Alex Hotels gets Sharp Aquos LCD TV’s

New York’s newest luxury hotel, The Alex, features Sharp AQUOS Liquid Crystal televisions and 1-Bit digital audio systems in its 203 deluxe guestrooms and residential-style suites.

Opening in November 2003, the hotel features AQUOS flat-panel televisions in every living room, bedroom, and bathroom. Both the living room and bedroom feature 30-inch AQUOS screens, and the bathroomis outfitted with a 13-inch set. Sharp’s 1-Bit digital audio systems are also situated in the living room and bedroom, coupled with a Sharp DVD player to create a total home theater experience forhotel guests.

According to Mary Lou Pollack, General Manager of The Alex, the sleek, silver, flat-panel televisions and stylish digital audio systems were selected because they integrate perfectly into the luxurious, design-conscious environment of the property. “The Alex Hotel epitomizes a new generation of luxury accommodations for the overnight-to-extended-stay traveler,” said Pollack. “The performance features and award-winning design of Sharp’s AQUOS Liquid Crystal Televisions and 1-Bit digital audio systems are in keeping with the overall design and unsurpassed guest amenities offered by The Alex Hotel,” she said.

Located at 205 East 45th Street in New York City, The Alex Hotel is a collaboration of residential real estate developer Izak Senbahar, international developer Simon Elias, the architectural firm of Costas Kondylis & Associates, and designer David Rockwell of The Rockwell Group.

“Because of its outstanding design and features like 170-degree viewing angles and high contrast ratio, AQUOS enables The Alex to offer guests an unsurpassed television viewing experience,” said Frank DeMartin, Director of Vertical Markets, Sharp’s U.S. Consumer Electronics Group. “Sharp’s 1-Bit digital audio system then adds to the enhanced home theater environment by producing a more precise, natural-sounding audio experience for listening to CDs.

Sharp created a Vertical Markets Group to make its high-tech/high-style home entertainment products and selected appliances available to non-retail channels. “With industry-leading products like AQUOS, Sharp is well positioned to assist the growing number of systems integrators, architects and industrial and interior designers who are incorporating entertainment products into a variety of public and private environments, including the hotel and hospitality industry,” said DeMartin.

“Guests of The Alex are discriminating, design-conscious and interested in the latest technology for the home. Exposing consumers to AQUOS in a premier location like The Alex Hotel further enables us to increase the brand awareness for Sharp liquid crystal television,” DeMartin said.

In addition to their space-saving design, AQUOS and 1-Bit are highly energy-efficient, and AQUOS features 60,000 hours of lamp life, helping property managers save on their energy bills. Custom-fitted mounting and cable management systems offered by Sharp further enable interior designers to ensure that AQUOS integrates seamlessly within the environments they create.