Want to check out Apple’s iPad, but don’t have your own yet? TravelSort has contacted hotels to find out which ones offer an iPad for guests to use. As you might expect, only a few luxury and upscale boutique hotels offer this amenity to date, so it’s a short list:
1. The Plaza, New York, NY: As of September 2010, the Plaza offers a complimentary iPad in each guest room and suite. Each is pre-loaded with the hotel's virtual concierge application, which enables guests to order room service, reserve a restaurant, check airline schedules, and of course browse the Web.
2. Royalton Hotel, New York, NY: New York's hip Royalton hotel also offers an iPad in each of its 168 rooms and suites. Guests can peruse NYC attraction tips courtesy of the in-house concierge plus those of UrbanDaddy, arrange car service, and browse room service and order meals with one click.
3. Le Pavillon des Lettres, Paris, France: This new boutique hotel is chic and welcoming not only with its warm-hued decor, but also with an iPad for guest use in each of its 26 rooms and suites.
4. Ale House Inn, Portsmouth, NH: Book any Deluxe room and you’ll get complimentary use of an in-room iPad. Other great amenities are iPod docking stations, fridges/freezers, 32-inch flat screen TVs and free Wi-Fi.
5. Ocean House, Watch Hill, RI: This just opened, lovingly restored grand oceanfront hotel in Rhode Island offers 4 iPads, for complimentary use (including Wi-Fi access) anywhere on the hotel property for a maximum of 4 hours at a time. Other superb guest amenities and resort activities range from culinary classes to spa and wellness programs to surfing and fly fishing.
6. Pavilion Hotel, Avalon, Santa Catalina, California: The completely renovated Pavilion Hotel, just a few steps from the beach, now offers complimentary use of 8 iPads in the hotel’s library area, in addition to in-room HD large screen TVs and iHome MP3 players.
7. Soho Grand Hotel, New York, NY: Splurge on one of the Soho Grand Hotel's ten luxurious appointed suites, and in addition to spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline you'll enjoy the use of an iPad with the hotel's own New York City Guide.
8. Ritz-Carlton Berlin, Berlin, Germany: Check into this luxury hotel’s Club Level, on the 10th and 11th floors, and not only will you be treated to beautiful views, fireplace, and five complimentary food and beverage presentations in the Club Lounge, you’ll also have access to the Club Lounge’s iPad to plan your perfect day in Berlin.
9. The Upper House, Hong Kong, China: Even the studios at this luxury hotel are 730 square feet, with king size beds and 366 square feet bathrooms (the size of many NYC hotel rooms). Check-in is via iPad, and several iPads are available for complimentary guest use in the hotel.
10. The St. Regis Hotel, Vancouver, Canada: While not free, the front desk at the St. Regis does offer several iPads to guests on a first-come, first-served basis for $25/day, and guests may take them with them around the city as a portable city guide.
11. Four Seasons Hotel,Washington DC, Washington, DC: Guests dining at the hotel’s award-winning Seasons restaurant are welcome to borrow the restaurant’s iPad (or a Kindle) on a first come, first served basis. Perfect for guests looking to catch up on the news, with over 80 different newspapers from 15 countries.
12. The Charles Hotel, Cambridge, Cambridge, MA: offers an iPad in the hotel lobby, for guests to sign out, and another available to guests in the hotel’s opulent Presidential Suite. Both iPads are preloaded with books, Google Maps, Skype, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and more.
13. The Ritz-Carlton Chicago, Chicago, IL: deca restaurant + bar, the hotel’s recently opened stylish art-deco-inspired brasserie, offers two iPads preloaded with the restaurant’s menu and photos of the dishes. Bon appétit!
14. Hotel Indigo, San Diego, CA: This new boutique hotel in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter uses an iPad as a digital guest book, for guests to record their impressions of their stay, and another iPad is available (under hotel staff supervision) to ask the hotel’s Facebook fans and Twitter followers for recommendations about what to see and do in San Diego.
15. Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale, Scottsdale, AZ: Rent one of the two new luxury cabanas poolside, and you’ll find them equipped with an iPad to read pre-loaded books and browse the Internet.
Know of other hotels that offer iPads for guest use? Tell us in the comments!