HotelChatter - Tag: Hotel Technology

Amsterdam: High-Tech Room Keys at The Hotel Patou But Shame About The Noise

juliab — 2009-11-10T09:44:25-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/21888/patou2.jpg" class="top"> Following on from our <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/11/4/211341/962/hotels/The_Best_of_The_Do_Not_Disturb_Signs">Do Not Disturb gallery</a> yesterday, today we present to you the funky room keys at the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hotel+Patou/local/1598">Hotel Patou</a>, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/amsterdam%20hotels">Amsterdam</a>, where we stayed this summer. The Patou is a trendy little hotel on designer haven Hooftstraat, and as befits such a stylish gaffe, it eschews actual keys (too retro) and cards (too common) for these ingenious electronic key fobs. Ingenious? Well yes. Because they are exceptionally light, hence easy to hoof around, have a nice leash to make losing them tricky (lets face it, youre in Amsterdam, and losing your key will be a pretty sure thing), and they dont deactivate if you stick them next to your phone, as cards

Will Hilton's iPhone App Really Be as Functional as They Promise?

juliana — 2009-11-09T09:32:36-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/hiltoniphoneapps.jpg" class="top"> <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/hilton hotels">Hilton Hotels</a> announced today that they would be unveiling not just one or two but seven iPhone apps in the next week or so for hotel guests to use. The apps will be brand-specific, i.e. Doubletree will have its own app, Conrad Hotels will have its own app and so will Embassy Suites. It's an app-travaganza! (Word is that an app for the Waldorf-Astoria collection is in the works as well.)Now, you already know how we feel about iPhone apps. A few weeks ago, we rounded up all of the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/10/13/15371/423/hotels/For_Better_or_Worse_These_Hotels_Have_Realized_There_s_An_App_For_That_">hotel iPhone apps</a> that were currently available in the iTunes store. Most of these have little to add to the already popular app of

Chicago: Elysian Chicago Gives a Sneak Peek of Its Rooms and TV Mirrors

Jennifer Kester — 2009-10-26T09:17:14-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/34094/elysianTV.jpg" class="top"> The Elysian Chicago's grand-opening date got pushed back to mid-November, but the hotel's giving us a taste of what to expect in its 188 guest rooms and suites, which include high-tech amenities like television mirrors. Averaging at 890 square feet, rooms are decked out in grays and other muted shades. And they all have marble bathrooms with soaking tubs, furnished balconies fireplaces and kitchens. But the perks we like most are the free wireless and the dual vanities with inset SÉURA LCD televisions in the bathrooms. When you turn it on, the LCD picture floats on one of the two mirrors. When you turn it off, the LCD vanishes, leaving behind a normal-looking mirror. What fun it'll

Split: Spinning Croatian Hotel Will Have Best Views For Everybody

amandak — 2009-10-23T09:03:42-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/Rotating_Hotel_Croatia.jpg" class="top"> You know how they charge a bit more for the rooms with a good view? There's one way to solve this dilemma and get no complaints about it, although it's a pretty hi-tech solution: build a rotating hotel. That's exactly what they're planning in Croatia where some spinning accommodation will be built on olta Island, near the city of Split.But don't worry, it's not turning at a rate likely to make you dizzy. The design has it rotating 1.3 times per day, barely fast enough to notice at all, and at the right pace so that if you stay a few days, you'll get a different view at all times of day. It will be just a

Hong Kong: Hong Kong's Upper House Hotel Does Technology Right

amandak — 2009-10-16T08:43:38-05:00

Technology is meant to be all about making our lives easier, right? The newly-opened Upper House Hotel in Hong Kong seems to have got this figured out just right.

The hi-tech experience starts from the airport transfer in a (good-for-the-environment) hybrid Lexus car, because this car has got WiFi on board, and it's free for you to use for the whole ride to the hotel, and back. This would sure give us a great first impression, and it sounds like it continues, because the Upper House provides free internet connection (WiFi and wired) throughout all the guest rooms and public areas of the hotel.