Crazy hotel news: Alcatraz and the family Von Trapp

How about this hotel room?

Two offbeat things going on in the world of hotels that you may want to be aware of. First, San Francisco prison Alcatraz is planning to convert part of the historic prison into a tourist hotel:

Alcatraz Island is one of San Francisco's most popular draws, attracting more than 1.4 million tourists a year to its cellblock tours. But the National Park Service is keen to let visitors explore the rest of the 12-acre island, with its unusual scenery and wildlife, as well as areas currently closed to the public, such as the prison cinema.

"People are constantly saying they want to see more of the island," said Rich Weideman, a National Park Service spokesman. "A hotel would be the ultimate experience in visitor access."

Alcatraz, which became a military prison in 1861 at the start of the Civil War, was a federal prison from 1933 until 1963. Officials claimed escape was impossible because of the strong tides and cold temperatures of the surrounding waters – and there were no successful breakouts.

On the other side of the globe, a proposed hotel in the Salzburg, Austria villa that once belonged to the real "Sound of Music" family, the Von Trapps, is having a bit of problems with the neighbors. Note this is the Von Trapp's actual house, not the home that was used in the film. Don't quote me, but I believe the film house belongs to Harvard University now.

Anyway, the neighbors near the real house - which had lied mostly unnoticed by the 300,000 visitors who still take in the "Sound of Music" tour in Salzburg every year - are hopping mad at the uptick in traffic since a couple bought the house and opened it up to the tourist track. They say their additional plans of opening a hotel in that location is simply unacceptable.

The actual Von Trapp house also has a checkered past, as after the family vacated the residence in 1938 the Nazis took residence and SS Chief Henrich Himmler lived there until 1945. They say that awful past is another reason not to open the house up to the public.

Don't tell anyone - cause it ruins what little cool factor I actually have - but I've been on the Sound of Music tour. It's a bit schmaltzy, but it's definitely fun. And, I've got to tell you, Salzburg is a lovely lovely place.

Alcatraz to open as a hotel [Telegraph]
Sound and fury over Von Trapp hotel [LA Times]