Sears Tower unveils 103rd floor glass balconies

Visitors to the Sears Tower’s new glass balconies all seem to agree: The first step is the hardest.

“It’s like walking on ice,” said Margaret Kemp, of Bishop, Calif., who said her heart was still pounding even after stepping away from the balcony. “That first step you take — ‘am I going down?”‘

And in other news about the Sears Tower… Talk about a room with a view, this hotel should offer a pretty great.

America’s tallest building to get a new ‘green’ luxury hotel

America’s tallest building – Sears Tower in Chicago – will get a $350 million facelift and a new luxury hotel. The 110-story structure, soon to be re-named Willis Tower, will see almost half of its stories (50, to be precise) occupied by the new hotel which will be powered by the building’s new high-power wind turbines and solar panels.

On your feet … flying at 30,000 feet

The next time someone jokes about planes being so full that airlines will start selling standing-room tickets, don’t laugh.

At least two carriers, one in Europe and one in Asia, are seriously considering it.

Spring Airlines, a 4-year-old carrier that calls itself China’s first low-cost airline, is seeking permission from that country’s aviation regulators to reconfigure its planes to allow some stand-up “seats.” Standing passengers would pay less than their conventionally seated fellow travelers.

When size F silicone breast implants explode, it just a good thing no one was killed.

Silicone breast explodes upon landing at Los Angeles airport

Here is one you don’t hear every day – exploding breast implants (partially) caused by flying.

Irena D. was on her way from Moscow to Los Angeles on an unnamed airline.

When she boarded the plane, she was not feeling too well, but things really got out of hand when she stepped off the plane and collapsed. Apparently, one of her size F silicone implants had ruptured.

The only good news that came out of the recent crash of the Yemeni plane was the survivor of one child. Original reports about the child being a 5 year-old boy were incorrect.

Teenage survivor of Yemeni plane crash ‘doing well’

The teenage girl who survived the Comoros plane crash by clinging to a piece of debris is recovering well in hospital. Bahia Bakari, a 13-year-old Franco-Comoran who lives in Paris, escaped with only a fractured collarbone and cuts to her face after the Yemenia Airbus A310-300 carrying 153 people plunged into the Indian Ocean at 2amyesterday .

Bahia’s father, Kassim Bakari, told France’s RTL radio in Paris that he had spoken to his daughter, who can barely swim, about the moments after the crash.

“She couldn’t feel anything and found herself in the water. She heard people speaking around her but she couldn’t see anyone in the darkness,” he said. “She’s a very timid girl, I never thought she would escape like that.

What’s worse than sitting behind a crying baby on a flight?

A passenger stripped naked during a US Airways flight and resisted a flight attendant’s efforts to cover him with a blanket before two off-duty law enforcement officers on board subdued and handcuffed him, authorities said Wednesday.

When they tell you that your flight will be delayed because of mechanical problems, this is is the guy you want on your plane.

Passenger fixes faulty airliner

Passengers on Thomas Cook flight TCX9641 from Menorca were told to expect an eight-hour wait while an engineer was flown out from the UK. One passenger then identified himself as a qualified aircraft engineer and offered to try to remedy the fault. He was successful, and the plane landed in Glasgow only 35 minutes late.

Police arrest TSA agent for avoiding screening before boarding plane in Newark Airport

Police arrested a Transportation Security Administration agent Friday morning after she avoided pre-boarding screening and boarded an airplane at Newark Liberty International Airport, a spokesperson for TSA said.

Wanda Weems, 45, of Newark, boarded Continental Flight 1011, bound for Houston, Friday morning but neither she nor her luggage was screened by authorities, officials said.

Other useful or interesting articles:

• Heading to the Airport? Use This Checklist Before You Go
• Statue of Liberty gets her view back

Check In at Germany’s First Naked Hotel

Clothes will be strictly forbidden on the premises of Germany’s first hotel for nudists, which will open shortly in the southwestern Black Forest region. Guests will be required to remove their clothes at the entrance and must be naked at all times while on the premises, according to the strict house rules that have already been posted on the Internet.

If you have a fear of flying after flight 332 got hit by birds and ended up landing in the Hudson, then one airport you might not want to fly out of is Sacramento.

Jet returns to Calif. airport after bird strike

A United Airlines flight bound for Chicago had to return to the Sacramento airport after hitting a bird during takeoff.

