A Hotel Life Celebrates LE Miami Closing Party

Photography by Rodrigo Gaya on June 19th, 2013 in Nightlife

Chelsea Leyland

Miami Beach, FL – June 13, 2013 – The first annual LE Miami travel and hospitality industry conference ended with a big closing party hosted by A Hotel Life and presented by Surface Magazine at Pearl at Nikki Beach. The night was packed with 400 guests from the LE Miami conference and lots of Miami’s hospitality tastemakers. Bacardi cocktails were flowing, while DJs Ruen and Chelsea Leyland were on the decks. AHotelLife.com is a brand new, hip travel website that gives inside advice from travel experts on what to do and where to stay in the world’s coolest cities, with Miami being one of them. With the special occasion taking place here, World Red Eye caught up with Ben Pundole, A Hotel Life’s founder and editor-in-chief, before he jets off to his next exciting destination.

Anton Moore

Ben Pundole

World Red Eye: How did A Hotel Life come to be?

Ben Pundole: I love cool hotels but felt there wasn’t a site dedicated to them. There are great travel sites, great booking engines, and great industry sites, so I thought an editorial review site that celebrated lifestyle hotels and the people that make them tick was a good idea. I travel a lot- I can’t live without it. A lot of my friends travel, so I thought it would be fun to make them the reviewers.

WRE: A Hotel Life just recently won Best New Journalist/Blogger at LE Miami, how long has the site been active and how do you see it growing?

BP: I’m so proud of my LE Miami award. We launched the site in February, so we are still very new, and the response has been great. It’s opened up a lot of opportunities. I work with some fantastic people: Amy Risley who designed A Hotel Life and is the West Coast editor, Gemma Bell the UK editor, and Kate Atkinson, the Australian/Asia editor.

WRE: What determines if a city or hotel is featured in your list of destinations?

BP: It has to have an element of surprise or unique elements whether it’s design, environmental focus, food and beverage, or a community program.

WRE: Miami gets some love on the site, with three hotels already reviewed- the SLS, Freehand, and The Standard- what’s next?

BP: Miami has some fantastic hotels, always has, and they’re continually reinvented. Soho Beach house is my personal favorite, but I’m excited to see the Miami Beach EDITION coming to South Beach.

WRE: What’s your favorite thing about Miami as a destination? Favorite hotel and restaurant when you visit?

BP: I’m completely enamored by Miami again. I lived there for three years from 2003 and still have an apartment there. It’s whatever you want it to be: relaxed and healthy, hedonistic and crazy, or cultural and educational. My favorite hotel is Soho Beach House, and nothing beats Jugo Fresh. I also love Michael’s Genuine and Quattro.

WRE: Where are you traveling to next?

BP: I’m off to London on Sunday, working on the London EDITION there.