By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — Guests who check into the old-world luxury of the Plaza Hotel have brand new technology to play with: the hotel is installing iPads in every room.
The hotel, famous for its Eloise suite and stunning views of Central Park, began installing the popular touch screen devices at the end of last month.
Guests can use the gizmo's proprietary software to make restaurant reservations, request wake-up calls and access maps and city guides, as well as control the temperature in their rooms, make spa appointments and even order room service, without having to pick up the phone.
Haley Halliburton, 15, who traveled from Dallas, Texas, to the city for Fashion Week, said that when she discovered the iPad docked in her room, she was so impressed she couldn't wait to tell the folks back home.
"I was like, 'Whoa!' I texted my friends. It was cool!" she said, adding that she was most impressed by the feature that lets guests use the device program how bright they'd like their rooms.
Kamil Uslu, 40, a tourist from Turkey, also appreciated the hotel's iPad touch.
"It was nice, easy," he said. "I've never seen that before."
The hotel already has a history with iPads. The devices have been a hit with guests who get to use them while dining at the hotel's Palm Court restaurant, a spokeswoman said.
But it turns out the Plaza isn't the first hotel to give iPads a try. The Royalton Hotel in Midtown at 44 W. 44th St. also advertises one in every room.
iPads have also taken off in other businesses around the city, where they're being used for everything from entertaining salon customers as they wait for their nails to dry to ringing up customers' orders in place of traditional cash registers.
