TW6 2GD Travel Guide
Airport Hotels
The Sofitel London at Heathrow Goes High-Tech on TV
October 9, 2008 at 9:35 AM | 0 Comments
We already figured out that the Sofitel London Heathrow T5 is pretty high on the high-tech side of hotel life, what with its complicated air-conditioner controls, referred to by tech-friendlier guests as "cool gizmos".
But now there is high-tech TV as well. The Acentic Panorama system just launched in the Heathrow Sofitel and this is meant to be a mix of on-demand and interactive TV services that should probably satisfy pretty much anyone. We're usually pretty fussy about this, but it certainly doesn't sound too bad to get this:
access to 500 international satellite TV channels and up to 250 movies - all available totally on demand and with the ability to pause, fast-forward and rewind the movies.
We were thinking that an airport hotel is not the place we're going to be spending a lot of time--mostly we just want to sleep there--but since many of the rooms at the Heathrow Sofitel include a TV in the bathroom, there's plenty of chance to watch the latest movie right to the end. Useful for some but not all, that's our final judgment.
Airport Hotels
Sofitel Bring High-Tech Luxury to Heathrow's T5
August 11, 2008 at 10:24 AM | 0 Comments
It's early days in the life of the new Sofitel London Heathrow which is the only hotel that directly connects to the airport's Terminal 5. The hotel soft opened in July but should now be fully functioning. And it's not your average airport hotel either.
The concept architect was Stephen Williams (Conrad Hotel in Chelsea Harbour) with the interiors designed by Khuan Chew who worked on the Burj al Arab.
Themes of country and continent resonate throughout the hotel; in the entrance lobby ‘Antarctica’ takes central stage with a dramatic water fountain centrepiece commissioned from RHS Chelsea winner David Harber.
Khuan Chew’s also created one of the most swank suites we've heard about in an airport hotel yet--the hotel's Imperial Suite include the first Swarovski crystal bathrooms in a European.
