Archive for the 'Arizona' Category
Phoenix airport luggage thefts: 10 tips to protect your bag and belongings
November 7, 2009 4:24pm
Worried about your bag getting stolen in baggage claim? You’ve got plenty of company, especially since the news broke this week about police arresting a suburban Phoenix couple on suspicion of stealing nearly 1,000 bags from carousels at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX).
Nearly 60% of 1,830 people who responded to an online poll, conducted after the arrests, said they always or often were concerned about the security of their luggage in the baggage-claim area, TripAdvisor reported Friday. Only 11% said they were never concerned.
Although airlines say that they recover nearly all the bags that owners report missing, and that only a tiny percentage are truly lost — because they were misplaced, misrouted, stolen, abandoned or whatever — that’s small comfort to victims, who may have numbered in the hundreds in Phoenix alone.
Here are 10 steps you can take to protect your possessions, gleaned from my research and chats with security experts:
Phoenix airport luggage thefts: Did you lose a bag? [Updated]
November 4, 2009 2:19pm
Take a look at the photo above. Recognize your bag? If so, you may be one of possibly hundreds of passengers whose luggage may have been stolen off carousels at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) in Arizona.
Police are asking travelers who think they might have been victimized to call the property crimes section at the Phoenix Police Department, (602) 495-7808.
In a news alert on their website, Phoenix police said they arrested two people on suspicion of stealing luggage from the airport’s carousels after an officer reported suspicious behavior there. When police searched the couple’s home Tuesday, Nov. 3, they found “suitcases everywhere — from floor to ceiling,” said Det. James Holmes, a department spokesman. The photo above shows some of the bags.
Grand Canyon deal: Travel to the rim by rail this winter
November 2, 2009 5:58am
Complement your trip to Grand Canyon National Park with a ride on the rails through Arizona’s wintry landscape. Every morning from Williams, Ariz., a Grand Canyon Railway locomotive departs for the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, a journey of 65 miles one way. Among various ride-stay packages available is the following deal that gives you a little bit of everything.
Deal: The three-night “Canyon Limited Plus” package costs $364 per person, pre-tax, based on double occupancy, for stays Nov. 1, 2009 through Jan. 2, 2010, and $304 per person Jan. 3 through March 14, 2010.
For that, you get two nights of accommodations at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel and one night at Maswik Lodge, near the South Rim. Plus, you’ll get round-trip, coach-class train travel, a narrated motor-coach tour of the South Rim (lunch provided), and two breakfasts and two dinners per person at the Grand Depot Café. Read the rest of this entry »
Get your kicks with Route 66 itinerary from National Park Service
September 24, 2009 5:56am
Route 66 fans, rejoice. The National Park Service has put up a mother lode of info about the historic Mother Road that stretches across two-thirds of America, from Los Angeles to Chicago.
The nostalgic Route 66 microsite offers maps, essays, photos, histories of landmarks and an awesome resource list with hyperlinks to fan sites, museums, tourist bureaus, official documents and more.
It’s enough to make you pull off the road and open your laptop. You’ll learn about the quirky Aztec Hotel, one of the few Mayan-styled buildings left in the U.S., in Monrovia, Calif.; the Milk Bottle Grocery, a tiny shop improbably topped by a super-sized dairy bottle in Oklahoma City; the iconic Blue Swallow Motel, with its charming neon signs, in Tucumcari, N.M.; and other roadside nostalgia.
Looking for a lodge room? Try national parks in autumn
September 12, 2009 2:10pm
If the first family’s recent trip to Yellowstone National Park had you dreaming of geysers and bison, now is the time to act. Fall is one of the best seasons to snag reservations at popular national park hotels, including Yellowstone’s Old Faithful Snow Lodge, which is often sold out during the rest of the year.
Other parks with lodges that have vacancy signs include Grand Canyon in Arizona; Crater Lake in Oregon; Bryce Canyon and Zion in Utah; and Death Valley in California. Read the rest of this entry »
Super last-minute Labor Day travel options in San Diego, Arizona, Las Vegas & Los Angeles
September 3, 2009 9:12am
I got calls from two different sets of friends yesterday who woke up and realized two things: one, that it was Labor Day this weekend (Sept. 4-7) and, two, that they hadn’t made any plans or booked any travel. They were calling me because they wanted to know what their options were this late in the week and whether they could still get a deal. My answer — sure. Believe it or not, there are quite a few last-minute Labor Day deals still available for this weekend in Arizona, San Diego, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Arizona — The Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa (pictured) has an amazing offer of $79 per room Labor Day Weekend. I tested the deal and there were indeed rooms available Sept. 4-7. Even better, you could get a suite with a private patio for only $99 per night and a 600-square-foot guest room that overlooks the Oasis Courtyard Pool for only $109 per night. The cost of flights for two people between Los Angeles (LAX) and Phoenix (PHX) will probably end up costing more than the room. I found fares for $142 each way, pre-tax, on Southwest. How good of a sale is this? I tested dates two weeks later and weekend traditional room rates started at $149. The Oasis Terrace room was $179.
Alaska Air fall sale lists cheap flights to Mexico, Alaska, Montana, Oregon and Washington
September 1, 2009 8:02am
It might make for a tough decision: Head up to the Pacific Northwest before it gets too wet, or take advantage of cheap flights to Mexico. But wait — if you’ve always wanted to see Alaska in the winter, or visit friends in Montana, this could be a good time too. Alaska Air has a sale on right now with flights to Bend, Ore.; Flagstaff, Ariz.; Seattle and Santa Rosa, Calif. out of Los Angeles (LAX) starting at $69 one-way, pre-tax. If you feel like skipping the drive, Mammoth Lakes is also on that list. (Remember, service to Mammoth Lakes begins Dec. 17).
