PE.com - Tourism Blog

Knowing that The Parker Palm Springs was once Merv Griffin's Givenchy Resort & Spa where Robert Downey Jr. famously and allegedly found himself in possession of cocaine, makes their new "Spa Junkie" deal a fairly appropriate moniker.

The deal, which gives guests $400 credit toward spa treatments and a free night if they book two nights, was recently featured in a national Internet newsletter highlighting travel deals.

A weekend though could set you back $299 a night in the dead of summer.

Posted by Kimberly Pierceall at 5:40 AM, June 28
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If you're a golfer who lost golf buddies to poker and are now deathly afraid your new golf buddies will start opting for bingo, then maybe you'll get this online story from travelgolf.com. Me? I'm lost.

I only point you to it because the writer mentions Palm Springs alongside Las Vegas as two places where bingo is ramping up and in turn causing golfers to put their carts in park and high-tail it to their nearest golf course leaving the vast rolling greens forlorn and empty.

Yeah, I'm still lost.

Posted by Kimberly Pierceall at 5:04 AM, June 28
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Unless you're a fan of the hermit style of vacationing where interaction with other human beings is best if it doesn't happen at all, hospitality workers can either make our day or make it a little more irksome.

On Sunday, Palm Springs tourism officials honored the folks who keep tourists happy whether or not tourists realize someone's making the effort -- those employees in the front of the house and "heart of the house" (working behind the scenes)

Here's who won:

Hotel Front of the House
Norma Hanna, Desert Isle Resort

Hotel "Heart of the House"
Mary Richards, Wyndham Palm Springs

Restaurant Front of the House
Alfredo Martinez, Hyatt Regency Suites Palm Springs

Restaurant "Heart of the House"
Miguel Gonzalez, Look Restaurant

Retail Employee of the Year
Recardo Chacone, Sunrise Beauty Supply

Attractions Employee of the Year
Rex Waggoner, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies

Volunteer of the Year
Jim Borba, AIDS Assistance Program

The Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism also honored Bill Davis of Celebrity Tours as the organization's Partner of the Year and former Mayor Will Kleindienst with a Hall of Fame award for his support and starting the annual Festival of Lights parade and Veteran's Day parade.

Posted by Kimberly Pierceall at 8:40 AM, June 25
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Intrigue surrounding the dismissal of Richard Walsh from his post as Director of Aviation for Palm Springs International Airport got a whole lot more intriguing today.

Walsh had been vying for the top spot at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

The Miami Herald reported on and posted e-mails (for the voyeur in all of us) that Walsh had sent from his city e-mail account to his former right hand at the airport, Steve Zehr, who may still be the airport director at Incheon International Airport in the Republic of Korea. The e-mails are frank, occasionally vulgar, and don't hold back when current, former and future employers are mentioned.

It could be used as a clear lesson in what should and shouldn't be written in e-mails sent to and from work especially when you're a government employee (the city of Palm Springs owns the airport) and there are such things as public records requests. Amy Sherman, the reporter of the Miami Herald story, said in an e-mail that she made a public records request and had more than 100 pages of Walsh's e-mails sent to her. The name on top of the e-mails -- Jay Thompson -- is that of the city clerk.

For a little background, click here for an earlier entry I wrote about the city of Palm Springs firing Richard Walsh and a story we published in the paper.

The e-mail at the top of the documents the Miami Herald obtained was written the day Walsh was fired for what City Manager David Ready said was "conflicting management styles."

In the e-mails he refers to Ready as "CM" and says he may have a sensitive part of his chest anatomy "in a ringer." Ouch. It also looks like Walsh applied to Pheonix International Airport and thought about applying to Pittsburgh International Airport.

I tried calling Walsh at what I think is his number, but no response. Check tomorrow's newspaper or www.pe.com for a full account.

Posted by Kimberly Pierceall at 3:40 PM, June 22
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Kids are fearless. Well, some are. I screamed bloody murder on nearly every relatively swift moving ride in Disneyland when I was seven-years-old.

But other seven-year-olds will be parasailing in Big Bear Lake, no doubt, now that the resort has chosen to drop the parasailing age limit there from the ripe old age of 18 to age seven.

The Professional Association of Parasail Operators reccomend parasailers should weigh at least 90 pounds and companies should exercise "extreme caution" with folks under the age of 12. Also an "older companion must accompany children under the age of eight while in flight," according to the association's 2005 guidelines.

The Big Bear Lake Resort Association said the decision was made when Big Bear Parasail met all of the requirements to join the Professional Association of Parasail Operators (PAPO) and the Big Bear Municipal Water District approved the age choice after considering the company's safety record.

Mark McCulloh, chairman of his Parasail Safety Council which isn't connected to PAPO, said by phone though that the new policy could spell disaster.

“That is so scary. That’s outrageous," he said. "Parasailing is generally safe ... Could a person go up at seven? Sure, ya."

But McCulloh said he worried that if a true emergency happened mid-air, an adult might be able to handle it but a child may panic.

“A seven-year-old? They don’t know what to do," he said. Granted children under the age of 12 will be flying tandem with an adult.

So be careful young adreneline junkies.

Posted by Kimberly Pierceall at 5:16 AM, June 15
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Fans of seaweed-wraps and hot stone massages might have another place to get spa treated soon.