The Sacramento airport is in the Pacific flyway for migratory birds and reports more bird strikes annually than any other airport in the western United States.

If you got off a plane that filled with smoke because of a mechanical issue, would you get right on another one. The passengers on this plane did.

United jet with engine trouble lands in Maine

A United Airlines jet carrying 178 passengers and 11 crew members from London to Washington, D.C., has made an emergency landing in Maine because of mechanical problems.

More and more tourists are canceling trips or retirement plans to Mexico (my family included). If you are still going there are some good safety tips in this article.

Violence in Mexico: A Cause of Concern for Retirees Looking to Travel or Relocate

Mexico is the favorite travel destination for Americans and it’s also the most favored place outside the U.S. for retirees to relocate. The country’s warm climate, familiar culture, and low costs naturally attract retirees. Now, however, drug-related violence and–to a lesser extent–Mexico’s own recessionary pressures have made parts of Mexico dangerous. The U.S. State Department renewed its Mexico travel alert last month. Requests are escalating for more protection by U.S. border troops. Visits to major travel sites, such as Fodor’s, reveal rising traveler concerns and travel cancellations.

The U.S. has named a number of new Historic Landmarks including President Lincoln’s Cottage and San Francisco’s Bay, Angel Island Immigration Station. Read more:

New U.S. Historical Landmarks

Other articles that caught my eye:

• Free or Cheap Things to Do in Las Vegas, Nevada
• Great American bike trails
• Landmark Fail

No worries on board ice-bound cruise ship

A cruise ship carrying nearly 400 people has been stuck in thick ice in the St. Lawrence River in Eastern Canada for over a day, but passengers are nonetheless having a “festive” time, the company that owns the vessel said Tuesday.

The ship, CTMA-Vacancier, chartered by a group traveling from Montreal to the Gaspe Peninsula for a cross-country skiing trip to celebrate the 475th anniversary of the region’s settlement, is now inching through the heavy ice, said Leonard Arsenault, a spokesman for MTMA Group.

He said the 300 passengers, along with a crew of nearly 100, were in no danger and that there was plenty of food on board.

But the cruise ship passengers were not the only ones stuck in the ice. The cold also trapped airline passengers in one of those stories that leaves you wondering if it is about time for those often talked about passenger’s rights.

Stunned by the day’s travel news — no really, stunned

Passengers on an AirTran flight from Columbus, Ohio, to Orlando were stuck in transit for 12 hours yesterday — many of them on a grounded plane. Flight 373 to Orlando had been scheduled to take off from Columbus, Ohio, at 8 a.m. But an overnight snow storm reportedly turned the parked plane into a popsicle. Ground crews used three truckloads of deicing fluid in a futile attempt to thaw the frozen plane. “We had no water, no air, they couldn’t turn the engine on,” one traveler said. The passengers were let off the aircraft for lunch, and AirTran offered them free roundtrip tickets for the trouble.

Speaking of dirty tricks, research has picked out one New York hotel as the dirtiest in the country. By the way, if you think bed bugs are bad… don’t look under the bed.

Behold The Nastiest, Foulest Hotel In America

Is this the dirtiest, foulest hotel in America? The voters on TripAdvisor.com think so, and the rating doesn’t seem to have come as a shock to the management of the hotel — the manager told NY1, “because they are a one star hotel, they have one star standards of cleanliness.” Well, ew.

What sort of crimes against hygeine are we talking about here? Well, according to the comments on TripAdviser, prepare yourself for “mice, roaches, Bed Bugs and crack heads all living at this Hell Hole! The hotel itself smells and is filthy from the disgusting bedspread to the filthy bathroom.” And there are also “outlets that hang out of walls” and “Built up hair clogged shower drains.” All this for only $122 a night.

Other stories I found interesting:

• 2009 Worldnomads.com Travel Podcast Scholarship
• How Well Do You Know the Middle East?
• London Pedestrian Routemap
• How to Move to Paris with No Money
• Win $50,000 Towards Your Dream Photography Assignment!
• Across the ocean in a pedal-powered submarine
• Win the best job in the world

Anger at airport as XL rescue turns into a fiasco

Stranded victims of the XL holiday firm collapse threatened to riot and scuffles broke out after 400 travellers were effectively imprisoned in a departure lounge for 24 hours.

