Business travel bulletin

Sleep easy

Two smart new hotels aimed at business travellers have increased the stopover options in Copenhagen. Adina Apartment Hotel (Amerika Plads 7, +45 3969 1000, www.adina.eu.com) is a high-rise home-from-home near the Little Mermaid and Østerport station. With rooms stylishly kitted out in red, tan and white, and super-soft beds, Adina’s one- and two-bedroom apartments and studios have everything you’ll need for a comfortable self-catering stay: a cooker, dishwasher, fridge/freezer and tableware, as well as a washing machine and dryer. To add to the creature comforts, there’s a sauna, gym and indoor pool. Some apartments’ views of the railtracks and a building site next door may not be exactly romantic, but at least the windows are sufficiently soundproofed to keep construction clatter at bay.

On the other side of town, south of Langebro and the charcoal-coloured Royal Library, stands architect Kim Utzon’s 326-room, glass-fronted Copenhagen Island (Kalvebod Brygge 53, +45 3338 9600, www.copenhagenisland.com), which was built on a man-made spit overlooking the harbour. The standard rooms aren’t large, but they’re cleverly designed to make the most of the space and the furniture is high quality. The executive suites have balconies with calming views over the water. The hotel was undergoing some teething troubles in reception during Sterling’s visit, with a half-clad elevator and some unfinished areas, but it’s all in working order now.

Quiet down

Background noise can be one of the most stressful things about travelling. With that in mind, Bose has launched a new set of headphones – the QuietComfort 3 (QC3) – which cancels out unwanted noise. You can wear the QC3 alone to enjoy total silence (you’ll stand a much better chance of getting to sleep on a train or plane), or to enjoy superior sound quality through your MP3 player. You won’t look like you ought to be operating noisy equipment on a building site, either – the slim design means the QC3 has the sleek look of regular headphones.
Bose QuietComfort 3 €399
+46 (0)31 87 88 50
www.bose.com

BlackBerry backlash

Academics have suggested that the combination of portable internet and phone access made possible by the BlackBerry might be encouraging multi-tasking so much as to be counter-productive. Last year, Dr Alan Hedge of New York’s Cornell University highlighted a repetitive strain injury known as “BlackBerry thumb”. Now the Sheraton Chicago is offering a BlackBerry detox service that challenges guests not to use the devices during their stay. It was the hotel manager’s idea after he successfully went ‘cold turkey’ and switched back to his mobile phone. If your loved ones are looking for ways to persuade you to give up your most treasured possession, this will only add weight to their argument.

TV that travels

TV channel subscriptions give you access to your favourite programmes in your living room, but if you travel with your job, you’re limited by the TV available in your hotel room – and still paying a cable bill at home. Launched in Sweden, Slingbox enables your TV channel subscriptions to travel wherever you do. Using broadband internet access, Slingbox connects to the same channels you subscribe to at home. Just make sure you schedule your meetings around those can’t-miss shows.