Tiers and Dreams – #RucksackGate and The Intercontinental San Juan

Chicago XV – Tiers and Dreams
#RucksackGate and The Intercontinental San Juan

Contents:

• Tiers? And Dreams? Huh?
• Off to Heathrow, American Airlines FlAAgship Lounge
• American Airlines AA99 London – Chicago
• Crowne Plaza O’Hare
• Back to O’Hare, AA AAdmrials Club
• American Airlines AA1380 Chicago to St Louis, St Louis AAdmirals Club, AA1685 St Louis to Dallas Fort Worth
  
• DFW and AAn CEO encounter…
• American Airlines AA1180 – Dallas Fort Worth to San Juan
• The Intercontinental San Juan and #Rucksackgate – THIS SECTION
• San Juan International Airport
• American Airlines AA1591 San Juan to Dallas Forth Worth
• More messing around DFW
• American Airlines AA1618 Dallas Fort Worth to St Louis International, A quick STL Stop, American Airlines AA1186 St Louis to Chicago
• The Hyatt Regency O’Hare with a Rucksack gate update
• One Time Exception: A Chicago Photographic Interlude
• O’Hare Take 3, AA AAdmirals Club
• AA3360 Chicago O’Hare to Toronto Pearson
• Toronto Airport Omnishambles – The Long Wait, BA Toronto Lounge
• BA96 Toronto to London Heathrow featuring the British Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner
• Homeward bound
• The long and winding road

With it being evening time, Terminal C was rather deserted as I exited and followed the signs to luggage claim.

As I made it to the claim, bags were starting to make their way out of the system, until finally a skibag and a rucksack spat out, with something very wrong

Cable clipholding this was gone…

And a wonderful hole had appeared – the tie that was clipped to this had been ripped off.

I went to file a claim – which was denied as the luggage was designed to protect the contents of the bag – not the bag itself.

Not helpful at all. I decided to take this up with the AA Twitter team later on.

I sighed and gingerly carried the bag to the taxi rank – with prices helpfully laid out

With care, I popped the bag into the taxi, and headed off to the hotel – The InterContinental San Juan. After a short ride, and $20 later (baggage fees and tips), I was there.

InterContinental San Juan

The photos:

• Set 1 http://www.photoblog.com/kevincm/2013/10/22/intercontinental-san-juan–and-rucksackgate-1.html
• Set 2 http://www.photoblog.com/kevincm/2013/10/23/intercontinental-san-juan–and-rucksackgate-2.html

I was welcomed after a short wait to be checked in, and my stay of one night was confirmed. As per my Ambassador status, I was upgraded from a King City View to a King Ocean View.

Nice kind of upgrade.

I also requested some sewing kits too. It was at this moment that the flight crew from my flight walked in to check-in too – with lots of tutting over the ripped stitching.

Meanwhile, my evening exploring the beach was instead to be spent… repairing a bag. You don’t know what sort of mood that left me in.

I was given two sewing kits, with another 2 to be sent up later.

With those formalities complete, it was time to head to the room on the 10th floor.

Lifts

I opened the door to my room, and a sight for sore eyes was infront of me – with a nicely appointed room.

Bed

TV and welcome amenity

Welcome Amenity – Three bottles of water too!

Work area/soon to be bag repairing area

Sofa

And the view: nothing short of spectacular

The bathroom was well appointed with a proper bathtub too

Hairdryer

With a short comfort break, I partially emptied the rucksack and worked out what the hell to do next. In the nightlight the damage was pretty darn bad.

The pulled strap had pulled the stitching which was coming apart at the seam at the bottom of the bag. 

The damage was not “impossible” to repair, but it was going to take time and effort. Thankfully, Intercontinental Hotels do something useful with their sewing kits:

They pre-thread the needles.

This alone saved a good half an hour faffing around threading needles.

However, Ducktape would not sort this, so it was time to sew.

Here I am, in paradise… and I’m sewing. Hmm. What’s wrong here?

Not the best – the first of a few layers of stitching.
I also took the time to American Airlines Twitter feed over this too – and the responses varied from apologetic to forced humour.

Apart from that, American Airlines gave no help, even though I was down-route from a trip.
To put it bluntly, I was running out of niceness for AA at that moment in time.

Eventually, with a few layers done (and a strap attached), I gave in and headed to the lounge

Not perfect – more stitching needed, but better than nothing…

Club Intercontinental.

With a tap of my key-card, I was let in to a very quiet lounge. Out were some snacks and coffee machine.

Fruit and coffee

Meanwhile there was light entertainment on the local television – with CNN and the US Budget Cliff crisis coming to a head and conclusion.

It provided a short while to moan on Twitter with a bit of comfort whilst plotting my next sewing moves.

Eventually, I got bored of watching the USA Government trying to make a decision if it wanted to continue to fund itself, and went upstairs to add a few more layers of stitching… as well as a prayer it would hold. As such, I spend more time packing the bag again, and watching the seams holding…

With that done, there was nothing else to do other than relax for the night

The bed was quite reasonable, comfortable without me sinking on it. Not a bad bed in the least.

Morning came, and I looked out at the sun. And it made me wish I was staying another day in San Juan

Branding sweetie. Branding.

I wish I had more holiday time sometimes. I really do…

I headed downstairs to a busier club this time, as it was feeding time. I partook too.

Meats and such

Fruits

There was also fresh juices and cereals – all the things you’d expect of a buffet breakfast. Whilst the buffet was not designed to compete with the hotels own offerings, the club offerings could be described as “not that bad at all” with effort to keep replenishing offering as needed.

The club whilst busy allowed people to find private spaces if they needed to consult over breakfast. I meanwhile took the time to check in for the return legs and prepare to head off.

With breakfast done, it was time to pick up my trash, ensure I have everything and check out.

Leaving paradise.

I headed to the reception desk, and checked out. With no further charges on my bill, I was thanked for my business and allowed on my way, with a taxi called. A short walk outside, and I was back in a cab heading back to the airport

Next: San Juan Airport.

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