Its concept is as stunning as it is attractive: a hotel on a bus, for road trips of a few days. welcome to Chill Bus Hotel, which will hit the road from the end of June 2022first in Hauts-de-France and then in Brittany.
Meeting at Lille (North) with the traveler at heart Pierre Lebatwho has been preparing this crazy project for 7 years. Guided tour of an extraordinary hotel.
Chill means enjoying life
The sky blue double-decker bus is currently parked in the Petit Paradis car park in Lille. The Chill Bus Hotel is a english bus from 1985 completely refurbished. A UFO in the world of travel.
Its designer is Pierre Lebat, 30, who has lived in Lille for 10 years. “Chill means enjoying life! »
7 years of preparation
He quit his job in real estate to start this amazing hotel project on a bus. “I wanted a job that suited me better, I no longer found meaning in what I was doing. I wanted to travel, but for me travel is meeting people, it’s sharing first of all. Going to Europe, backpack, was the first project. But for the housing budget, it was complicated”.
I thought about fitting out a van, but on my own, I thought it was a shame. The idea of a bus came little by little.
Pierre could not draw inspiration from an existing model, because this bus-hotel concept, he invented it. “I had to find out about everything: legislation, planning, tourism, works, energies…”
Everything was made to measure, and essentially by his hands. A great handyman, he spent 7 years preparing this project. “Just to fit out the interior, it took 3 full-time years,” he smiles. The Lille resident also had to pass his bus license, obtained in the summer of 2021.
Driver, animator, trip organizer, cook…
He visits Lille News. The decor is stylish, with bamboo slats on the floor, and aluminum atmosphere on the ground floor ceiling. There are plenty of storage spaces. “At the entrance, you put your coat on a hanger and your shoes in the cabinet below. »
Small discreet cupboards are present. Under the cushions of the dining room table, you can still put your things. Everything is optimized.
There you have the bathroom, with a real shower. And here is the WC area. The kitchen has everything you need, but no dishwasher, anyway, the dishes, it will be me who will stick to it!
Because in travels, Pierre will have several hats : bus driver, cook, leisure organizer, animator… He does it all! It is a turnkey stay that he offers.
” We will be able to privatize the bus, I will adapt because everything is possible. But first, I propose mini road trips.
Rooms, a terrace
Upstairs the bus counts 10 beds, eight “single cabins” and one double “bedroom”. We go up a staircase and arrive on a platform with a sofa, then on each side of a central corridor, mattresses in the style of a bunk bed.
“These are real mattresses, each berth has a touch lamp and a USB slot to recharge your laptop. Pierre installed air conditioning to avoid excessive temperatures in a space as cramped as a bus.
Can also climb on the roof. Pierre has built a terrace with lawn effect. For safety, removable guardrails have been installed, very discreet once dismantled.
“I wanted a ‘home-like’ effect, comfort first. ” Successful bet !
We had to think of many details to make everything perfect. The most delicate question was that of energies. How supply water and electricity to the buswithout carrying huge batteries and thousands of liters of water?
Solar panels and recycled water NASA version
For electricity, Pierre has installed solar panels on the roof of the vehicle and carries the latest generation lithium batteries.
I had the help of an American company that works for NASA, for future trips to Mars. She designed a shower system with recycled water! She accepted that I adopt this process in my bus.
A mechanism that checks the quality of the water 20 times per second.
The first road trips are planned in Hauts-de-France, departing from Lille, near Saint Omerthen from Cap Gris-Nez. Then head to the Brittany. “And this winter, go to the Alsace Christmas markets ! »
Pierre Lebat sees further. As soon as possible, he would like to propose trips to europe. Then recruit a crew and launch franchises.
He wants his project to be supportive: a percentage of each trip will be dedicated to an association.
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