How many lists would you say that you have?
Oh, at least 100. Right now, I have Mexico City, Athens, the Hamptons, Atlanta, Seattle, Tel Aviv, Mallorca, LA, New York, Madrid, Rio, Baltimore, Detroit, Venice, Richmond. New Orleans, Philly, Chicago, the South of France, London, Paris, Palm Springs, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Monaco, Istanbul, Milan, Menorca, Phoenix, Lisbon, Berlin, Rome, Spain, Sicily, Miami. There are 30, 40, 50 more.
Who’s the most interesting person you met with during this trip?
I’d like to say Lane, because she’s such a gem and she exemplifies something I value about the types of cities that we open hotels in. A jaded New Yorker might not expect to go to Baltimore and find this cultural ambassador and earth angel. But it’s amazing how there are these people in almost every city—and I can think of a few of them in every city that I have a hotel in—who not only have done excellent things in their places, but they’re also super well-connected and insightful, globally speaking. So I met with Lane a few times, obviously to see her new bar, but also to talk about some upcoming programming things. That’s always a personal and professional highlight.
What was the best thing you ate?
Well, Comptoir is pretty hard to compete with in Baltimore. It’s family-style there, so you’re getting a bunch of dishes. The steak tartare there is unbelievable; I also love the crab pot with croutons and the chicken liver pâté. They also have such a sensitive and insightful wine list, and I’m not even a wine person. Our head of food and beverage who’s based in Baltimore recommended a really good crab cake place called Nick’s Fish House; I also loved the steamed crabs at Locust Point Steamers.
We talked about the vintage shops, but is there anything else you want to tack on?
I’ll put a plug in for Club Charles, also known as Club Chuck, which is a sort of original Waters crew watering hole that’s one of my favorite bars in America. It’s just such a vibe and so not trying to be anything other than what it is, but it also has this incredible sort of Deco bar. I just love it, and I have to go there every time I’m in Baltimore.
