Behold the mysterious orb atop the television set inside a standard guest room at New York’s Hotel Pennsylvania. Granted, I do like this sort of room decor more than watercolor paintings and those seemingly pointless cylindrical pillows you see everywhere, but I am confused by this object. Of course, it does provide a nice foil for Jason Biggs’ head.

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that it will investigate recent incidents that led to airline passengers being stranded aboard planes for hours. The most talked-about incidents involve American Airlines and JetBlue, but other airlines are also guilty of stranding passengers on the tarmac for lengthy time periods. Just last weekend, two friends of mine were stuck on a United plane out of Washington, DC for 7 hours before take-off.

Department of Transportation Statement

From Starwood’s The Lobby blog, I learned about Starpicks, the hotel group’s weekly roundup of last minute deals at its properties around the world. The deals, which always work out to at least 20 percent off the standard room rate, appear each Tuesday and can be booked until Friday for the upcoming weekend (and for the next two weeks at resorts). One to bookmark, especially if you are a member of Starwood’s Preferred Guest loyalty program.

According to MSNBC’s Amtrak Can’t Run Its Trains On Time, passengers on its trains are more likely in some areas of the country to experience delayed arrivals than on time arrivals. Folks in the Northeast have it the best, with Amtrak’s Acela route between Boston and Washington, DC showing about 85 percent on time arrivals last year. But in other parts of the country, Amtrak’s performance borders on the abysmal. Here are some of the routes most likely to experience delays and late arrivals:

Seattle to Los Angeles on the Coast Starlight was on time just 4 percent of the time last year

Chicago to San Francisco on the California Zephyr was one time 7 percent of the time last year

Chicago to Washington, DC on the Capitol Limited was on time 11 percent of the time last year

Overall, Amtrak trains arrived on-schedule 68 percent of the time last year.

According to MSNBC’s Amtrak Can’t Run Its Trains On Time, passengers on its trains are more likely in some areas of the country to experience delayed arrivals than on time arrivals. Folks in the Northeast have it the best, with Amtrak’s Acela route between Boston and Washington, DC showing about 85 percent on time arrivals last year. But in other parts of the country, Amtrak’s performance borders on the abysmal. Here are some of the routes most likely to experience delays and late arrivals:

Seattle to Los Angeles on the Coast Starlight was on time just 4 percent of the time last year

Chicago to San Francisco on the California Zephyr was one time 7 percent of the time last year

Chicago to Washington, DC on the Capitol Limited was on time 11 percent of the time last year

Overall, Amtrak trains arrived on-schedule 68 percent of the time last year.

If you were contemplating skipping out on work and heading to the nearest ski area, this would be a good week to do it. Pretty much all of the big ski destinations located west of the Rockies are experiencing new snowfall - and lots of it. Tahoe has gotten over a foot in the last 24 hours, while the Vail area is reporting 10 inches in that time. Over in Park City, 11 inches have dropped in the past day. Time to get out those planks and play hooky.

You can stay up-to-date on the latest snowfall reports with Weather.com’s The Deep Stuff Across the U.S.

The Los Angeles Times announced a new blog over the weekend: The Daily Deal Blog. It’s written by Jen Leo, a well-known writer in the travel world and blogosphere. The blog focuses on deals and travel tidbits in the West.

If you look closely, very closely, you will see one of nature’s most elusive and grand beasts waiting, ever so quietly, to dine on unsuspecting guests who dare to enjoy the Hampton Inn Anchorage’s three-sided lobby fireplace. If you visit the Alaska hotel, don’t forget your bear spray (yes, it really exists!).

Can a hotel have sex appeal? According to the Scots, yes. At the recent Scottish Hotel of the Year awards, Edinburgh’s Glasshouse Hotel was awarded that very honor. So what’s so sexy about the Glasshouse? Amenities like floor-to-ceiling guest room windows, glass bathrooms, Aveda products, complimentary personal business cards, plasma TVs and a lavender-scented rooftop garden top the list. My recent search on the hotel web site revealed rates starting at 140 GBP/night.

While Westin is encouraging guests to gather in its hotel lobbies, Marriott has announced a new amenity that will likely encourage more guests to stay in their rooms. Beginning with JW Marriott and Renaissance properties, Marriott plans to install high-definition TVs in all of its U.S. and Canadian properties over the next three years. An estimated 40,000 guestrooms will feature the new TV sets by the end of 2007. I know some sports fans who are going to be very, very pleased about this.

Marriott to Put High-Definition Television in Hotel Rooms