Opus Hotel Upgrades Their Phone system with iPhones

During our most recent stay in the Grand Hyatt in downtown Seattle, we were impressed that an iPhone and iPod compatible “iHome” mini stereo system and alarm clock was provided standard our hotel rooms. Unfortunately, the hotel did not provide a smart phone or even an mp3 player.

At the Opus hotel in Yaletown, Vancouver, they appear to be taking it up a notch.

The hotel is offering one iPhone smart phone per room, with data coverage connected to the hotel’s internet and will have the ability to send and receive phone calls internationally, as to avoid roaming charges.

These iPhones will replace the obsolete touch tone wireless phones found in every hotel of the past and marks the start of a new era of technology – one where the normal traveler is expected to be knowledgeable on smart phone usage and touch-screen technology.

Obviously, if you don’t know how to use an iPhone, don’t want to, or already have a smart phone of your own, you can leave the iPhone docked in its iHome. The iPhone is customized with applications that will keep the guest connected to the hotel, offering concierge services and contact information to all of the hotel departments, so the phone can prove as a valuable tool to any guest entering the city for sightseeing or business related events.

Nicholas Gandossi, Opus Vancouver’s general manager, explains that these technologies are a part of life today, and are not so much perks as they are necessities.

Opus was also the first hotel in Canada to offer and iPad 2 in every room.

Opus Vancouver has stepped up their game, topping iHomes with iPads and iPhones. The only question that remains is a simple one: will we be able to keep up?