New high-tech beach lodges will let you switch the TV on with your voice and even clean itself

IF you thought beach lodges were just huts to get changed in before you hit the sea, think again.

There are now new “smart lodges” that will let you switch on the TV with your voice and even vacuum up the sand after you return from the beach.

The Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has kitted out a selection of the beach-front pads with the latest smart home devices.

Gadgets, which come with the price of standard stay, include an Echo Show 5, enabling holidaymakers to control all of the smart home products using just their voice.

They also feature a Smarter iKettle, so you can start making a cuppa from bed, and an Alexa Smart Plug to switch off the bedside lights when you’re ready to call it a day.

The huts also include a Fire TV Stick 4K to watch your favourite film or if you want to ask Alexa to recommend a new show.

The icing on the cake is the Neato Robotics Botvac D4 Connected bot, which will happily buzz around the hut, cleaning up sand after your long, hard day on the beach.

There are lots of high-tech Amazon devices

This is welcome news for the two-fifths (40 per cent) of holiday-makers who find themselves cleaning, dusting and vacuuming while on holiday.

Chris Saunders, Head of Operations at BCP Council said: “We are looking forward to a number of the Bournemouth Beach Lodges being converted into smart spaces.”

Research found holiday-makers are burning more than an hour of quality holiday time looking for things to do and places to see.

And more than a third (35 per cent) of the 2,000 polled said they enjoy “living like a local” while on holiday.

As a result, the Echo Show 5 will give recommendations on the best pubs, bars, and activities to visit during the stay, not forgetting sound advice on what to do when there’s rain.

There's a robo-vacuum that will hoover up the sand — There’s a robo-vacuum that will hoover up the sand

Custom suggestions have been created with Alexa Blueprints, a way to create Alexa skills and responses, with BCP Council’s own local know-how, from the best place to get ice-cream or fish and chips, to where to rent a bike for sightseeing.

The BCP Council Smart Lodges by the Sea summer trial was launched following research which found almost nine in ten (87 per cent) Brits look at UK options when planning a holiday.

With seven in ten (71 per cent) opting for a trip to a seaside town as their ideal UK break.

Seventy per cent agreed a staycation is just as great as a holiday abroad, with Bournemouth placing in the top five hot spot seaside towns in the UK to visit, along with St Ives, Torquay, Whitby and Brighton.

You can switch on the TV with your voice as well

Bournemouth Beach Lodges were installed on the seafront in January 2017 and this is the first upgrade to the spectacular ocean view properties.

The seaside lodges are available to rent year-round from BCP Council and you can book your stay online.

Chris Saunders added: “We hope that residents involved in the trial will be even more inspired to explore and experience Bournemouth – from our beautiful beaches, to world-famous delicacies!”