The incident highlighted the chaos surrounding some 40,000 British tourists marooned around the globe by the collapse of Britain’s third biggest holiday operator – despite a huge Civil Aviation Authority mission to bring most of them back.

Why is the USA a less attractive destination for Japanese tourists? We don’t know but they are studying the issue.

The vanishing Japanese tourist

OTTI statistics reveal that 3.7 million Japanese tourists visited the US in 2006. They represent the fourth-largest tourism market for the US behind Canada, Mexico and the UK. In 2006, Japan�s visitors spent approximately $16.03 billion in the US, but in 2006 the US experienced a 5 percent decline in the Japanese market following years of impressive growth.

United Airlines and Air Canada are heading in opposite directions with regard to the fees for that extra bag you want to bring along.

United Airlines increases fee to check a second bag

United is increasing the service fee to check a second bag on a domestic flight from $25 to $50 one way. These changes apply to customers who purchase a ticket on or after September 16, 2008 for travel within the US and to/from Canada, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands on or after November 10, 2008.

Air Canada eliminates second bag fee

Air Canada announced today that in response to decreasing fuel prices, the airline is eliminating all second checked-bag charges implemented this spring and will be incorporating fuel surcharges into its advertised base fares on North American flights.

I am curious what our former Turkish exchange student would make of this story? Remember this is not a story about a crime just a management issue.

Turkish hotel fires philandering male staff

A small hotel on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast has fired all its male employees for repeatedly having affairs with foreign female guests, the manager said on Wednesday.

Pelin Yucel, manager of Image Hotel in Marmaris, said her 27-room hotel now only employs female staff. Most of the guests are British and Russian tourists, she said.

“We had been facing the same problem every year but after the last incident we decided to run the hotel by only female staff,” she said.

Remember to vote for the Amateur Traveler podcast at the year’s Podcast Awards.

And lastly the answer to the question that started this post. There are worst things than getting stranded.

Tanzanian lodge in court over leopard attack to French tourist�s son

A civil suit, first of its kind in Tanzania�s tourism history, took place in northern tourist city of Arusha this week against luxury Tarangire Safari Lodge over negligence that led to a leopard attack of a 7-year-old French boy.

Guests at Bellevue will soon be given bathrobes instead of straitjackets, if the city can convince a developer to turn its most famous nut house into a luxe hotel.

City officials yesterday said they’re confident the hospital’s old psychiatric ward, which until the mid-1980s provided something short of four-star accommodations to countless kooks and criminals, would help fill a void in Manhattan’s East Side medical corridor.

Originally, officials considered turning the 1931 Italian Renaissance-style building on First Avenue between 29th and 30th streets into condos, but oddly, the layout of a mental institution is better suited to a hotel, Melissa Konur, vice president of the city’s Economic Development Commission, told The Post. “There are long corridors, and the rooms aren’t very big,” she said.

Hotel chain City Inn has decided to put a brand new iMac in every room in its London and Manchester hotels.

According to Macworld UK, City Inn has partnered with software company DirectStreams which developed a system to allow guests to use the iMac as a TV, radio, DVD and CD player, as well as allow for full access to the iLife suite, Office apps, and the internet.

What’s really cool here is that through the use of Faronic’s Deep Freeze software, no data is recorded on the iMac’s hard drive, and the systems are returned to their default state each day (remind me I want to install that on a few friend’s systems this coming April 1st). This means people need not worry about the security risks normally associated with shared environment computers. It also means you should pack a USB thumb drive if you are planning to write any reports on the road and don’t want them to mysteriously disappear in the morning.

So how do I get my podcasts loaded on each of their computers I wonder…. hmmmmm

If you are not familiar with HotWire.com it is a site that sells unsold hotel rooms at a significant discount. It is similar to the better known Priceline.com. With Priceline you bid for what price you are willing to pay (which is a hassle). With HotWire they will tell you what price you can pay for a hotel that is rated a certain number of stars with particular set of amenities. Neither site tells you the name of the hotel before you pay for a pre-payed, non-refundable room. On HotWire you choose a general geographic area, decide if you need the pool at a 3 star hotel or if the 2 star hotel with free internet is what you want.

