Sunday, February 18, 2007
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Booking Hotels OnlineGREAT PIECE on the Davos/Arosa snafu [Coming and Going, Feb. 11]. After I saw it, I got to wondering whether MapQuest would have helped (I'd never used it before for anything outside the United States). Turns out that MapQuest's "directions" feature covers Europe, so I got the hotel's address from a Google search and plugged everything in. The answer was exactly as you said -- 1 hour 30 minutes (estimated distance of 57.42 miles) -- and the whole process only took a few minutes.
Don Burley, Washington
Friends Don't Let Friends Book Trips TogetherAS AN EXPERIENCED traveler, I would add a cautionary note to your advice [Travel Q&A, Feb. 11] that two people book at the same time using different computers. A couple of years ago we were booking a trip to Venice, returning from Barcelona. After I had booked our airline reservations online, I called our friends with the information so they could book the same flights. They had trouble navigating the site and called me for help.
We each went online, me at my house, they at theirs. It took several trips through the site's routine, stopping just short of booking each time, for them to become comfortable. Curiously, each time we went through the routine, the price of the tickets increased. We deduced that the computer saw what appeared to be several individuals attempting to book the same itinerary and raised the price on each subsequent attempt. In short, we were competing against each other and ourselves.
We both stopped and, after waiting 15 minutes or so, my friends went back online to book and found the prices had dropped back down.
Van Stewart, Alexandria
Colorado SkiingI ENJOYED the article about Denver and Breckenridge [Skiing 101, Jan. 21], but you had some misinformation and misdirection. There is no such place as Breckenridge Mountain. Breckenridge is in the Ten Mile Range, and the ski resort is on Peaks 7, 8, 9 and 10 of the Ten Mile Range. Peak 1 is located in Frisco, at the beginning of the Ten Mile Range. The elevation of Peak 8 is 12,998 feet, and the town of Breckenridge is 9,600 feet high. If you travel 90 minutes northeast of Denver, you will be in the plains, but if you travel 90 minutes west on Interstate 70, you'll reach Breckenridge, in the Rocky Mountains.
You are correct about the snow sculptures. It is amazing to see the artistic productions created from a 20-ton block of snow. And Breckenridge does a wonderful job of celebrating Mardi Gras.
And just to let you know, there is much beauty in the mountains in the summer, too.
Pat Welch, Vienna
Disaster Narrowly AvertedA FEW WEEKS ago, my wife and I were scheduled to go on a four-day vacation to Las Vegas from Richmond airport on United Airlines. After checking our luggage at the ticket counter, we proceeded to the gate for boarding. While waiting to board, I happened to look at my boarding pass and discovered that the baggage claim tickets indicated that my luggage was going to Tampa and my wife's was going to Orlando, and that the names on the tickets were not ours.
When I brought this to the attention of the United attendant, she managed to get the bags switched and re-tagged for Las Vegas. She laughed, saying that this happens all the time and to think nothing of it.
This rather flip remark does not give us confidence to travel with this airline in the future. Can you imagine our disappointment had we discovered this in Vegas?
The lesson here is to always verify all travel documents issued by the airline, and leave nothing to chance.
Richard Boyden, Williamsburg
Satisfied CustomersI MUST EXPRESS my thanks for the information Carol Sottili provided concerning JetBlue's bargain fares [What's the Deal?, Jan. 7]. It will enable me to visit my 86-year-old father in Florida at a bargain price. Were it not for you, I never would have discovered it.
Fran Daversa, Great Falls
WE JUST RETURNED from a wonderful trip to Greece, and I would like to extend some compliments. Our flights to and from Dulles to Athens (as well as my sister's flight from Boston) via Air France were just fine: The crew was pleasant and helpful, the food was quite good, and there may even have been a few extra inches of space in economy class. Compared with the other international carriers we have used in the last few years, this was a pleasant change, and we plan to use Air France whenever possible for future trips.
We were also very pleased with out travel agent, Amphitrion ( http://www.amphitrion.gr/), which helped coordinate and plan our trip. We highly recommend the company for travel to Greece.
Doris Ablard, Alexandria
MIR (800-424- 7289, http://www.mircorp.com/) is a superb tour company that is efficient and easy to reach and has great tour directors and fascinating itineraries. It limits group size to 14 or less. It's been in business 20-plus years, so has many contacts in each country it visits. The company offers group tours or will set up an individual itinerary.
I have used the company for trips to Siberia, Mongolia, the Gobi Desert, the Caucasus and the "Five Stans."
Pat Priest, Springfield
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