Annie Fitzsimmons

I believe, for the price of a hotel room night, you can become any person you choose.  By choosing a hotel carefully, you can become an actor, a writer, a scientist, a CEO, a fashion designer, or disappear completely. Or you might access different parts of your personality, such as fearlessness and boldness, by staying at certain places.  

I have been completely obsessed with hotels since I can remember, growing up to dress the part and "lobby stalk."  From this obsession grew a career that I have fought for and created for myself, as a hotel curator.  I graduated from Texas A&M University, spent time living in Vienna in college and developing unhealthy obsessions with Sachertorte, the Hapsburgs, and Kaffeehauskultur.  I started in PR for The Phoenician Resort in my hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona, moving on to become an international tour guide and feeling like I had gained a degree in European history.  

Recently, I've been consulting for a PR agency in New York, leading walking tours of Brooklyn Heights, and assisting television host Kirsten Gum with her new gourmet raw foods and yoga retreats, Raw Trips.  And I have contributed my hotel reviews and thoughts to several online outlets, including aSmallWorld, and my own blog, Hotel Belle, can be found at www.anniefitzsimmons.com.  

Traveling well is an art, and I want to take you not only to fabulous full-service resorts but also to more unexpected B&B's and inns.  One of the more memorable places I've stayed was the Petra House in Galway for 35 euros a person, on a nondescript, residential street.  The owner, Frank, greeted us with fresh scones and an abundance of Irish wit and charm.  These are the places that matter, along with fantasy getaways like the Four Seasons Costa Rica, Laucala Island in Fiji, or The Peninsula Tokyo.  

Conversation is essential in travel, and I want to hear all about your favorite hotels and what made them so special for you.  I also want to hear about the duds!  Sometimes those are the best stories, and can be a hilarious word of caution for your friends and online community.