If you listen closely, you can still hear the swooshing of the wide Victorian dresses on women as they walked down the hallways of the St. Pancras Hotel in the 1800s. Built to accommodate the glamor of the time, the unusually wide hallways at the St. Pancras are adorned with dimly-lit chandeliers and red and gold [...]
Hotels: Have You Lost Your Human Connection?
Hoteliers often ask me, ‘Why do we need to invest in social media?’ My response: ‘How well are you connected with your consumers?’ My question is usually met with blank stares and raised eyebrows. What does one have to do with another? How does social media have anything to do with getting to know your [...]
Exclusive: Inside the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong
When the Ritz-Carlton closed the doors to its original Hong Kong hotel in 2008, it wasn’t long before the hotel group would make one of its biggest announcements in hotel history: the next Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong would be open just three years later and would be the highest hotel in the world, surpassing the Armani Hotel at the Burj Khalifa, which opened in March 2010.
Interview With An Icon: Rosita Missoni Talks Fashion, Hotels & The Royal Wedding
The Missoni name is synonymous with luxury fashion and decor, so it’s no surprise the Missoni-brand hotels embody both. The minimalist design perfected by the Missoni label translates into a sexy, seductive masterpiece. In 1969, Women’s Wear Daily, then considered the ultimate word on fashion, wrote “Missoni is in the lead with one of the [...]
Living History: Retracing Family Roots in Berlin
In Berlin, I walked through history, retracing the roots of my family tree and immersing myself in the dark past of my Jewish heritage. What must it have been like to wonder if tomorrow would be better than today?
Luxury Hotels Embrace 2011 With Social Media, Authentic Experiences
With one month into the new year, hotels have begun implementing their 2011 plans for growth and with good news: spending on luxury travel is on the rise, allowing luxury hotel groups to price out accordingly and recover from a few years of a less-than-ideal bottom lines. Today’s luxury traveler is back in the game, [...]
Top 10 Luxury Hotels to Visit in 2011
As a new year begins, so do new travel plans. I crisscrossed the globe in 2010 – from Shanghai to Sydney and Manhattan to Miami – and visited many hotels that left a lasting impression. Now that 2010 is over and 2011 has begun, I’ve put together my list of the must-see luxury hotels to [...]
Scent of a Woman: Perfume Making in L’anai
Christian Dior once said, “A woman’s perfume tells more about her than her handwriting.” Perhaps that’s why there’s various scents for women that are so intoxicating they forgive bad penmanship. Still, without understanding the science behind the fragrances that make up your favorite perfume, how do you really define the scent of a woman? That [...]
Closing out the Year at The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua
Before we entered the ancient burial ground on Kapaula, Clifford Naeole offered a chant introducing me to the 400-plus Hawaiian ancestors who lay 40 feet under in the lush gardens overlooking the Hawaiian islands. He touched my arm gently midway through the chant – a signal for me to make my introduction. “Melanie Nayer, from [...]
An Evening at Blantyre with Beaux Frères Vineyard
There’s an old saying, “It’s beauty that captures your attention; personality which captures your heart.” When I first pulled into the horseshoe drive at Blantyre, I knew immediately there was something special about this Relais & Chateaux property. Not only was it beautiful, but the warmth and affection shown by the staff immediately captured my [...]


