900 Year Old Property Is Europe’s First Hotel with Google Glass
Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine
Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine, an exclusive abbey hotel in Spain’s Duero wine region, may be 900 years old, but it’s the first hotel in Europe to offer its guests the hottest new technology of 2014: Google Glass.
Just a couple of hours from Madrid, the property has eight of the wearable computers available for guest use. The devices are like eyeglasses, but they only have one lens that functions as a monitor, as well as a microphone and a speaker at your ear.
Hotel guests can enjoy the many apps and functions of Google Glass, such as: taking pictures (with a verbal command or just the blink of an eye), social media sharing in real time, video footage recording, stargazing with a GPS-based app, browsing information on the internet and making phone calls.
The photos that guests take with their Google Glass are downloaded to a memory stick for them to take home. As new apps become available for Google Glass, LeDomaine will be adding them.
Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine
“Google Glass is the next step in our complete transformation from an ancient and storied abbey to a sophisticated modern hotel offering the highest level of luxury and service in a sublime historic ambiance,” said Andres Araya, managing director of Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine. “With Google Glass, we are introducing our guests to an exciting new 21st century experience in a 12th century setting.”
Imbued with the charm and lore of a bygone age, Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine takes guests back in time while immersing them in the comforts and luxuries of today. The hotel opened in 2012 after a complete restoration that sensitively and imaginatively brought the property into the 21st century – and earned it a Europa Nostra Award from the European Union for conserving cultural heritage.
It was the first hotel in Spain to offer a full butler service and the only Spanish establishment for inclusion in the 2013 edition of the prestigious Relais & Châteaux hotel and restaurant guide. The hotel is currently converting the original stables into eight new guest rooms and a spa, which will be completed in 2015.