A Luxury Travel Blog

Todd Harris is Senior Vice President for Hospitality and Member Services at Exclusive Resorts, a luxury destination club offering members hundreds of vacation residences around the world. He supervises all aspects of the member experience. Previously Todd spent 14 years with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, serving as General Manager of some of their most acclaimed hotels, including The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch in Beaver Creek, Colorado and international properties in Singapore, Japan and South Korea.

What is it that you do exactly?

I oversee the overall service experience at Exclusive Resorts, to ensure that our members have a first-class vacation every time they travel with us.  This includes responsibility for the travel planning services our members receive from their dedicated Member Services Managers, as well as the in-residence experience they enjoy when they are staying with us in our homes.  I spend my day speaking to members, reviewing their feedback, and supporting hundreds of service staff (housekeeping, concierge, and property maintenance) across nearly 40 destinations in the U.S., Caribbean, Europe, Mexico and elsewhere.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

I love my relationships and connections with my staff.  As you can imagine, with on-site service personnel supporting nearly 400 club residences as well as our Denver-based Member Services Managers, we have quite a team.  I’ve really enjoyed building our service model, finding enthusiastic and expert service professionals to add as we expand, and working with all of them to identify new ways to not only continue enhancing our the services we offer, but also to surprise and delight our members on their vacations.

What would you say are the 3 best places you’ve ever stayed?

To me, the best travel experiences are often to celebrate important family occasions.

1.   Peninsula Papagayo, Costa Rica – In addition to my role with Exclusive Resorts, I’m also a member of the club.  About two years ago, my wife and I were fortunate to share a memorable wedding with a small group of close friends and family at the Exclusive Resorts “enclave” in Peninsula Papagayo.  The homes were stunning, the wildlife and landscape fascinating, and working with our onsite concierge team in Costa Rica on all the details made everything simple, so we were really able to relax and enjoy that special weekend.

2.   Hawaii’s Big Island –We took my wife’s family to Kohala Coast on the Big Island to celebrate her mom’s 60th birthday recently. None of my wife’s family had ever traveled to Hawaii before, and I was happy to be able to help organize a trip that brought everyone together for a family reunion in a destination that was new to them and has long been a favorite of mine.

3.   Sea Island, Georgia – My wife and I invited all eight members of my immediate family for a fantastic family reunion in Sea Island, Georgia. The Cloister at Sea Island is truly an exceptional resort property, with a terrific array of activities, five miles of private beach, and the amazing 65,000 square foot Cloister Spa.

What’s been your most memorable dining experience to date?

I think the most memorable dining experience I’ve had was probably when I was living in Japan. As an expatriate hotel manager for a five star hotel brand, I was fortunate to be able to travel around Japan and experience many unique aspects of their culture. I specifically remember one dinner in Fukuoka where I couldn’t communicate with the local staff so I asked for the “set menu”. One dish included them pulling a live squid out of a tank in the middle of the restaurant and clipping off its tentacles and serving them directly onto my plate. I had the hardest time picking them up with my chop sticks as they were still squirming and jumping all over my plate.  I loved trying the local cuisine while living abroad, and this particular meal has definitely remained vivid in my memory.

Have you rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous, either through your work or your travels?

Andre Agassi and his wife Steffi Graf are members of Exclusive Resorts, and I have had the opportunity to spend some time with them at a couple of club destinations where they were conducting tennis clinics for their foundation.

What currently ranks highest on your travel wish list?

This one is easy because we’ve been planning a trip for our members here at Exclusive Resorts, as part of our unique Once in Lifetime program, that is at the top of my personal list:  a South African experience, combining a stay in Cape Town, South Africa with a luxurious safari experience in Kruger National Park. To go on a world-class safari (complete with luxury accommodations and private guides) and enjoying the local beaches and wineries of Cape Town sound like a perfect balance of adventure and relaxation.  Experiencing the many different aspects of South Africa on a trip like that is something I would love to do someday.

Thank you for taking part in our interview, Todd.  I can appreciate how a plateful of squirming tentacles must have stuck in the memory!

Iconic Cape Town Hotel Ellerman House will introduce Apple iPads to each of its eleven luxurious rooms and modernist villa over the coming months – the only hotel in South Africa to offer iPads for guests’ use. The iPad is fast becoming an indispensible item within the gadget market and a supremely useful tool in the hospitality industry, due to both its numerous practical uses and leading entertainment.

