Tag Archives: hotel

The Ultimate Hotel Room

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Longtime readers of GNC will recall that we sometimes divert from the path of pure geek to cover other interesting topics and there’s been a short series of strange hotels. We’ve had aircraft fuselages, boxes in the woods and undergrounds caverns. However, this has to be the ultimate hotel room at the Conrad Rangali Island Maldives Hotel, even if it is only temporary.

Normally, this underwater space is a dining room but to celebrate the restaurant’s 5th anniversary, it’s being converted into a luxury undersea bedroom for a limited period. It’s 5 m to the surface.

 

The Underground Hotel

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If you want to get away from it all, then this hotel (motel) room in the Grand Canyon Caverns might be just for you.  Over 200 ft down in a vast underground cavern, you’ll be pretty much guaranteed to get an undisturbed night’s sleep, even if the bomb goes off.  New for 2010 and situated in a cave 200 ft wide, 400 ft long and with a 70 ft ceiling, you’re also unlikely to find a hotel room much bigger.

Rates are a slight pricey $700 per night for two, with additional guests at $100 each but it would be a pretty unforgettably experience.  Totally dark and totally quiet.  It’s a dry cave system so there’s not even the drip of water to break the silence.  Regrettably, if you’re not an early riser, you’ll have to put up with tours coming through the cave while you’re still snoozing.

I visited the caves while on holiday last week, though I didn’t stay overnight.  You’ll find the Grand Canyon Caverns on Route 66 between Seligman and Peach Springs, Arizona.

Get your kicks here.

(During the Cuban missile crisis, the caves were designated as bomb shelters by Kennedy.  Enough food and water to keep 2000 people alive for 30 days was brought down into the caves….and it’s still there.)

Two-Tiered Hotel WiFi may Satisfy Todd’s Need for Speed

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Actually, I stopped using hotel WiFi because of this, too. You end up getting speeds slower than a modem and sometimes you are paying $10-$15 a day for it.

However, with the cloud looming and people wanting to watch YouTube videos and doing live meetings like GotoMeeting, the average user’s need for better speeds is a necessity. The standard 802.11b wifi router in the office – 150 feet away from your room – just won’t cut it anymore.

Hotels like InterContinental are experimenting with Tiered WiFi. For $10 a day, you can get a speed to check your email and Facebook. However, for $15 a day, you get some better connection speeds. No word what the “Better” speed would be – I would hope it would be at least 2 down, 2 up.

Then again, with 3G and 4G connections getting better in the US, will hotels benefit from making a tiered connection?

When in Vegas last June, I rented a 4G connection. I didn’t use the hotel Wireless because the 4G had better speed and cost less. I could work in my room, in the convention hall, in the lobby or in another location alltogether.

I was even in the airport watching GNC’s live show while waiting for my flight.

Two things I can see using a tiered hotel plan. One is if you need even more speed than 4G – One machine can run on 4G while the other connects via wireless. The other reason is if your 3G or 4G is a limited plan and you don’t want to go over 2 GB.

For people like myself or Todd, we need a better connection just to keep up with our daily lives. Not everyone needs that – but for those of us who do, having the option will be great.

Tree Hotel Mirrorcube

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Continuing the series of insane hotels, I offer the Mirrorcube at the Tree Hotel, Harads, Sweden.  It’s a 4m by 4m by 4m aluminium cube covered in mirrored glass hung round a tree trunk.  Once it’s in place, it simply disappears into the forest.  The panoramic views from the windows must be absolutely stunning.

Designed by Tham & Videgård Arkitekter, the cube is a treehouse for two people, with room for a kitchenette, bathroom, bedroom and roof terrace.  None of the pictures show how you actually get into the cube but rope ladders and bridges are mentioned in the blurb.

In case you are wondering about birds flying into the cube, apparently the glass is coated in an ultraviolet colour which is invisible to us but visible to birds.

A must for all Predators taking a short break on Earth.



Hotel Suite for Aviation Buffs or “Lost” Fans

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If you are an aviation buff or a “Lost” fan, then this is the hotel suite for you.  It’s Boeing 727 perched in a tree in the tropical oasis that is Hotel Costa Verde in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rico.  Seriously – check out the pictures if you don’t believe me.

According to the blurb, the 1965-era plane was rescued from a graveyard in San Jose, taken apart and then shipped to Costa Rico on five trucks before being re-assembled in the treetops.

At $500 per night, doesn’t seem too outrageous for a two bedroom suite (assuming that’s the price for the suite and not per person.)  There are more pictures on the hotel’s website.