ChinAfrica Travel

Everyone needs a helping hand now and again. Understanding this, Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel and Anantara Bangkok Riverside Resort & Spa now offer a complimentary smartphone called "handy" in all guest rooms, and are the first hotels in Thailand to offer such a service.

Much more than just a smartphone, this aptly named device is preloaded with destination-specific features to offer a superior guest experience and interactive travel solutions for leisure and business travelers. Handy keeps guests connected, informed and entertained 24 hours a day, both onsite at the hotels and when they are on the move.

Handy also offers unlimited local and international calls to ten destinations including Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, China, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. Unlimited 3G data connectivity comes with a WiFi tethering capability to other mobile devices such as laptops and tablets and also pre-installed popular social media apps like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These features negate the hassle and expense of data roaming and high phone bills, and make it exceptionally easy to stay connected with friends, family or work.

Whether guests are in Bangkok for business or pleasure, getting out and about for sightseeing, shopping, events or meetings are seamless with a selection of pre-installed travel apps, including currency conversion, maps, GPS, news and translation services, enhanced by the option of installing additional apps from the Google Play Store. An informative digital city guide includes recommendations and promotions for restaurants, shops and tourist attractions, with both Anantara Bangkok Riverside Resort & Spa and Anantara Bangkok Siam Hotel boasting prime locations enabling guests to take full advantage of this feature and make the most of their time in the Thai capital. Returning to the hotels after exploring the city is made easy using the handy taxi card feature, which details the hotels' addresses written in Thai with a location map included for easy reference.

At two of Anantara's luxury urban hotels that are renowned for impeccable service and personalized hospitality, handy provides a state-of-the-art travel companion that takes the guest experience to a whole new level, with direct dial features that can be used whilst on the move around the city, as well as at the hotels. Guests can look up hotel information and even more usefully, handy delivers message notifications about hotel news, events and special offers. In addition, guests also have instant access to the hotel concierge, allowing for special requests and reservations to be made on the go, perhaps to book an Anantara Spa appointment or order in-room dining for when they return.

Providing total peace of mind, guests of Anantara Bangkok Siam Hotel and Anantara Bangkok Riverside Resort & Spa can rest assured that at check-out the browsing history of their handy, any additional apps that have been installed and all personal information will be removed when the device is reset.

About Anantara:

For hundreds of years throughout Thailand, people would leave a jar of water outside their house to provide refreshment and extend a welcome to the passing traveler. Anantara is taken from an ancient Sanskrit word that means 'without end', symbolising this sharing of water and the heartfelt hospitality that lies at the core of every Anantara experience.

From lush jungles to pristine beaches and legendary deserts to cosmopolitan cities, Anantara currently boasts over 30 stunning properties located in Thailand, the Maldives, Bali, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Zambia and Mozambique; with future properties to open China, Sri Lanka, Oman, Mauritius, Laos, Tunisia, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.

For more information on Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas, please visit www.anantara.com

About Global Hotel Alliance

Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) is the world´s largest alliance of independent hotel brands. GHA currently includes 32 brands such as Anantara, Art Series, Atura, AVANI, Doyle Collection, First, Kempinski, Individual Collection, Leela, Lungarno Collection, Marco Polo, Mokara, Omni, Pan Pacific, PARKROYAL, Per AQUUM, QT, Rixos, Rydges, Shaza, Tangram, Thon and Tivoli encompassing over 500 upscale and luxury hotels with over 100,000 rooms in 76 different countries. Go to www.gha.com for more.