This is Ellerman House’s latest move in a drive to enhance the guest experience through contemporary themes, bespoke luxury experiences and new technology. The introduction of in-room iPads will give guests uninterrupted internet access; the chance to read their favorite books and magazines online; up to date information on Cape Town’s latest restaurant openings, events and activities and real time hotel updates such as interactive room tours, virtual tours of the hotel’s world renowned art collection and unique music compilations, tailored to guest’s preferences.

Within close proximity of top quality shopping and dining at Sandton Central, Athol Place Boutique Hotel is a fabulously indulgent luxury hotel where you can be assured an unforgettable stay. The hotel has ten individually-designed, stylish suites that provide a sanctuary of comfort and tranquillity; each has large doors opening out onto a private balcony, contributing to a feeling of light and space within. Luxurious duck-down duvets and soft, silky cushions serve as finishing touches to opulent beds made up in crisp white percale Frette bed linen imported from Italy. Rooms also feature comfortable lounge chairs and sofas, writing desks, flat screen televisions, and en suite bathrooms with bath, shower, double vanity, and underfloor heating.

Construction is underway on Etambura Camp, the first luxury tented camp in Namibia owned entirely by the local communities. Run by Conservancy Safaris and set on a remote hill top in the North West Kunene region, the camp will offer the ultimate desert camping in comfort.

Etambura Camp is in the Orupembe Conservancy in the western Himbaland, a 3,565 square kilometre area of mountains, hills, plains and tree-lined dry river beds. In Herero “etaa mbura” means “see the rain all over” and appropriately the construction of Conservancy Safaris latest venture is on the summit of a hilltop in one of the remotest parts of the Kunene Region, with an average rainfall of approximately 100mm per annum. The camp is scheduled to open to the first guests at the beginning of August.

Conservancy Safaris, and Etambura Camp, are entirely owned by the local communities with 100% of the profit going to the hosts, the local Himba and Herero people. The camp will consist of just five en suite tents, each with a private deck and positioned to take maximum advantage of the breath-taking views over the Onyuva plains. The communal lapa area extends to the edge of the hill and is the perfect setting to enjoy a good meal, watch the sun set whilst the moon rises and marvel at the endless expanse of a starry sky. Designed by Trevor Knott, a pasture scientist by profession with a growing reputation for unusual and striking projects in Namibia, Etambura will have a unique finish incorporating both flora and natural rock as an artistic feature.

A weekly pick of luxury travel links for your perusal…

• Treat yourself at Le Meurice
• Seeing is believing at Shompole
• Delve into Visit Florida Luxury Insider
• Explore the South Pacific with Turquoise

Leleshwa Camp is an intimate tented camp situated on the Siana Community Conservation area on the north-eastern ridge of the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Resting along a stream valley, overlooking picturesque hills and rolling plains dotted with resident game, Leleshwa Camp is a peaceful haven. You’ll love the wide range of activities on offer: cultural village and school visits, digital photography workshops, hiking in the Loita Hills, bush meals and even balloon rides.

A weekly pick of luxury travel links for your perusal…

• Tailormade tours of India from Dominion Travel
• For your luxe travel needs: Elite Destinations Direct
• Save on theme parks with Orlando Attractions
• Check out Suite 116 at Four Seasons Resort Seychelles

Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge is situated in Nkuringo, Uganda, bordering the south-western corner of the impenetrable Bwindi National Park. The panoramic view of the Virunga mountain range the Great Rift Valley is the magnificent backdrop for the unique eco-lodge which sits high on a ridge at 2100m.

The only camp in a 280,000 acre Maasai reserve and with room for only 16 guests, Campi ya Kanzi offers true African wilderness in exclusivity. At the foot of the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro, Campi ya Kanzi is a luxury Maasai community eco-lodge offering a profound engagement with the local community and a timeless safari experience.

A weekly pick of luxury travel links for your perusal…

• Enriching lives through distinctive journeys: Big Five
• Luxury in the Lake District from Kendal Cottages
• Untamed wilderness from the Botswana Tourist Board
• See the exclusive La Posada Villas with pools

The Rocco Forte Collection – which currently has 13 luxury hotels in major cities across Europe - has revealed that its first property in the Middle East will open in Abu Dhabi this Autumn. It will be followed by a 146-bedroom property opening in Jeddah in 2011, a 90 All-suite Golf, Spa & Villa Resort in Marrakech in 2011 and a 275 bedroom property in Cairo in 2013.

The Taj Cape Town has been called the city’s oldest new hotel because of the two historic buildings it occupies, but its location in the heart of the city is also what sets it apart.  It is housed in the Board of Executors (1896) and the original South African Reserve Bank (1932) buildings. And now seventeen new storeys have been added, offering panoramic views of the city and Table Mountain.

