By now I’m sure you are familiar with Westin’s signature Heavenly Bed. The pillow top-mattress bed, introduced almost a decade ago, became an instant hit and is credited with starting a revolution in hotel bedding. (You can now buy your own Heavenly Bed at Nordstrom stores.) The mega-popular bed set off a hotel furnishing war of sorts and Wyndham Hotels fired back with a “Smart Chair” aimed to do for comfortable multi-tasking what the Heavenly Bed did for sleeping.
For those of you who don’t frequent Wyndham Hotels the “Smart Chair” is a high-tech furnishing that has integrated pivoting tables, which provide surfaces for dining, writing and computing as well as a built-in power source and an Internet port. It comes in fabric, vinyl and leather and has pockets for newspapers and magazines.
But the “Smart Chair” isn’t the only cutting-edge furnishing found in Wyndham guest rooms. The hotel is trying to set itself apart from its competitors by providing additional room upgrades including brighter lighting and a specially designed alarm clock/radio complete with a music-player adapter and built-in tray for spare change. Unfortunately for Wyndham (but fortunately for travelers) other properties are up to the challenge. Scores of hotels are decking out their guest rooms with cutting-edge elements of their own to keep pace with the Wyndham’s and Westin’s of the world.
For example, Kimpton’s new Hotel Palomar Arlington in Virginia is offering guests bedside lamps that turn on and off by tapping on the base. Meanwhile, the bathrooms at the W Fort Lauderdale are getting new soaking tubs, which feature cushioned backs, retractable nozzles for hair washing, and a tray to hold a book or a drink. In addition, the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts; the MGM Grand in Las Vegas; and the just-opened MGM Grand Detroit all have embedded, hologram-like TVs in bathroom mirrors so you can watch your favorite shows while you are shaving or applying your make up. Not to be outdone, the Westin Chicago River North has started to install “Super Toilets” — Brondell Swash 800 models billed as “the best seat in the house.” The seat is germ-resistant and heated, and the toilet offers an automatic washing and drying system.
Now, if someone could just design an in-room safe large enough to hold a laptop…
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