Tuesday, September 27, 2021
Since there is just one flight a day from Denver to Sun Valley, we had to take an early flight from Newark…up at 4:45, in the car at 5:15. We made the gate in plenty of time, settled into our seats, started the takeoff acceleration….and rolled to a stop. The brand new plane had a fault signal from the main landing gear. Maintenance turned out to be something that could be deferred…but we still took off 2 1/2 hours late and missed our flight from Denver.
Not all was lost, though. We dealt with an exceptionally nice customer service agent, who got us vouchers for a resort hotel near the airport. Everyone we met was exceptionally pleasant and helpful—agent, United staff who pushed my brother-in-law‘s wheelchair, Uber driver, hotel staff—so why do I live among the barbarians in the East? Don‘t ask.
The hotel, the Gaylord Rockies, was enormous, weird, and comfortable. The largest hotel in Colorado with 1600 (!) rooms, it had five pools and a kind of amusement park under an atrium.
We had a drink by the pool, took a siesta, and had a surprisingly good dinner at the hotel‘s Italian joint.
A good example of making the best of it!