Crave

Using a Sony Reader, a guest at Miami's Epic Hotel catches up on summer reading on the hotel's 16th floor pool deck.

(Credit: Epic Hotel )

Open the nightstand in some hotels these days and you'll find a Sony Reader alongside the bible. Expanding a hotel trend of offering access to high-tech amenities like iPods, a number of establishments are now adding complimentary e-book readers to their lists of perks.

OK, the gadgets won't literally be next to the bible. At Gansevoort establishments in Manhattan, Miami, and Turks & Caicos, guests can relax poolside with Sony Readers, doled out for free on a first-come, first-served basis. (New York's Gansevoort also lends out Nintendo Wiis.)

Kimpton's swank new Epic Hotel in Miami, meanwhile, has just launched Epic Page Turner, a whole program centered on reading. In addition to giving guests a complimentary copy of an old-fashioned paper book (remember those?), the hotel loans out Sony Readers. An online "Epic Virtual Nightstand" lets guests access book excerpts from an in-room desktop computer.

The Readers at Epic come preloaded with excerpts and at least one complimentary title, but if you want to read more, it'll cost you. About 200,000 additional requested titles are available at a cost of the book's price (generally $15 per title or less), plus a small download fee, which Epic will donate to the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe Counties.

It's nice to see hotels accommodating techie bibliophiles, though Sony Readers may have some stiff competition for guests' eyes. At the Epic, at least, the devices will be battling with flat-screen LCDs between 37 and 42 inches.

Meanwhile, New York's Algonquin Hotel, which is known as a gathering place for literary and artistic luminaries, has been offerings guests use of Amazon's Kindle since last year. Naturally, Kindle-using guests at the Algonquin can read titles from Algonquin Round Table authors like Edna Ferber and Robert Benchley.

The Snow Hotel: don't forget to pack your footsie pajamas!

(Credit: Snow Hotel)

Looking at pictures of the Snow Hotel in Kemi, Finland, sent chills down my wimpy California spine. The Web site promises that the invigorating 41-degree guest rooms will give you sweet dreams and a memorable sleeping experience. A night of chattering teeth and blue lips does indeed sound memorable, though not the kind of sunny vacation memories I personally long for.

The nearby Snow Chapel offers a place to sit, meditate, and shiver.

(Credit: Snow Chapel)

Nonetheless, some people (those, say, who feel a strong kinship to the Snow Queen in "Chronicles of Narnia") will undoubtedly enjoy the novelty and trendiness of igloo-like accommodations made entirely of snow.

The hotel has single, double, and group rooms, and even a honeymoon suite, ranging from about $176 a night to $420 a night. Fortunately, those prices include a thermal sleeping bag and daily shuttle pick-up for guests who want to grab a steamy shower at another local guest house that isn't made of snow.

The hotel is part of a larger icy getaway by the Gulf of Bothnia that includes the Snow Castle, which showcases snow art and architecture and hosts events like concerts and magic shows. Nearby, there's even a Snow Chapel for brides who aren't too attached to the idea of a sleeveless wedding dress.

But you don't have much time left to visit the site this year. High season will be over in a matter of weeks, weather permitting, and the Kemi hotel--and other snow and ice hotels like it--will be gone until next winter.

(Credit: Runtriz)

Plenty of iPods at the iHotel California: I believe that's how The Eagles would sing their famous song if they composed it today.

The California hotel in question is the Malibu Beach Inn--quite possibly the first hotel in the state, if not the world, to implement an iPhone/iPhone-based system of hotel management.

The system is developed by Runtriz, a software firm based in Hollywood. Its product, called "Hotel Evolution," is an application designed for the iPhone and the iPod Touch that helps bring hotels up to technological speed and even a little further.

When checking in at the hotel, you'll be asked to have the application installed on your iPhone or iPod Touch, if you have one. If you don't (now what's wrong with you?), the hotel will provide you with a 16GB iPod Touch, preloaded with the application, to use during the stay.

After that, everything else is done via the app. You can order food, drinks, spa and concierge service, plus shop and more via touching the device's screen. Runtriz makes money by charging the hotel $10 per room for the service. It's unclear whether hotel guests have to take up the extra charge.

It's also unclear how the app gets installed on your iPhone (I tried looking for it at Apple's App Store, but it's not there).

What's clear though, fortunately, is that the hotel won't make Steve Jobs' traditional attire its dress code, even though chances are you already wear jeans and T-shirts yourself. And it would only be fitting if the hotel equipped its restrooms with iCarta potty iPod holders.

If after the stay, you somehow forget to return the device, your credit card will be charged for its value plus some for the hotel's revenue.

