Whether carrying a suitcase for a short gateway or living from a briefcase, the first thing people probably do as they step into a hotel is check the Wi-Fi signal.
As creatures living in a cutting-edge world, we expect our dwelling quarters to be technologically equipped and, thus, hotel surroundings are no exemption.
Some hotels around the world are going above and beyond to make an impression with high-tech features of utmost elegance while some create innovative plans for environmental sustainability. We look at some of the world’s revolutionary hotels.
The newly renovated interior of London Marriott Hotel Park Lane showcases a blend of modernism and historical authenticity. The building has been accentuated in terms of design and materials used but without neglecting some state-of-the-art upgrades. Guests are offered a mobile check-in option, while those who require a document urgently printed will have access to the Air Printer at the Concierge Desk through the hotel’s Wi-Fi connection.
The best of the hotel’s technological advances can be found past the doors of its three meeting rooms: Oxford Suite, Hyde Park Suite and Mayfair Boardroom. All redesigned in 2015, the cutting-edge technology found within the space includes the latest in audio and visual equipment. Guests can make use of a planning website at MeetingsImagined.com before their meeting.
The platform allows users to design the entire look and feel of an event or meeting using interactive web tools and image galleries. Once their event commences, users are able to keep track of it with their mobile or tablet device using a meeting services app, Red Coat Direct. Real-time requests can be made to the events team, which eliminates some of the stress of preparing and hosting an occasion.
The future is now, as seen through the revolutionary guest rooms of The Peninsula Hong Kong (pictured). Packed with modern business and bedside comforts, all guest rooms come with multi-language touch-screen tablets to control lights, curtains, television, temperature and more. A PenCities virtual city guide, restaurant menus and hotel services are also a mere touch away thanks to these interactive digital screens.
For those who miss home, they can make free international calls via Voice over Internet Protocol (better known as VOIP), both in-room and when traveling in the hotel’s Rolls-Royce fleet. Guests can also set up an office in their room with wireless connection to personal electronic devices and to the all-in-one fax, printer, photocopier and scanner.
For maximum relaxation, The Peninsula’s en suite marble bathrooms have LED touch-screen panels for terrestrial and Internet television, plus access to more than 400 radio stations. You can play around with the mood lighting and get a customized ambient spa setting for a luxurious, integrated light and sound experience.
The Peninsula Chicago also recently underwent a similar gadgetry upgrade to Hong Kong, soon to be followed by the Peninsula Paris.
Nothing tops being able to hear beats underwater. There is no doubt about the tech-savviness of W Singapore with its outdoor swimming pool fitted with underwater speakers, allowing guests to perform laps as a series of aural waves cheer them on. The music doesn’t seem to stop: once out of the waters as guests can rent a private cabana by the pool, with an iPad and iPod on offer.
For those staying in the Extreme WOW Suite, expect to be entertained with a 55in television and Bose surround sound. There is even a DJ booth featuring two state-of-the-art turntables and a selection of records.
Around the hotel, extensive use of LED lighting is apparent, which allows the hotel to reduce overall energy use by about 39 percent. The hotel also focuses on green initiatives such as paperless signage and sustainable meeting practices, meaning more digital screens to present events and programming within the hotel’s public spaces.
