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Hotel MacDonald holding 'Amnesty Day' for visitors to return stolen items

Hotel-item kleptomaniacs take note.

Feeling guilty about that luxurious robe you "accidentally" took home with you after your last stay at the Hotel MacDonald? How about that silverware your great-grandma palmed on her honeymoon?

The stolen treasures, along with any stories that accompany them, will be accepted by hotel staff on Saturday between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., no questions asked.

It's called Amnesty Day, and organizers are hoping the benefits will go both ways, bringing together historic artifacts from the hotel's storied past in preparation for its 100th birthday in August.

The event has been modelled on previous return-days held to celebrate the 125th birthday of the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa and the 100th birthday of the Palliser in Calgary.

"They were very successful in the sense that they got to really learn some very unique and interesting stories surrounding items," said Steven Walton, the hotel's director of sales and marketing.

In particular, Walton said he's hoping people will turn in things like old hotel uniforms, silverware and plates, photos, art or old items pilfered from the rooms long ago.

"Really, just little knick-knacks," he said.

Walton is also hoping that one considerably larger, more valuable item shows up: an antique grandfather clock that was custom-built for the hotel. He's not holding out much hope, however, as it and many other items disappeared when the hotel was temporarily shut down.

"We're a little bit unique because we were closed down for a period of time it was all boarded up," he said. "So when the hotel closed, it was actually scheduled for demolition, a lot of the items were sold off or donated or staff were allowed to just take them away."

Any valuable or sentimental items dating back to the hotel's closure will be accepted on loan and returned to their current owners, he said.

But first, all of the returned items, and the stories of where they've been in the intervening years, will go on display in the hotel's Wedgewood Room on Saturday.

Others will be held onto until the hotel holds its historic open house in August.