Travel hell, Spa heaven. That pretty much wraps it up. I’m writing this on our last day at Lake Austin Spa Resort. You need to know that I have absolutely no objectivity at all about this place: They gave Jim and me 3 days lodging, food and great spa services in exchange for my giving three talks during their special program for dog lovers. That said, it’s really not possible to do much but rave about the place. It’s gorgeous, the food is great, the staff couldn’t be nicer AND they allow dogs even when it’s not a special week for dog lovers. Yes, there’s a down side: The price. This is one of those “If you have to ask . . . ” places, but what would we expect of the spa rated the # 1 spa in the country by Conde Nast?
But for those who could manage it, try to come next November when they’ll have another special week for dogs. Special it is, and special is just what the doctor ordered after what can only be described as an absurd example of just how bad it can be trying to deal with a company who has outsourced their customer service. I won’t bore you with all the details, but the summary is: Our flights from O’Hare to Austin were canceled for both Thursday and Friday. Thursday’s cancellations are understandable after a monster storm on Tuesday night, but what followed was not. I spent a total of over two and a half hours on Thursday afternoon (in three sessions) talking to 7 United reps, all of whom were barely intelligible because they simply didn’t speak English. Neither did they seem to know much about how to rebook a flight. We got here only because we found flights through Delta by ourselves, and drove 5 hours to Minneapolis to fly from there (we could have flown but by the time United finally figured out how to get the seats, about an hour later, the seats were taken). I have to admit that by the time I was talking to the 7th person, somewhere around minute 140, I was so steamed that when asked to spell my name (finally to book the ticket to Austin the next day) I said:
“M, as in Mad. Really Mad.”
” C, as in Can’t believe I’m STILL trying to get this settled.”
Etc.
The staff at Lake Austin Spa were graciously grateful that Jim and I worked so hard to get here, and by the time we got here it would have been churlish to stay grumpy because we had trouble traveling. After all, this storm caused so many people so many serious problems, and a little travel trouble faded away pretty fast once we settled in.
Here are some of the lucky dogs and lucky owners who got to participate in the Spa’s special dog days. Ivy, Sophia, Libby, Bichon, Romeo and Jasmine seemed to be having a great time, but maybe not as much fun as I had with them.
It’s gorgeous here, even though they had ice and snow the day before we came (yup, that’s snow on the far bank.)
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: This is what’s waiting for us at home. And as wonderful as it is here, it’ll be great to get home. Here’s hoping it goes a bit more smoothly . . .
The Learning Vet says
The spa resort sounds like something to put on my bucket list–so glad it was a success once you got there! *envy*
KevinJimeno says
Nice to see that you all go to travel with your dogs ..
Gretchen Dietz says
I had a similar situation with United years ago and in the summer (thunder storm not snow storm) with my then 80 year old mother. I never ran so much in an airport pushing her in a wheelchair (my insistence) trying to find a flight back home. We never did, but a Delta agent helped us out and completely changed my feeling about Delta airlines. They were wonderful. Sure wish we had a spa to de-stress in after, but so glad you did! Sounds like fun…
Caroline McKinney says
So what was the program for dog lovers? It is not up on their site—I guess since it is over.
Ellen Pepin says
I hate flying. They treat people like cattle and don’t really care if you are inconvenienced or miss an event. The only other people who are just as frustrating are health insurance companies.
I am glad that your experience at the spa swept away all the negative feelings and you had a good time. I’m sure that the people who went to your presentations enjoyed themselves and learned a lot. I wish that you had a talk in the Baltimore or Washington, DC area.
Mateus Freua says
can’t believe I wasn’t there Trisha!!! The day we would finally meet each other! But, I’m glad you make it!!! I can imagine how the crazy weather brought you some problems!!!! All the best!
Karen says
I really want to see you speak one day. Living in Austin, I would have love to have seen you this time, but for the cost. I can’t afford to go to a resort. Please come back to Austin.
Susan Sager says
Fly Southwest from MSP to AUS with the doggie:)…oops, yours may be too big unless it is a certified assist animal. So sorry to hear of your airline struggles. So happy to hear you enjoyed yourselves at the spa:)
Carolyn in Belize says
I’ve had my own travel nightmares with American — when my small dog with her in-cabin pet confirmation number (reconfirmed by no less than 6 AA agents) was turned away at the gate. Long story, additional expense, huge stress and inconvenience — I vowed never to fly with them again. I’m completely with you on airline nightmares. But glad the spa was so much fun — I’d love to hear more about the details of the special dog week. Sounds like something I might someday want to splurge on!
Thea Anderson says
NYtimes had an article recently about what to do when you get screwed by the airline:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/travel/30prac-flightrights.html?pagewanted=all
Sorry it happened to you. 🙁
Sharon Woolman says
Sorry this isn’t germane to this particular blog but I have enjoyed reading your viewpoint on other studies and on the sheep at your farm.
Would be interested in your comments on the following sheep study:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0015752
Sharon
AnneJ says
My worst flight experience, and I don’t even remember the name of the airline, was when we were flying with a 1 year old child and a 9 week old puppy. You’d think, how could that bad? (Just kidding). But, something was wrong with our plane and they didn’t find a new one for us to get on for 6 hours. We ended up departing finally at 1 am.
For our trouble the airline gave out free flight vouchers to everyone, which turned out to be completely worthless when the airline went bankrupt and folded a few weeks later.
Frances says
The more you think about it, the weirder the idea of a company that makes its profits by providing a service to customers outsourcing its customer services becomes …
Robin Taylor says
I love traveling with my dogs and encourage people to take vacations with their pets. I have put the spa on my list of place to go with my dogs.