The folks who owns the Waldorf-Astoria collection (the Hilton Hotels Corp.) which includes the 800-room La Quinta Resort and Spa near Palm Springs have partnered with LVMH Moet Hennessy-Luis Vuitton to bring that expensive sounding company's spas to their hotels.

And the spa treatments aren't cheap.

Already at the Conrad Indianapolis hotel, the Spa Chakra charges $915 for a seven hour "detox" or $1,035 for an eight hour anti-aging retreat. Three hours of spa-ness will set you back $435.

The first one in the Waldorf-Astoria collection is scheduled to be built in New York so you might have to wait a bit for its La Quinta arrival.

Posted by Kimberly Pierceall at 5:48 AM, June 14
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Getting people to visit your parcel of travel paradise versus the next guy's often consists of a similar advertising plot:

CAMERA PANS ON SCENE OF PURPLE MOUNTAINS AND ROLLING HILLS (WITH OR WITHOUT GRAIN)

Cut to families frolicking. Bonus if there is a scene with water.

The Big Bear Lake resort used those elements, sure, but shook up the mundane a bit with an homage to B-movie horror films by announcing the arrival of the horrid, the terrible, the unspeakable ::cue dramatic music:: June Gloom!

Points for getting my attention. I don't know if I've ever experienced June Gloom in Riverside. I've gotten used to June Desperation in Palm Springs when I find the path of air coming out of the air-conditioning vent, and stay in its path all day.

Posted by Kimberly Pierceall at 5:24 AM, June 12
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It may have taken me a week to post this but it needed some time to slosh around in my head and ferment -- Desert Hot Springs, touted as a sleepy spa destination for overworked celebrities (I once heard a Monty Python-er stayed at a local hotel), has had the The Planning Center in Costa Mesa devise an ethereal new age vision of the city that includes the elements Earth, Wind and Air (no fire and no Maurice White)

It's hoped the plan will encourage tourism and harness the area's energy in two "vortexes." Read the full story here from Desert Hot Springs reporter Julia Glick.

The city has also adopted a new moniker to market itself to tourists: "California's Spa City," not to be confused with Hot Springs, Ark or a hot tub retailer, perhaps.

-- KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
kpierceall@pe.com

Posted by Kimberly Pierceall at 5:43 AM, June 11
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I couldn't resist pointing out this headline connected to the country's decision to rescind passport requirements to Canada and Mexico: "Passport Rules Eased, Ticket to Terror?"

Granted ABC News didn't actually use that headline on their site only on the link to get to the site.

But if you're flying to the Paris Hilton (yes that was a shameless attempt to link this post with the obvious news of the day) you will still obviously need to stand in line for a passport.

-- KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
kpierceall@PE.com

Posted by Kimberly Pierceall at 3:26 PM, June 08
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It either says a lot about JetBlue or more about the airline industry that the company that trapped passengers on their planes while they sat on runways during winter weather in February is STILL the most popular airline company among consumers.

Consumer Reports which ranked the best and worst airlines (the latter was USAirways) surveyed folks before and after the Valentine's Day mess that left passengers without an exit strategy for several hours on a New York tarmac.

JetBlue also took top honors in Market Metrix's hospitality survey.

Maybe it's their president -- how many other executives fly their planes each week to talk to regular passengers and then blog? No, really. Know of anyone else? If you do, lemme know.

--KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
kpierceall@PE.com

Posted by Kimberly Pierceall at 5:48 AM, June 06
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Two very different mountain resorts are offering similar incentives for summer travelers -- Idyllwild Bureau of Tourism and Big Bear Lake Resort Association are handing out $25 prepaid gas cards to folks spending the night at participating hotels.

Of course there is a fine-print shpiel: minimum night stays vary and restrictions apply.

The Idyllwild Bureau of Tourism is handing out $25 prepaid gas cards and an Idyllwild Values Card with 10 to 15 percent discounts at restaurants, shops and services to tourists who check in at Idyllwild hotels.

Big Bear is also handing out $25 Arco gas cards.

For Idyllwild's promotion: reservations must be made at www.innsofidyllwild.com or by calling 951-659-0506.

For Big Bear's promotion: book hotel rooms through Nov. 18 on www.bigbear.com or by calling 1-800-424-4232.

Which direction will you head -- north to Big Bear or south to Idyllwild? And is $25 enough to make it worth your while?

-- KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
kpierceall@PE.com

Posted by Kimberly Pierceall at 8:59 AM, June 05
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Palm Springs International Airport has found a new director. Thomas Nolan, the assistant director of airport for Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, will report to Palm Springs in July.

In April, Wichita airport had 118,918 passengars get on and off planes. Palm Springs International Airport had 181,164.

Nolan fills a newly created executive director position at the airport that would pay up to $150,000 annually and report to Palm Springs' city manager. Director of Aviation Richard Walsh was fired by the city in April not long after the the new position, which he would have had to report to, was developed.

Palm Springs City Council still needs to approve his contract this Wednesday, but he was the top pick by a search committee consisting of City Manager David Ready, city officials, a former city officials and two members of the airport's advisory commission, according to a release from the city.

-- KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
kpierceall@pe.com

Posted by Kimberly Pierceall at 5:51 PM, June 01
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