iPod

Hotels all over are catching on to the current hi-tech entertainment craze, now offering guests the latest gadgets and on-the-go amenities throughout their stay.
Hotels in the KSL Resorts (www.kslresorts.com) portfolio—including the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, CA, the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix, and Emerald Pointe Resort near Atlanta—have expanded their already extensive list of pleasantries to include Apple iPods® and Bose® SoundDock digital music systems in select suites, beginning March 15. With the help of Activaire, a music branding company, the iPods are pre-loaded with signature musical selections and feature the equivalent of 12 albums worth of songs. The sound systems will be designated to the hotels’ new Music Suites.

The chain’s La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, CA, will house 20 of the new suites, which, along with the pre-loaded iPods, will provide guests with disposable headphones and a selection of musical genres, including “chilled,” “loungey,” “upbeat” and “energized.” Guests traveling with their own iPods are invited to insert them into the Bose docking cradle, allowing them the same great experience with their favorite music. KSL’s Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa in Maui will provide iPods to Spa Grande guests who opt for pedicures in the Grand Design Salon. KSL properties are now accepting reservations for Music Suites.

iPodLasVentanas



Las Ventanas Al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort (www.lasventanas.com), the first property with Pool Butlers touting pre-loaded iPods, is now charting new territory by offering its guests Sony LocationFreeTM TVs poolside. The gadgets are lightweight broadband wireless televisions that allow guests to watch programs and DVDs, surf the Web, send e-mails and receive digital photos from virtually anywhere, thanks to their use of a dual-band wireless connection and high-speed Internet port to transmit data.

LocationFree TVs are compact and portable—with a 12.1-inch LCD monitor—and private, as users wear headphones to keep audio output from disturbing anyone around them. A special bonus feature of the TVs is the “Capture” button, which when pressed allows users to freeze the frame so they can capture anything from 1-800 numbers to recipes.

In February, One&Only Palmilla (www.oneandonlyresorts.com) in Los Cabos, Mexico, introduced customized iPods to its guests, pre-loaded with music pursuant to whatever area of the resort in which they’re offered—iPods at the spa are loaded with soothing sounds, while the gym offers energizing, upbeat songs. iPods are also provided in one-bedroom suites—those guests can request that specific music be programmed into their iPods. 

One&Only Palmilla ventures into the future of entertainment by offering guests personal media devices (PMD), which are pre-loaded with a variety of music and movies tailored specifically for each guest prior to arrival. PMDs allow guests to listen to music or watch a movie anywhere on resort property, including the beach. Guests in one-bedroom suites can request specific music and movies be loaded onto their PMD before they arrive.