you’ll need to store it in the luggage room. The locker, as well as the luggage room, opens with the room card. We kept our large bag in our capsule because we preferred it near us. 

Inside our capsule after we've messed it up
Outside our capsule. There's a place for shoes

Noise sensitive? I recommend getting earplugs! 

If you plan to stay at capsule hotels and hostels throughout your visit, earplugs could come in handy. 

Find earplugs on Amazon

The common areas

There’s a large common space outside of the capsules. Part of the common space is an outdoor balcony with a beautiful view of the sea and the promenade. We didn’t take too much advantage of that space because it was so hot and humid outside. But it looks like an awesome space if you’re coming in a more pleasant season or have to go out and smoke.

You can also enjoy the fantastic view from indoors. There’s a large space with seats in front of the view. While there, we saw many guests sitting on the bar seats and working on their computers.

There’s also a room with several snack and drink machines and a water bar. Too bad there was no free coffee and tea stand like in other hotels.

The view from the common area
The snack and drink machines

The bathroom

There are shared bathrooms, separated for women and men. Next to our capsule area, the women’s bathroom had three restrooms and three showers. The restroom area and the shower area are separated by an inner door. While we stayed there, the number of toilets and showers was enough. I never had to wait.

The bathroom was clean during the entire stay. When many people showered, the water came out from the shower area to the restrooms, so walking between the water puddles wasn’t so fun, but not too bad.

Each shower has a door, so it’s private. There’s also a hanger to hang your stuff and a soap dispenser. In one of the showers, the soap dispenser got stuck when I pressed the button. In another shower, the canopy shower head exploded and wasn’t dripping water properly. So, they could use some maintenance.  

Extras

The hotel provides free towels and linen. There’s also free WiFi.

There is no breakfast at the hotel.

Staff

The staff members were very friendly and helpful. The front desk works 24/7, and check-in was fast and easy. When we arrived, we had trouble opening the locker with our card, so we asked the staff at the front desk about it, and they came to help right away. Within a few minutes, we understood how to open the locker.

The check-out was also smooth, and they let us keep our luggage in the luggage room without a problem.

Security

We felt safe in the hotel. The hotel is on the 4th floor of the Textile Building in Tel Aviv. There’s a guard in the lobby of the building, and then you need to press the floor number at the elevators. The elevator takes you quickly to the 4th floor, and you reach the hotel’s front desk.

You get a card that opens both your capsule and your locker, and we felt secure to leave our stuff there. There are security cameras all over the hotel, in the common areas.

Some of the lockers

Bottom line

The O Pod Hotel is a great capsule hotel in Tel Aviv, with a fantastic view of the Mediterranean Sea and the Jaffa-Tel Aviv Promenade. The capsule is comfortable and spacious, and the hotel has a clean and boutique vibe. If you want privacy but are also on a budget – it’s highly recommended, especially if you don’t mind skipping breakfast. 

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If you need any more advice, please don’t hesitate to send me a message on my Facebook page or to contact me at lior@backpackisrael.com.

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Yours,

Lior

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