Several cities in Mexico are included in the Fall Sale. Flights from Los Angeles to Mexico start at $75 for Los Cabos and cap off at $139 each way for Manzanillo. But flights to popular south of the border cities such as Puerto Vallarta start at $109 and Cancun, Mazatlan and Mexico City all start at $119 each way. Note: The low-fare calendar wasn’t working for Cancun, La Paz, Puerto Vallarta, and it made it hard to search for the cheapest fares. You might want to call if you have a tough time finding sale prices online.
September marks the shoulder season for Alaska. If you have questions about when to go to Alaska, Frommers breaks down what you can expect weather wise by seasons and months. December through March sounds like a lovely time to visit Alaska if you want to see the Aurora Borealis or try some winter outdoor activities like skiing, snowmobiling or dog sledding. But note that the Alaska Air Fall sale is only good for flights through Feb. 10.
Last-minute Labor Day travel deals from Southwest
August 28, 2009 5:00pm
It must be hard to decide where to go for Labor Day with the plethora of travel deals all around us these days. For the procrastinators out there, Southwest has put together a whole section on its website devoted to last-minute Labor Day getaways — whether you want to fly, drive or stay close to home. See restrictions and book your travel by Sept. 3.
Hotel specials | Save up to 40% off hotels. Southwest features deals in Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Chicago, Denver, Albuquerque, Austin and more. I found 40% off the four-star Hotel Nikko in San Francisco off Union Square, with rooms starting at $145 per night. The Sheraton San Diego Hotel/Marina on the San Diego Bay had rooms 33% off, starting at $122 per night. Sofitel in San Francisco had rooms starting at $91 per night. All prices were tested for dates Sept. 4 - 7, 2009.
Escape the smoke: Weekend getaways you can take today and Saturday
August 28, 2009 11:38am
Firefighters are battling four fires in the Southland today. Danger has not passed yet for the Palos Verdes Peninsula and La Cañada Flintridge fires. More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from Palos Verdes. The Morris fire was 45% contained by Thursday night. The Cottonwood fire in Hemet began Thursday evening and has burned 1,000 acres in the San Bernardino National Forest.
Many are trying to save their homes and stand by to see whether they will be evacuated. But for those in the Greater Los Angeles area who just want to get away from the smoke for the weekend, here are some options:
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.: Flght and hotel packages from Burbank (BUR) to Phoenix (PHX), departing today through Sunday, are available on Lastminute.com starting at $229 per person based on double occupancy. (If you know Scottsdale, you can view your hotel options on a map.) The lowest price luxury option was the Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort, less than two miles from Old Town Scottsdale. The cost for two people including flights, hotels, taxes and fees was $457. If you wanted to stay at a Westin, prices started at $301 per person. The five-star Boulders Resort from the Waldorf Astoria Collection started at $343 per person and the five-star Fairmont Scottsdale was $348 per person.
ASPEN, COLO.: Flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Aspen (ASE) are $248 round trip on United for this weekend. The deal is good for departures after 7 p.m. today or any time Saturday and returning Monday or Tuesday. We saw this deal on Airfare Watchdog, an easy place to find destination fares for “This Weekend.” Note that flight and hotel deals will pop up from Booking Buddy. I found the deal by flying Saturday and returning Tuesday and searching through the Priceline option. The round-trip fare came to $269 after taxes. Next I searched Hotels.com for rooms and found the Gant Destination Hotel & Resort for $161.25 per night, down from $215. The Innsbruck Luxury condos were also on sale for an average of $157.50 per night.
LAS VEGAS: If you want to brave the drive to Las Vegas, usually pretty thick on a Friday night, Expedia led me to several last-minute hotel prices for tonight and Saturday night including TI ($119), South Point ($91), Stratosphere ($73), Golden Nugget ($89), Hard Rock ($219) and Planet Hollywood ($124). Rates mentioned are per night, on average, pretax.
CARLSBAD, CALIF.: Bring the kids to Legoland. Inns of America Suites is a popular family-friendly hotel near the amusement park. I’ve had friends stay here and recommend it to other friends. The rooms are good sized and reviews on TripAdvisor say it’s good value with reasonable rates. I checked prices this weekend just for Saturday night and room rates started at $159. Here are more family-friendly hotels in Carlsbad.
– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
Photo: Smoke fills the air from a 2-day-old brush fire north of La Cañada Flintridge. The blaze started Wednesday near the Angeles Crest Highway around mile marker 29. Credit: Francine Orr/ Los Angeles Time
Arthur Frommer’s Arizona-boycott blog post stirs anger, support
August 26, 2009 8:39am
Arthur Frommer, whose travel guidebook series changed the way we see the world, has stirred up a hornet’s nest with his blog post that criticized the state of Arizona and threatened a personal boycott.
Frommer’s pique was prompted by armed protesters outside the Phoenix Convention Center on Aug. 17, when President Obama spoke at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention. One protester, who identified himself only as Chris (pictured above), carried an AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle and a pistol. Arizona allows firearms to be carried openly.
Frommer, whose groundbreaking guidebook “Europe on $5 a Day” was released in 1957, wrote last week on his blog, “I am shocked beyond measure by reports that . . . nearly a dozen persons, including one with an assault rifle strapped about his shoulders and others with pistols in their hands or holsters, were openly congregating outside a hall at which President Obama was speaking.”
Frommer then wrote, “I will not personally travel in a state where civilians carry loaded weapons onto the sidewalks and as a means of political protest.”
He said he was not advocating that everyone boycott Arizona.
The blog received more than 1,100 comments, many disputing his views.
