http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2009-11-26T02:07:42Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/ http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/6/19/93739/7853 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/Hotel_Key_Card.jpg" class="top"><p> <p>Most of our talk about <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Hotel%20Key%20Cards">hotel key cards</a> lately has concerned whether they're <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/6/18/174531/358/hotels/Just_Because_Your_Keycard_is_Recyclable_Doesn_t_Mean_It_Won_t_Work">recyclable or not</a>, but the whole "ease of use" factor is a pretty important to us, too. They can be fiddly things when you have to insert them a particular way or swipe them at just the right speed, and we've been frustrated by them more than once.<p>Thankfully, over at the X Room at the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Courtyard+Newark+Univ+Delaware/ian/224870"><b>Courtyard Newark University of Delaware</b></a>, the prototype room where they try out lots of new gadgets on real guests, they are looking carefully at <b>proximity-based keycards</b>. With these, we won't need to worry about inserting them in the right direction or even finding them in our amandak 2009-06-19T11:56:25-05:00 39.6886880 -75.759179 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/1/3/224328/0218 <![CDATA[<p><object width="399" height="317"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8-LWSkZkjr8&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8-LWSkZkjr8&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="399" height="317"></embed></object><p>There's a very special room at the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Courtyard+Newark+Univ+Delaware/ian/224870"><b>Courtyard Newark - University of Delaware</b></a>, part of the Marriott brand: it's called "the X-room". That sounds a bit scary, but in fact it's really fun, because this room contains the new hotel technologies and gadgets of the future.</p><p>As part of a research project, potential new products for hotel rooms are trialled here for between 6 and 12 months, with real guests. You can book this room specifically or end up there by chance, but in exchange for being able to try out all these new toys, (like the universal battery charger, digital picture frame, touch-screen climate control) you'll need to amandak 2008-01-04T09:30:01-05:00 39.688688 -75.759179 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/10/19/14833/013 <![CDATA[<p><b>[Ed. Note: Hotel Maven <a href="http://www.jaunted.com/user/amandak">AmandaK</a> had the misfortune of visiting Delaware. Usually, we don't post pictures of Hotel Hell but this was necessary. Enjoy.]</b><p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/QualityInn_NewarkDE.jpg"><p>Highway Motel Choice Mistake #451: Believing what you read. We learned this lesson the hard way this summer on Route 95. An unplanned overnight stop in Delaware enroute to Maryland had us thumbing through our coupon book, and the <a href="http://www.choicehotels.com/ires/en-US/html/HotelInfo?hotel=DE008"><b>Quality Inn University</b></a> in Newark promised an adjective-laden swimming pool. Steamy weather and a long drive meant a quick dip would've been the perfect end to the day.<p> We checked in. Ten nanoseconds after handing over the cash, we looked out the <i>other</i> side of the reception office. There was the pool. See the picture, juliana 2006-10-19T14:08:33-05:00 39.650504 -75.748856 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2004/11/25/184213/96 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3/w_silicon_valley.jpg" align="right"></p> <p><a href="http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2004/11/23/TheFuture">The prolific blogger Tim Bray recently glimpsed the future</a> in Newark. Ok, stop laughing, he was in Newark <i>California</i>, not that other Newark.</p> <p> Tim Bray was staying at the W Silicon Valley this week, which he "unhesitatingly recommends". &nbsp;He doesn't mention the rooms, but he sets the scene in the lobby nicely: </p> <p><blockquote><p> There's WiFi in the bar, so I was online, and the only people there were me at a neatly-sidelit marble table, a geek on one of the big weird sofas also with laptop, and a couple sitting chatting softly to the bartender. There was some soft techno music pulse, just audible. If you'd put this on a movie screen in the markj 2004-11-25T19:24:19-05:00 37.536234 -122.06278 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/