(Via Fashion Funky)

Heartbreak Hotel for theft victims?

The BBC reports that a Dutch teenager has been arrested for allegedly stealing 4,000 euros' (about $5,800) worth of virtual furniture from "rooms" in the social-networking site Habbo Hotel.

Five 15-year-olds have also been questioned by the police in connection to this incident. The six teens are suspected of moving the stolen furniture into their own Habbo rooms.

The lines between "virtual" and "reality" continue to blur. At first glance, the idea of stealing virtual furniture seems ludicrous. But, the furniture was paid for with real money. A Habbo Hotel spokesman told the BBC that "the accused lured victims into handing over their Habbo passwords by creating fake Habbo Web sites." So there is also a phishing fraud involved.

(Credit: OhGizmo)

Even some of the most jaded Cravers were admittedly impressed by the recently cited $1 million-plus RV and its over-the-top appointments. But less than a week later, it's already been topped by an even more outrageous concept.

The Spanish-made "Hotel Movil" isn't just a mobile home: It's a mobile hotel. Or motel, as the case may be. In fact, OhGizmo says it can convert to pretty much anything you want--"a mobile hospital, a portable film studio and even a school"--because it must be built to custom specs anyway. Yet its primary use is envisioned as a two-story, 11-bedroom "traveling" hotel that even has an outdoor terrace and is equipped with private bathrooms, flat-screen TVs, Wi-Fi networks and luxurious amenities that can qualify for a 5-star rating.

Talk about a "boutique" hotel. The $500,000 base price may be a bit off-putting, but a Hotel Movil can be rented for about $8,000 for a weekend. Remember, it's not too soon to start thinking about the next Super Bowl party.

Beyonce filming Samsung commercial

(Credit: GeekSugar)

If Samsung knows anything, it's marketing. It's a key reason that the South Korean company has gone from being known as a lower-end electronics brand to an international powerhouse in what seems like just a few years. The latest evidence: Beyonce.

GeekSugar, our favorite techno-celeb watcher, reports that the mega-star has been spotted filming her first commercial in downtown Manhattan under a new deal to represent Samsung Electronics. Perhaps this latest career move was influenced by the marketing genius of Jay-Z, who reportedly has made many more millions from his clothing lines and other businesses than he did in his music career. Either way, it's a coup for Samsung's marketing department.

Worth noting: A few blogs have identified the shoot's location as the techno-chic Hotel Gansevoort. If that's true, we'd like to note that Crave's Caroline McCarthy got there first.

You may have seen something like this at a hotel or airport, but now it could be coming to your home (if you have an understanding spousal unit or significant other).

(Credit: Concept & Management)

The Ronda Media Chair has a built-in computer with a router integrated into the frame and a power cord in the back. As Coolest Gadgets points out, no prices are available without asking the company directly.

The Ronda also includes optional creature comforts such as a matching two-seater bench or end table. If they can figure out a way to build in a coffee maker and a fridge, we'd be seriously tempted.

(Update: Alert Craver Chris wrote in to tell us that the enterprising folks at SlashGear ferreted out these specs for the PC: "The computer itself is based around a touchscreen 10.4-inch TFT with compact, back-lit keyboard and trackpoint-style mouse, running WinXP Pro embedded on a 1GHz Celeron M with half-a-gig of RAM and a 20GB 1.8-inch hard drive.")

"CrackBerry" addicts are getting much-needed help from, of all things, the hotel industry.

(Credit: RIM)

A few months back, the Sheraton Chicago made headlines by offering afflicted guests a harsh but effective cold-turkey treatment that put their BlackBerries under lock and key. Now, Hyatt hotels are offering a special hand massage designed to counter the dreaded "BlackBerry Thumb" malady.

The therapy begins with heat treatment and uses a "BlackBerry Balm" that "focuses on counteracting tension on various hand and arm muscles, specifically in the thumbs and overworked wrists," Hyatt said, adding that a 30-minute appointment runs about $30. Rumor has it that Treo users have been seen sneaking into the sessions as well.

It's been rumored that hotel clerks can sometimes be--how shall we put it--not exactly the most cheerful people around. (Holiday Inn, are you listening?) So this may come as welcome news for those weary travelers who have had the occasional urge to reach across the front desk and throttle anyone wearing a blue blazer and a name tag.

Tokyo-based Pink Tentacle reports that Japanese researchers are working on "unmanned hotels" featuring a system of RFID credit card keys that could be used for everything from making reservations to opening room doors. The possibilities are endless: If such hotels are equipped with Roombas, the only humans left in the buildings may be the guests.

(Photo: Pink Tentacle)