I’ve been traveling for more than 6 months now. I’ve seen the pictures online before. But never had to chance to book it myself. The spaceship-like sleeping capsules I mean. But this day I did! I traveled to Medan in Indonesia and booked myself a capsule. So the question: is RedDoorz Capsule worth booking?
The reason that I traveled to Medan wasn’t because of sightseeing. Nope. I went here for a visa run. My visa of Malaysia was about to expire. In order to get a new one, I had to leave the country for one week. Medan was one of the closest and cheapest options. At least, I thought so.
The capsule pictures were promising. But then again, so are all hostel pictures. They were made when the hostel was brand new. Many times it happens that since then there has been no maintenance.
According to booking dot com, this RedDoorz Hostel is an 8.1 on a scale of 10. So that’s pretty high.
The Grab taxi dropped me off at the hostel. As I feared the girl at the reception desk asked for a deposit. In cash. I could not check-in without the deposit. Not all hostels are this strict by the way.
So I went searching for an ATM. It was about 5 minutes walk from the hostel. I collected my 1.5 million rupees from the ATM and went back to the hostel.
According to the pics on Booking the Coffee counter is shiny black. In reality the restyled counter is foil white (February 2025).
The girl gave me my keycard and followed me upstairs. She gave me a pair of flip-flops to use in the dorm. She showed me the bathroom and my capsule. Number 334. She gave an explanation how the buttons in the capsule work. Since the door locks itself after 10 seconds. Press the center button on the panel to unlock. Roger that.
Then she gave me a blue bag with a towel and a bottle of water. Very considerate. No complaints about the service.
The capsule looks beautiful. Very spaceship-like. I immediately tried out all the buttons. There’s even a TV inside the capsule. But unfortunately it only shows a freeze frame of a TV show. The remote doesn’t work. The little hook to hang your clothing was broken. It fell off when I tried to hang something.
Unfortunately the staff doesn’t speak English. So it’s quite a challenge to explain an issue. Altho they’re always willing to help. Today they told me that the TV-box and remote are broken. Tomorrow someone will come to fix the TV-box.
The bathrooms
The showers and toilets are not as fancy looking as the capsules. They are simple. On the floor are antique shower-mats. The shower-heads are beyond simple. Cheap plastic ones. Most shower-hooks are broken. So you have to hold it while showering. There is hot water tho. But only at the beginning. The water turns cold after a minute. There is also soap in the showers. Simple dispensers.
There is an ass-shower, but no toilet paper. I wonder how do people dry their ass after showering it?
The dorms are pretty noisy. A man from India decided to do some phone calls at 01:00. His voice, as any sound, goes right through the plastic capsule walls.
Your private bedroom
The capsule mattress is big. Not really thick, slightly hard. But okay. I’ve slept not bad my first night. I must say I woke up many times. Don’t know if it was because I always sleep on one side. Until my arm starts hurting, then I have to turn around. I’ve turned around many times. But I fell asleep right after.
I think it’s not really a social hostel. You don’t really have roommates since everyone locks himself up in his pod. I guess mainly guys book it. So they can have their own private Star Trek bed. I was surprised to see a girl just now. Not very talkative tho. I read on the dorm doors today that one floor is for women. There are no men allowed. The other for men. Likewise no women allowed.
Conclusion
To me it looks like this hostel had its glory days when it was all new. It is not bad. But it doesn’t really look anymore like the booking pictures either. The red couches in the lobby are pink these days.
Would I recommend it? If you want to travel back in time, yes. Because you have to experience your private spaceship capsule bedroom at least once. Would I book it again. Maybe. If I want privacy and be by myself, then yes. But in general I’m always a fan to try new things. So if RedDoorz Capsule worth booking? Yes. Considering the price and what you get. Unless you prefer a 5-star hotel. Then this is not for you.
