Mike Thiel, 63, is founder and president of Hideaways International (www. hideaways.com), a luxury travel company with a travel club. Thiel of Rye, N.H., has been dubbed "King of the One-Night Stands" because his duties include staying at and inspecting high-end hotels -- as many as 60 hotels per research trip, four or five trips per year.
Q Where have you had a surprisingly good time?
A I had a great time on a recent trip to Thailand. I was visiting a place in the region of Khao Lak. This is on a beach north of Phuket, an area worst hit by the 2004 tsunami: It took a 30ish-foot tidal wave that washed several kilometers inshore. Three years later, you wouldn't know it happened. The resort is called the Sarojin and has a staff-to-guest ratio of about 2- or 3-1.
Talk about their doing anything custom you want! In terms of experiential things, they put me in one of those long-tail Thai boats that has a big car engine and is designed for shallow water. The guide went around these fishing villages to show the markets and all this great stuff. Then I was taken to this beautiful bank of a tidal river, and on the shore, from out of nowhere, appears this luxury vehicle with a table, white tablecloth and a full lunch setup -- beautifully served, with wine and seafood and salads -- the works.
A place I really love is the Cipriani Hotel in Venice, Italy; I've been there several times. It's just a wonderful, tranquil setting that looks back at Venice, as opposed to being in the middle of the city. What I like the most are their vintage, polished mahogany launches which provide shuttle service.
Q The luxury hotel chains: Are they the same?
A Our company takes pride in picking places that are a little unusual and give you a sense of place.
Historically, Ritz-Carlton has wonderful service, but they don't tend to have a sense of place. Walk into any of them and they look like English men's clubs.
Orient Express hotels always have something a little unique.
Kimpton popularized the concept of urban boutique hotels in the U.S., usually paired up with a top restaurant -- like how their Prescott Hotel in San Francisco is paired with [Wolfgang Puck's] Postrio.
For unusual degree of service, one that jumps to mind is the Peninsula chain.
Q You probably run into celebs at the fancy hotels you check out.
A Once we were standing outside the Athenaeum, in London, dictating notes and shooting video, oblivious to our surroundings. And [actor] Michael Douglas comes pushing out the hotel door, headed for his limo, and practically knocks us over.
My wife's favorite celeb story came from a visit to Zurs, Austria. She was getting a tour of the hotels while I was skiing. She was videotaping in the street and bumps into Princess Di, who was literally standing 5 feet away. The princess breaks out crying, thinking my wife is a paparazzo.