Nestled in the Hollywood Hills is a hotel that defies traditional expectation and works every day to do something different—and they do it quite well. It is a hotel that looks more like a house that you would drive risk past and not a swanky, popular destination. But don’t let appearances fool you, people wait a long time to get a chance to stay at this hotel. . . No, it isn’t haunted. No famous person once lived here. No celebrities don’t frequent the restaurant or bar.
The name of this ‘magical’ destination,' that seems so unassuming and yet so inviting, is the Magic Castle Hotel.
From the street it doesn’t look like anything special—it barely even looks like a hotel. Built in the 1905s this hotel was originally an apartment complex. The rooms are totally average, and the lobby is, honestly, below average. It looks more like the waiting room for a doctor’s office than a popular travel destination. Ranking #2 on Trip Advisor (above the Four Seasons Beverly Hills), the Magic Castle Hotel has figured ‘it’ out.
Near a very average pool guests will notice a cherry red phone sitting on a stand. Above the phone reads a sign “Popsicle Hotline.” And if you pick up the phone, somebody answers and says, “Popsicle Hotline! We’ll be right out.” And somebody comes out minutes later wearing a suit, carrying a silver tray loaded with grape and cherry and orange popsicles for you to enjoy. They present them to you wearing white gloves, like an English butler, all for free.
The Magic Castle has a snack menu where you can get Cracker Jacks and Sour Patch Kids and cream soda—all for free, just by asking at the front desk. They’ve got a board game menu where you can check out games, and a movie menu to check out movies. They have magicians doing tricks in the lobby several times a week.
These choices demonstrate why this location is more popular than the Four Season Beverly Hills. Imagine that, just offering a child a free popsicle matters that much to guests!
Author Dan Heath offered this conclusion when thinking about the Magic Castle Hotel:
"Two years later, you’re not going to remember, “Oh, the bed was average,” or, “Oh, the lobby was average.” Two years later, you’re going to remember, “Hey, you’re not going to believe this, but there was a phone by the pool where you could order popsicles. Can you believe such a thing?”
That’s the power of adaptive thinking and creative living. As I sat and listened to Dan Heath talk about the hotel and how the staff seeks to care for their guests, I wondered what the places in our church, in your evangelistic work and ministry, where the chance is presented to you do something so ‘out of the box’ that no one even thought that it was possible? I wondered what things, what choices, could we make in the church, that would leave such a lasting impression on our local community that they talk about how God is at work here at Plains?
Maybe it might be something as simple as a free Popsicle. . . maybe not. But I guess the choice is ours.
Blessings
Rev. Derek
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