In an effort to blog more, I figured the best time to start was on a recent flight to Europe. We started our journey in Phoenix, flying to Detroit then to Amsterdam before reaching Berlin, Germany, our final destination. The flight to Detroit was only 3 hours, but the leg to Amsterdam was a staggering 8 hours. But that’s okay, I had several gin and tonics, watched some movies, read some magazines and books… It wasn’t all that bad. But this blog post isn’t about the trip, rather a building that burnt down a few weeks ago in north Phoenix.
As you can see in the photo above, there isn’t much left of what I learned was to be a Cambria Hotels & Suites. My buddy Scott told me all about them and shared some photos via text message. The hotels look nice, but there is already a Holiday Inn Express next door. As you can see, that hotel is no longer open, as it suffered some major fire damage, too. So what happened?
I’ve been watching them build this new hotel for weeks now, and every time I drive by, I wonder, “What are they building and when will it be done?” Happy to know it was going to be a nice hotel, but sad the thing burned down. Was the structure hit by lightning? Was there an electrical fire? Was it arson? From what I can tell, no one knows exactly what happened, but there is an ongoing investigation going on right now to answer that question.
UPDATE: While doing some research on this fire, I found this video. >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_sKesSRIDI
Scott has stayed at that Holiday Inn Express, and apparently they owe him some money. I asked him about his experience there, and he commented, saying, “I was told a credit card charge was finally reversed on Monday last week. It has yet to hit my credit card as a reversal. The hotel itself was always wonderful, up to date, modern fixtures. The staff not so much on par or caring.” I’ve never stayed there, but based on Scott’s experience, I won’t be staying there anytime soon.
The other day, on my way to the gym, I drove by and stopped to take a few pictures. I felt like a reporter on assignment sneaking around the property trying to get the perfect picture. I think the one above is good. I took this one, too.
We still don’t know what happened, and I can’t figure out why it intrigues me so much, but I hope they figure it out soon. If they do, I will provide an update to this blog post.
Thanks for reading. Stay safe out there, people!