I want to be clear that I have had many wonderful experiences using the HotWire service. I have stayed in a 4 star hotel near UCLA / Beverly Hills over the 4th of July holiday in a penthouse suite for $70 a few years back. The star ratings I find usually give you enough information to know the class of the hotel. For example a 2 star hotel is:

Economy 2-star hotels
Our 2-star hotel suppliers include Comfort Inn, La Quinta, Days Inn, and other respected hotel brands.

These economy establishments offer reliable accommodations with a few extra features. Features may include:

• In-room coffee maker
• Cable TV
• Alarm clock
• Continental breakfast
• Off-site dining is usually located within walking distance.

But… there are two things you need to know before you use this service:

Room Size

The majority of hotel rooms in the United States have two double beds, but HotWire is not promising you one of those rooms because many rooms also have a single bed. So they are never promising you a room that will sleep more than 2 people (in the same bed). After you pay for the room (remember pre-paid and non-refundable) you can contact the hotel and request a room with two double beds, but they may not have that in the inventory that they gave HotWire. We (my wife, 2 kids and I) walked into a hotel room in Boston and found it had one double bed. They were able to bring in one roll away bed and I ended up sleeping on the floor (which is good for my back anyway).

Smoking / Non-Smoking Rooms

Last weekend we reserved a room at a 2 star hotel in San Rafael north of San Francisco. The hotel was a Travelodge. When we arrived they told us that we had requested a smoking room. We politely told them we had not. Now, to be fare HotWire had not promised me either, but their customer service rep told me that they request a non-smoking room when available. The hotel manager assured me, showing me the reservation, that they had received a reservation for a smoking room. The only rooms they had were smoking rooms, and they had saved one for us. My wife in particular has a very keen sense of smell and we would have been miserable in the room so we ended up paying for a second hotel room at the Courtyard by Marriott (a smoke free hotel) were we had stayed previously.

Yesterday HotWire’s customer service representative called me in answer to my letter to them. I had requested a refund which I did not receive (and did not really expect). I had also asked them to clarify the situation and their policy. Their rep told me they had faxed themselves what they had sent to the hotel and it did not say anything about smoking or non-smoking but only had some code that the hotel had given them for HotWire rooms. It is likely she said, that they had only put smoking rooms in the HotWire inventory. HotWire’s policy is that as with the number of beds after you have paid for your (pre-paid, non-refundable) room you should call the hotel and ask if you have a preference for smoking or non-smoking. But, as she clarified, it might very well be that the hotel will not give me my preference.

Q: How do I take care of special service requests (e.g., smoking/non-smoking, accessibility)?
A: Once your booking is made and Hotwire gives you the name of the hotel, you can call the hotel directly with any special requests. Our partners are willing to help whenever possible, but the ability to accommodate special requests may be subject to availability. If you have any special needs that are crucial, we recommend calling one of our hotel partners directly rather than booking through Hotwire.

In other words, HotWire is saying if you care about whether you get a smoking or non-smoking room… don’t use HotWire. This was reinforced for me by their representative. In short they were telling me that I should not use their service and perhaps you should not as well. I am saddened by this policy and hope that they will change their interface to allow me to specify my preference in advance. Until them… my days of buying cheap hotel rooms through HotWire may be over.

When I was in Istanbul recently I stayed in two different hotels. The first one was a European style business hotel near Taksim. The second one was a small hotel, Hotel Historia, just behind the Sultanahmet mosque (the blue mosque). The first hotel was wonderful but was probably about twice the price of the second hotel. Neither of the hotels is what Americans would expect from a typical hotel room. A typical American style hotel has two double beds or a king size bed. A typical small European hotel might fit a double bed but there would not be any floor space. More likely you will find smaller twin beds. The rooms are smaller. I noticed with the Hotel Historica that the reviews for the hotel ran from people who loved it to people who hated it. Some of the people who hated it were Americans who I think arrived with the wrong expectations.

So what should you expect? These boutique hotels can be a wonderful experience. The hotel Historica was inexpensive. It had an elevator, but you will not always find this in these older hotels which is one of the reasons I like to pack light. The hotel was clean and the people were wonderful. It had high speed internet although not good coverage from my particular hotel room. No problem, it had a nice comfortable lobby which looked more like a living room. As I sat checking my email someone brought over a glass of hot tea. The breakfast was included and was beautiful as well as tasty. The hotel was 2-3 blocks from one of the main sites in the city. Someone did not like this place? I don’t get it.