Poolside technology

Alex Coolman

NEWPORT BEACH -- Jorge Gabriel didn’t look like he planned to get in the

water.

The systems manager for the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach was clad

in full business attire to demonstrate the new telecommunications

technology that’s available poolside at the hotel.

But if Gabriel seemed a little out of place in a setting dotted with tan,

recumbent bodies, swaying palm trees and girls carrying around stacks of

fluffy towels, that was only at first glance. The image is actually

reflective of a trend in the hotel industry to more effectively merge

business and relaxation.

Where the Four Seasons was once proud to boast having comfortable chairs

and crystal-clear water, it now offers telephones and high-speed data

ports at many of its lounges.

Rather than merely frittering away their time with activities such as

sunning and relaxation, hotel guests can spend their hours selling

stocks, e-mailing clients and in other ways interfacing with the ether of

cyberspace.

The high-tech update is part of a much larger renovation at the Fashion

Island hotel -- a $1.7-million face-lift that included the installation

of new pool decks, pool furniture and a palm-thatch palapa.

What was formerly a beautiful but somewhat tame setting for swimming laps

has been transformed into something more exotic: a sort of tiki-tinged

day trader’s fantasy, where business and pleasure imperceptibly come

together.

The renovation, hotel manager Mark Tamis explained, tried to take into

account the way today’s travelers use their hotel time: shorter vacations

and a greater demand for work-related facilities are in high demand.

“Now they can do it all in one spot,” he said. “They never have to miss a

minute of the sunbathing or the pina coladas or anything else.”