Tag: Hotel WiFi
View All TagsLisbon Hotels / Gwyneth Paltrow / Portugal Hotels / Celebrity Hotels / Hotel WiFi / Hotel News / → All Tags
Once Again, Gwyneth Paltrow is Gooping Out Hotel Recommendations
Where does Gwyneth Paltrow rest her head when she heads to Lisbon? Subscribers to Paltrow's weekly guide to detoxes and cleansing lifestyle newsletter found out when a guide to Lisbon hit their Inboxes on Thursday. As you might expect, the hotels which received the G.P. Stamp of Approval are grand in stature, with the requisite clean living retreat included in the roundup.
Paris Hotels / France Hotels / Hotel Openings / Hotel Reviews / Hotel WiFi / → All Tags
The Shangri-La Paris Gently Hints At Its Asian Roots
As we previously reported, The Shangri-La Hotel in Paris was once the residence of Napolean's grandnephew, Prince Roland Bonaparte. This week, The Independent showed up to give the sprawling estate the once-over. Four stars were awarded for the rooms, and (somewhat oddly) value, and an impressive five stars for service, making this newcomer to the City of Lights a serious contender on the luxury scene.
No stars were awarded for Horse-Drawn Carriage-ness. Oh, wait, that's not actually a category. Though, any hotel would be wise to include horse-drawn carriages as couples start seeking the most romantic spots for next month's V-day.
Hotel WiFi / Mandarin Oriental Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Technology / → All Tags
Now There's WiFi In Every Room at Mandarin Oriental NY (But You Still Gotta Pay)
Take a quick look at our Annual WiFi Report: Best of 2011, and you know which hotel you won't see on there? Mandarin Oriental New York. That's because, until now, the hotel hasn't really done anything to wow us, even though more and more hotels are gradually making the switch to better, faster, free-er internet.
Well, they still have some work to do on the "free" part (guests must pay a $15/day WiFi fee), but due to "a dramatic shift" in the number of customers using wireless internet, MONY has graciously implemented Ruckus WiFi wall switches in all the guest rooms. So wherever you sit, you'll always manage to find a decent connection because the router is now right there in your room. Plus, the hotel has installed more efficient access points in meeting and conference areas—though, really, who goes to Mandarin Oriental to do work?
Hotel Renovations / Hotel WiFi / Hilton Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Design / Hotel Lobbies / → All Tags
Millenium Hilton Gets Upgraded (But the WiFi Still Isn't Free)
Notice anything different?
We really thought we were getting somewhere with Monday's news about Bryant Park Hotel offering free WiFi. But it seems real change is slow to come.
Though the lobby, restaurant, and bar (above) at Millenium Hilton all benefited from a recent freshening up—new furniture, new colors, new floors—a self-described "technology upgrade" isn't turning out to be quite as state-of-the-art as the hotel would have you believe. Yes, high-speed internet connection is now available from anywhere inside the hotel. But? That convenience comes with a price.
It might be possible to overlook that minor setback and just admire the pretty new granite floors and earthy tones brightening up the whole lobby—if it weren't for our other beef with the unfortunately-located hotel: its proximity to the construction noises of Ground Zero. Now, you know what would be a great, sensible way to compensate for the endless crane-hauling and rock-blasting? No, not earplugs. Free WiFi!
Hotel WiFi / Free WiFi / Manhattan Hotels / Twitter / Hotel Amenities / → All Tags
Guests at Bryant Park Hotel No Longer Have To Walk Across the Street To Get Free WiFi
As of yesterday, the Bryant Park Hotel offers free WiFi
On December 29, a little birdie clued us into the fact that Bryant Park Hotel was considering making the switch to free WiFi. And in a moment of somewhat warranted self-flattery, we wondered if our list of New Year's resolutions for hotels had anything to do with the its decision.
But Front Desk Manager Darren Sumner set the record straight, explaining that over the years, the hotel had received "many, many requests from guests," and simply wanted to "listen to their needs." So it seems we aren't the only ones who like to gripe about hotels still ruthlessly charging for the convenience of in-room WiFi. Not that surprising, really. We're just glad to be a part of the revolution.
HotelChatter 2011 Awards / Hotel Amenities / Portable WiFi / Hotel WiFi / → All Tags
2011 Must-Have Hotel Amenity: Personal WiFi Hotspots
It's what you've been waiting all year for--The 2011 HotelChatter Awards! We'll be bringing you the best and worst of the year all day today and part of tomorrow. Agree or disagree with our picks? Air your thoughts in comments below.
We know that investing in technology products can be a bit of crapshoot. Just when you finally get a brand-new smartphone or decide to invest in an iPad or tablet, the next, newer, better version comes along. Which is why we understand hotels' reluctance to get as gung-ho as we do about the latest hand-held devices. (There is, however, no excuse for chunky box TVs in hotel rooms anymore.)
But we would love it if more and more hotels started offering personal WiFi hotspots for guests like the 4G Huddle station that's on offer at the JW Marriott in Kuala Lumpur. Or the E-mobile portable WiFi device that the Park Hyatt Tokyo offer its guests for about $33 a day and which can be used outside hotel, even when climbing Mt. Fiji.
But if that can't happen, then we'll just settle for an amazingly fast and strong wireless network like the gigaspeed internet the Peninsula Hotels are implementing.
