Canceled flights can get you some luxury

by Jamie Rhein on

If you happen to be one of those unfortunate people who come up with a dud on what seems to be a new roulette style airline game called “Will My Flight be Canceled?” or even worse, “Will my Airline Shut Down Overnight?,” you can head to certain Kimpton Hotels for a gift designed especially for you–the stranded traveler.

As a way to coax stranded travelers to a Kimpton Hotel, the “Stranded in Style” promotion allows guests with a canceled flight to choose from the following options they show a canceled boarding pass or ticket:

  • Bath salts or eye mask
  • Bottle of wine or in-room movie
  • KN Karen Neuburger zebra chenille lounge socks
  • Cocktail or appetizer at adjacent restaurant

    Participating hotels include: 70 park avenue and The Muse in New York, Hotel Argonaut in San Francisco and Hotel Monaco in Denver.

    This may not be enough to turn lemons into lemonade, but it’s an interesting idea. I wonder what budget motels could come up with? Maybe you could get real Half-and-Half instead of non-dairy creamer with that complimentary cup of coffee.

    • Olympic torch: Carrying a flame of peace is not that easy

    by Jamie Rhein on

    Conan O’Brien called the bus that was loaded up with the Olympic torch the burning bus. I think that’s what he said. Whatever it was, it got a chuckle from last night’s audience. He was referring to the news story that the Olympic torch was loaded onto a bus outside Paris because protesters kept trying to put it out all the way from London. The protesters are upset about China’s policies in Tibet and Sudan

    I first heard about the torch woes yesterday afternoon from a radio news report. From what I heard, the torch was put out and relit a couple of times. It sure didn’t sound like a movie version of a grand athletic event to me. I’m thinking of the kind of event where the music from “Chariots of Fire” plays and everyone moves in slow motion. There’s hugging and cheering, maybe some tears–that kind of thing. Instead, I have images of pushing, shoving, yelling between those who want to put the torch out and those who don’t. The great commotion between onlookers, police officers and protesters, I imagine, might be giving the people who agreed to carry it pause–as in “What was I thinking?” Think a Shakespeare crowd scene. “Put the torch out!” yells some of the crowd. “Save the torch!” yells the bulk of the crowd. “If it’s put out, what will become of us?” The practical crowd members are the ones who saw the writing on the wall and put it on the bus.

    Protesters have already scaled the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to put up Tibetan flags against the torch’s appearance in San Francisco tomorrow. Should be an exciting time to see just how this flame fares.

    Considering the Olympic Torch Relay symbolizes world love or some such thing, it’s ironic that it’s the target. Actually, the flame means that people should put down their arms in a sacred truce. The arms means guns, but in this case, perhaps it should mean real arms, as in those things attached to people’s bodies. On the other hand, the protesters are making a point. It certainly makes for a twist on the tale of Olympic glory history.

    San Jose’s Winchester Mystery House

    by Jeremy Kressmann on

    This past weekend I found myself in San Jose, California. As far as Bay Area tourism is concerned, San Jose has always been the red-headed stepchild to more well-known destinations like San Francisco, the Napa Valley and Berkeley. However, during my stay I discovered a great reason to make the hour-long drive down to San Jose from San Francisco – the Winchester Mystery House.

    This sprawling, ornate Victorian mansion sits just a short distance from the city’s downtown. Spanning a property of over 4 acres, the mansion contains more than 160 rooms, 40 bedrooms, 2 ballrooms and 3 elevators. But it’s not just pretty to look at – the Winchester Mansion boasts a mysterious history thanks to its late resident Sarah Winchester, heiress of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.

    Sarah’s husband William Wirt Winchester amassed great wealth through the sale of his company’s most famous product – the Winchester rifle. The gun was responsible for many deaths in the late 1800’s, which weighed heavily upon Sarah. She was convinced she was being haunted by the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles. In an effort to confuse these spirits, Mrs. Winchester began construction on a massive estate near San Jose. From 1884 until her death in 1922, the house underwent 38 years of continuous, non-stop construction, taking on a confusing and labyrinth-like floor plan. Stairways were built that led to nowhere and many doors open onto blank walls. All of this a tribute to the madness and persistence of its reclusive owner, Sarah Winchester.

    The next time you’re in the Bay Area, why not swing by San Jose for a visit? For what you paid for that bottle of Napa Cabernet you’ll get to experience a real piece of Americana and a house that truly has to be seen to be believed.

    Man in wheelchair steals airport shuttle; drives around in circles; disappears into thin air

    by Grant Martin on

    I guess you just don’t suspect the guy in the wheelchair to carjack your hotel shuttle, but that’s exactly what happened early yesterday morning at San Francisco International Airport.

    CBS 5 out of the bay area is reporting that while a hotel employee was out of the vehicle unloading luggage, a man in a wheelchair pulled up, jumped out and into the driver seat then started driving around the airport. He then chose not to drive away from the airport, but rather around it two times before apparently getting bored and abandoning it.

    Four passengers, who must have been scared witless, were privy to the joy ride. I can’t imagine what they were thinking during the fiasco.

    The man then proceeded to completely vanish, for as CBS 5 reports, airport officials have yet to apprehend a subject.

    No word on whether the event had anything to do with St. Patrick’s Day.

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    Photo of the Day (3/12/08)

    by Jamie Rhein on

    I must be in a message kind of mood. Three weeks ago, I picked a photo with a message on the side of a building. This message snapped by Willy Volk also caught my attention. This is a view of the Golden Gate Bridge that I haven’t seen before. I walked across the Golden Gate years ago, but don’t recall the signs. The one thing that would be a handy thing to have included on this sign is a phone number.

    The perspective here is interesting as the bridge does beckon one across to the other side. As Willy titled this, “There is hope.”

    If you have any words of wisdom shots, send our way. Frankly, any interesting photo about anything might capture our attention. We like all sorts of subjects. Post on Gadling’s Flickr photo pool.