The most high-tech hotels in the world 

Selling sleek sophistication in the heart of Central London, the family-run Eccleston Square Hotel also keeps up to date with all things tech. This historic hotel’s Grade II-listed façade overlooks a residential garden square in Westminster, but step inside for further good impressions, where personalised service melds with intuitive technologies controlling the music, lighting, and even shower walls. If you feel the urge, watch TV from the bathroom mirror and order room service from the in-suite iPad, taking a loaner smartphone out and about around the city. Said to be the best boutique hotel in London, Eccleston Square Hotel has all the luxury offerings in convenient reach of top London attractions, including Big Ben and the West End.

Pinpoint the iconic Space Needle in downtown Seattle and you’ll invariably find Hotel 1000 nearby, boasting its own style of futurism within its adaptable walls. Guests at the waterfront Hotel 1000 can self-select their room’s artwork, music and temperature, and – while high tech cleaners are still a way off – the hotel’s infrared detection system will keep housekeeping at bay until you head out. As well as in-room tablets, touchscreen phones and smart mini bars, the property also has a simulated golfing room where you can practice your swing at any of the world’s top 50 golf courses. After a full day exploring nearby attractions such as the Sky View Observatory and Pike Place Market, pre-arrange a soak with the ‘Bath Butler’ or treat yourself to a massage at the full-service spa.

Those who have ever wanted to know what sleeping on a spaceship feels like can do so at minimal cost at CityHub Amsterdam. While not entirely the real deal, the 50 minimalist sleeping pods here at CityHub are the closest you’ll get while still in touch with creature comforts such as WiFi, audio streaming and app-controlled mood lighting. Each pod comes with a window and guests are given a smart wristband on arrival instead of a door key. While the bathrooms here are shared, the CityHub self-service bar allows you to get to know your podmates beforehand, tapping your wristband to pay for a round with ease. When exploring the city, use the hotel’s free portable WiFi, getting tips and advice via the CityHosts app.

No one understands the art of Zen more than the Japanese, and the people (or rather, bots) of The Henn-Na Hotel are no exception. Henn-Na in Sasebo’s Huis Ten Bosch Theme Park, Kyushu Island, is the world’s first robot-staffed hotel, where guests are greeted at the front desk by multi-lingual bots – one realistic female and two velociraptor bellhops as well as one porter with functioning arms to help with your luggage. The hotel’s commitment to high tech electronics continues within each biometric-controlled room, where a mini-robot assistant comes programmed for wake-up calls, weather forecasts and more. If that wasn’t enough, the hotel also hosts a robot barista and 360-degree VR experience room, just minutes from Casa dos Robos Science Museum.

It must’ve taken a lot of creative brainstorming to come up with the concept for Kameha Grand Zurich, one of the most fun offerings in the Marriott Autograph Collection, based in the Swiss capital. A high-end themed hotel, Kameha has all sorts of suites, from the gentleman’s suite to the workout suite, but it’s the space suite that wins us over with its floating bed, rocket-ship furnishings and galaxy artwork. The best bit is lying on the bed to operate the huge TV overhead, watching the live feed of NASA mission control! Also out of this world are the seven banquet rooms centred by the Kameha Dome, a 700-square-metre domed roof presiding over the function room.

Another futuristic room concept in the heart of Silicon Valley, Hotel Zetta impresses Zuckerberg types with its high tech construction and green ethos. Energy-efficient lighting and Dyson air purifiers are a given across the suites, with some also kitted out with smart TVs and Peloton bikes. Choose your suite wisely to get a chance to play your favourite retro video game, such as Atari Pong in the Zetta Suite, or otherwise immerse yourself in the hotel’s VR Cube, making a move on the hotel’s two-storey Plinko or giant Jenga games as you go. If you can pull yourself from the console-filled ‘Playroom’ or the GenZ-updated telephone booth, opt to fit a workout in at the state-of-the-art gym, refuelling on healthy snacks at your very own VitalBar mini bar.