Hotel furnishings go high-tech, eco-friendly

— -- Wyndham Hotels' new "Smart Chair" aims to do for in-room lounging and working what Westin's Heavenly Bed did for sleeping.

The Westin pillowtop-mattress bed, introduced in 1999, was an instant hit and is credited with starting a revolution in hotel bedding.

The Smart Chair, designed by Michael Graves & Associates, is currently ensconced at select Wyndams (the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, downtown Atlanta, and Princeton, N.J., to name a few). It is due chainwide by the end of 2008.

The chair has integrated pivoting tables that provide surfaces for dining, writing and computing as well as a built-in power source and Internet port. It comes in fabric, vinyl and leather and has pockets for newspapers and magazines.

"We felt the 'bed wars' were over and turned our focus to signature products that would appeal to a new generation of travelers, namely the Gen Xers," says Evy Apostolatos, a Wyndham spokeswoman. Other Wyndham room upgrades in the works include brighter lighting and a Michael Graves-designed alarm clock/radio with a music-player adapter and built-in tray for spare change. A "Wyntunes" option lets guests listen to a preprogrammed selection of songs from emerging artists.

The Smart Chair is just one of the cool new furnishings on the hotel landscape, aimed at travelers who expect rooms with more bells and whistles. Other cutting-edge elements of room décor include:

•Eco-friendly furnishings and recycling wastebaskets. Scores of hotels are making efforts to go green. The Lake Powell Resort in Page, Ariz., even has "EcoRooms," whose bathrooms have counters that look like granite but actually incorporate recycled glass. Bathroom floors are made from recycled glass and ceramics. Toilets are water-efficient and the toilet paper is biodegradable. Even the cleaning products are eco-friendly.

•Furnishings you want to take home. The Heavenly Bed prompted guests to ask if they could buy one. It's now sold in Westin's online boutique and at Nordstrom stores. Wyndham plans to sell the Smart Chair and other Graves products (including an ice bucket) online in late '08.