London Hotels / Hotel WiFi / Free WiFi / HotelChatter WiFi Guides / Hotel News / Hotel Blogs / → All Tags
Touchdown! London Hotel Blog Campaigns For Free WiFi, Calling Out the Bad Guys
Where: United Kingdom
What do we want? Free Wifi! When do we want it? Now! Such are the chants heard from London blog London Hotels Insight, who has been pushing for some of the city's most prominent hotels to bite the cost and offer guests free wireless connection. The site's "Free WiFi 'Touchdown' Campaign" has gone official, turning occasional online griping into a full-fledged rallying cry.
Hotel WiFi / Peninsula Hotels / Hotel Tech / Hotel News / → All Tags
Peninsula Hotels Want to Have the Best Hotel WiFi in the World
They've got helipads and helilounges, BMW Minis and even special macarons, but now Peninsula Hotels is making moves to have the best hotel internet network of all.
The big news comes from our buddies at Australian Business Traveller, who note that that first Peninsula to enjoy "gigaspeed Internet" and " 99.99% coverage – no dark spot or black spots" will be the Peninsula Beijing. Why China? Think about that for a second. China makes complete sense, though we admit we're surprised it's not their flagship property in Hong Kong getting all the special tech first.
Portable WiFi / Viva Vegas / Hotel Technology / Hotel WiFi / → All Tags
There's a Mobile Hotspot for Sale Right In This Hotel
We've long lamented about the terrible internet connections in Las Vegas (never free, never fast) so we got a little excited when we saw one of these Best Buy Express vending machines in the lobby of the MGM Grand which offered all sorts of techy gadgets for sale, including a 3G mobile hotspot from Rocketfish Mobile.
What got us even more excited was the note from Best Buy on the left that said "No contract required. Plans start at $10." That was less than what we were paying at the MGM Grand a day (The internet is included in the $20 + tax resort fee.) But of course we weren't going to buy the hotspot there and then, we weren't that desperate. And we're glad we didn't.
OpenThread / Hotel WiFi / iPads / Hotel Technology / Joe Sharkey / Joe Germanotta / iBAHN / Hotel Bandwidth / → All Tags
Would You Pay for More WiFi Bandwidth in Your Hotel Room?
Welcome to our OpenThreads, a free-for-all forum on a hotel-related topic. This is where you can tell us how you, the hotel guest, operates inside a hotel, not the other way around. So jump right in and comment away!
Perhaps the next time we spy iPads in the guestrooms, we shouldn't geek out so much as these tablet devices might be the reason why a hotel's WiFi network is so slow.
NYT biz travel reporter Joe Sharkey says that hotels blame the rapid rise of the iPad and other tablet devices for putting a strain on their network's bandwidth capability. That's because people are checking in and logging on not just with their iPad but their laptop and cellphones (Um, yes. Guilty.)
Sharkey quotes David W. Garrison, the chief executive of iBAHN, (you may know iBahn as the company that's always charging you for internet in your Marriott Hotel room) as saying the iPad is "the final nail in the coffin" for the idea that hotel WiFi should be free. Well, so says someone who's business is to charge for WiFi.
However, the bandwidth problem is a big problem. We talked about it during our 2011 Hotel WiFi Report in April and here's what Joe Germanotta of GuestWiFi about the heavy issue:
Orlando Hotels / Theme Park Hotels / Family Hotels / Hard Rock Hotels / Hotel WiFi / Hotel Boats / → All Tags
Inside The Theme Park Rock Hotel
Here's why Hard Rock Orlando is a great home base for a visit to Universal Orlando: The vibe is "cool parents", at least that is what we liked to tell ourselves while we were on the grounds.
The giant pool, complete with sand and water slide is such a hit with kids it may be hard to drag them away from the pool and get them to the parks, so save the pool for an end of day activity.
Real rock music, not "Kid's Place Live", permeates the lobby and the common spaces, as it does at all Hard Rock's, however, as expected, this property is far more family friendly than some of the other Hard Rocks. Aside from the pool, kids will also be treated to magic tricks at dinner (Thursday nights) if you eat at Kitchen, the on site restaurant. Oh, and most important? Your room key serves as an express pass at the parks allowing you to avoid the lines -- sweet.
Hotel Amenities / Hotel Technology / Hotel WiFi / Portable WiFi / JW Marriott Hotels / Kuala Lumpur Hotels / Park Hyatt Hotels / Tokyo Hotels / → All Tags
Are Personal WiFi Hotspots The Next Hot Hotel Amenity?
Are wireless hot spots the next hot hotel amenity? Judging by these two recent reports from luxury hotels in Asia, they just might be!
First up, a guest sent in this snapshot, above, and description, below, of the YES personal 4G station called the Huddle found at the JW Marriott in Kuala Lumpur. He writes:
YES has a table in the lobby, adjacent to the Front Desk, where guests can borrow (deposit, but no rental charge) a 4G station, called a “Huddle”. Then, for RM50 per day (USD15/day) you get all the wifi data you can eat. That includes downloading their app and turning your iPod Touch or iPhone, or iPad, into a VOIP phone for free… and, you can connect up to 5 devices at one time.
I’m on it right now with my laptop, and have also connected an iPad and my US iPhone 3GS. I now have all the data and calls I can consume, all at a flat rate.
The Huddle is slightly smaller than the iPhone, and would easily slip into my pocket. I now have a wifi hotspot with me, throughout KL… It just needs to plug in and recharge overnight.
Right now, this is only of value in KL, but what a great connectivity platform! Is this what 4G can do for hotels? No more data roaming overseas at randomly high rates?
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