The 177-room hotel is set in a precinct steeped in history, from the
neighbouring Slave Lodge to St. George’s Cathedral, where Nobel Laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu stood against apartheid. The heart of Cape Town with its art, culture, cuisine and entertainment is on the doorstep.

If you really want to splurge, go for the top floor where you’ll find a two-bedroom, split-level Presidential Suite with its own massage and steam rooms, fully equipped kitchen, office, gym and an expansive top-floor deck for outdoor entertainment.

Serena Hotels will commence construction of a new luxury tented camp in Kenya this month. The New Lake Elementaita Serena Camp, will be located along the shores of the flamingo and pelican fringed Lake Elementaita within the Soysambu Conservancy, which is approximately 120km from Nairobi and 30km from Lake Nakuru National Park.  Offering a blend of exclusivity and adventure, the new camp will comprise 25 luxury tents, a dining and lounge area, spa and swimming pool enjoying magnificent views of the Lake.

Move over the Maldives and Mauritius… there is a new player in Indian Ocean luxury and it’s coming in the form of a rather unique Mozambique. Something of a hidden gem, this sparkling coastline has only been visited so far by ‘those in the know’. Powder white sands and azure blue seas abound, but this time it’s less manicured, more remote feeling, and even a little adventurous.

What this new Indian Ocean alternative is offering is summed up by Vamizi Island. Billowing white muslins drape enormous beds, the gentle sea breeze whispers through pretty latticed windows and vast decks surround Robinson Crusoe villas scattered with deep sofas, colonial style chairs and cushion covered day beds…

The beaches are your own, the diving is to die for, deep sea fishing is unrivalled and the privacy is quite spectacular.  No rows of over water bungalows or ‘carefully hidden’ neighbours at Vamizi Island… the villas are 70 metres apart, absolutely private and with the company of weaver birds working over head and monkeys gamboling in front of your villa you will never feel lonely.

Vamizi Island, like most luxury African lodges is also fully inclusive except for scuba diving and deep sea fishing, so unlike other Indian Ocean destinations you will not face an extras bill at the end of your holiday.

Moroccan hotel operator, Kenzi Hotels Group, are driving forward their expansion and repositioning themselves as key players in the luxury market with the launch of the new ‘Premium Signature’ range. Recent openings include Kenzi Menara Palace, Marrakech, part of Summit Hotels & Resorts and the Kenzi Tower Hotel, Casablanca, part of Preferred Hotel Group.

2009 was a busy year with the launch of Kenzi Menara Palace, Marrakech, the latest 5 star resort and spa in the Kenzi Group. Opened in March, The Kenzi Menara Palace offers 236 luxury rooms including a Royal Suite in 12 acres of landscaped gardens and is situated in the Red City. Just 2 miles from Marrakech International Airport, it overlooks the Atlas Mountains in a peaceful location from which to visit Marrakech’s major attractions including the atmospheric Jamaa El Fna Square, the colonial quarter of Gueliz and several renowned golf courses.

As the sun sets over the African bush, what could be more romantic than spending a night in a private hide-out with magnificent views and only cocktails and candlelight for company? Sleeping out under the stars, surrounded by the astounding sights and sounds of the wild, is possible at Makanyane Safari Lodge – the only lodge in the Madikwe Game Reserve to have an exclusive sleep-out hide.

Hidden deep in the bush, Makanyane’s hide overlooks a waterhole – a favourite place for the ‘Big Five’ to drink – and offers incomparable views over the vast African plains. Beds can be made up on the upper deck of the hide, offering guests the chance to soak up the incredible ambience of the bush at night. Hot and cold drinks, meals and snacks, binoculars, lanterns, torches and spotlights are all provided and guests also have the reassurance of constant contact with the lodge via radio communication – alternatively a guide will stay on at guests’ request. The experience of sleeping under the enormous African sky, even for those used to camping in the bush, is simply unforgettable.

For less intrepid guests, Makanyane’s eight secluded glass-walled suites are furnished with rich African textures and sumptuous fabrics and feature uninterrupted views of the tranquil Marico River and surrounding landscape. Makanyane also offers a handful of rustic day-time hides, which have been carefully positioned in idyllic locations on the lodge’s private land, enabling guests an ever-changing view of animals grazing nearby and moving across the vast plains.

Just a 3.5 hour drive or a 45 minute flight from Johannesburg, Makanyane Safari Lodge is ideally situated on 1,800 hectares of private ground within the 75,000 hectare Madikwe Game Reserve – home to the ‘Big Five’ as well as a myriad of other animal and bird species.

Rooms start from £365 per person per night, all inclusive and based on two sharing.