Luxury Hotels: As a seasoned traveler, you expect the best. Personal concierge, world-class dining, spectacular amenities and breathtaking views. The novice traveler, on the other hand might overlook one important characteristic of a true luxury destination: great design. Wait, you missed that too? We're not saying that every place you stay has to claim a famous architect and designer, but the architecture and interior design elements should enhance the luxury experience by complimenting the property's services, amenities and atmosphere. When you're on vacation you want to break out of the same-old, same-old. The structure, furnishings and design can either foster a carefree, relaxed vacation mindset or make you feel like you could have had the same experience at the local Holiday Inn.

"The interior design of the property needs to directly relate to servicing the guest from the moment the guest approaches the property," said Danielle Fox, a designer at Barry Design Associates." The key element of a luxury destination is service and every experience the guest encounters is enhanced by the interiors, from guest arrival, to dining environments, to the spa experience."

"A guestroom in a luxury destination needs to appeal to the experienced and discerning traveler. Rooms should be furnished with carefully designed custom furniture and with amenities such as luxury linens, wireless internet and flat panel televisions. Luxurious four-fixture bathrooms are an important part of the luxury hotel guest experience as well as the correct amount of ambient and task lighting. Often it is the extra touches that the guest remembers, like fresh flowers and luxurious bathroom amenities."

The Luxury Experience

As we all know, even the best sheets, towels and massaging shower heads can't make up for bad service. When it comes to a luxury hotel, many forces work together to create a memorable, and positive, experience for guests.

A lot of thought goes in to designing a luxury hotel. The planning begins even before the ground is broken." Each and every luxury hotel is a unique environment," Fox said. "Before beginning the design process, extensive research is required to create the best environment for the particular hotel. Among the multitude of considerations is the architecture, setting and environment, level of service and amenities, and clientele. Equally important is the client's objectives for the design of property. Our objective as designers is to translate all this information into an original environment particular to that property. Our job to create a luxury hotel experience that reflects these goals. There can be numerous challenges when designing hotels, but they are basically opportunities to apply our creativity and problem solving skills."

For the greater good

We can think of many unfavorable jobs but traveling around the world and designing luxury hotels isn't one of them. If there weren't people like Danielle Fox, we'd be destined to uncertain hotel experiences. So while Fox's job holds many perks, her services really are for the greater good. Lucky for her she gets to do what she loves.

Keen to break the stereotypical interior design path, Fox specializes in Three-Dimensional Design which incorporates sculpture, art, architecture, industrial and product design. Her roots in traditional design work, matched with a passion for mass media and fashion, give her an innate ability to create new tradition.

Her work at the luxurious Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman showcased her ability to meld the opulent within a regional context while her design efforts on behalf of the BLVD at the Regent Beverly Hills demonstrates her ability to update the traditional with modern twist. Her use of a French Deco theme blended with an original use of clean lines and statement colors resulted in a dynamic setting that is at once classic and contemporary.

Fox has also put her mark on the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, and the Yokohama Royal Park Hotel , which was the tallest building constructed in Japan at the time. The Hotel Bel Air ranks on Fox's roster, along with her current project, El San Juan Hotel and Casino in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and 16 luxury fractionally owned residences for Exclusive Resorts in Grand Cayman, providing the most current and exciting travel experience.

So the next time you're enjoying a relaxing dip in your in-room Jacuzzi overlooking ocean waves crashing against a sandy shore, you?ll know it was all done that way by design.