Travel by Design Marriott Bonvoy Traveler

In L.A.'s trendy Downtown neighborhood, two new hotels are about to open in the same building. But while they occupy a similar space, each embodies a distinct — and very different — personality, thanks to the power of design.

In this episode, Hamish speaks with George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg, the revered and award-winning designers behind the Moxy and AC Hotels in Downtown Los Angeles. George and Glenn share how the hotels inhabit the building as two siblings, very different in how they gather guests and set a mood, but both steeped in the same artistic backdrop and desert landscapes of Southern California.

The Maldives is known for luxurious hotels, with dreamy overwater villas set on a jewel-tone sea. But not every villa is the same. On one island in the Maldives, a hotel is drawing from unexpected sources of inspiration: fashion and Bauhaus design.

In this episode, host Hamish Kilburn chats with designer Dan Kridsada to trade Maldives travel stories and reveal all the careful decisions that go into constructing an overwater villa. From the bold guest rooms to the panoramic bar where travelers can watch the sun set over an infinite horizon, Hamish learns how design can heighten the experience of being dropped onto an island in the Indian Ocean.

What is biophilic design? One hotel, set deep in the mangrove jungle of Costa Rica, shows why this trend of blending design with nature is so powerful. Hamish speaks with Andres Pacheco, owner of El Mangroove Hotel and Residences, Autograph Collection, and architect Ronald Zürcher, who designed the hotel, to find out how they worked around the mangrove trees to build a luxurious forest escape.

What can a designer do to re-invent the forgettable trappings of a hotel that’s always been treated — quite literally — as a layover?

Hamish learns how airport hotels are being overhauled to deliver a travel experience that shakes up decades of design inertia, by chatting with Colin Finnegan and Lauren Holmes — who played crucial roles in overhauling the interiors at the Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Toronto, respectively.

When designing for royalty, it's all about the details. Hamish speaks with interior designer Maria Katsarou Vafiadis to learn how she reimagined Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, to embrace its royal heritage, with modern touches for today's traveler.

How do you capture Nova Scotia's rich maritime culture through design? Hamish speaks with Alessandro Munge and Grace Zeppilli, a husband-wife team who designed the interiors, furnishings and art collection at Muir Halifax, Autograph Collection, and who, coincidentally, just returned from a stay at the hotel.