“Welcome to W Doha, we saw you had a good flight” – was my welcome as I entered this amazing hotel. Granted, W Hotels are unique in the way they really take time to get to know their guests, but I was still surprised. “Oh, we saw your instagram post”, was the response when I looked back at him slightly puzzled. Ahhhh, I get it… Entering in to the lobby (or “Living Room” in W speak), you’re […]
Some people think they’re flexible (and I’m not one of them), but having now had the privilege to shoot Tara Stiles during her Strala Yoga Retreat at W Maldives, I’d say my definition of flexibility has definitely changed…! Now, first things first – while it may sound like a dream shoot, shooting in the Maldives can sometimes be tough (and this was no exception). Landing late at night, you’re then working 16 hour days in 30-40 […]
Normally when I photograph “talent”, it’s part of a modelling shoot or specific commercial imagery. To the industry, the term “talent” has certain preconceptions attached to it, but is a generally accepted term for the star of the show. So why would a hotel group insist on employing “talents” instead of staff? At the W Hotel Singapore – Sentosa Cove, it’s blindingly obvious : These guys really are the star of the show each and every day! In […]
Welcome to the W Retreat Maldives – where one of the coolest hotel brands in the world meets paradise on earth. (As you can imagine, it’s a great combination!). Building on the shoots we did at the amazing W Retreat Koh Samui last year, I headed out to the Maldives to photograph the talent team there with the Starwood digital marketing team. Now I’m not going to lie – paradise or not, the warning email I got […]
Welcome back to the W 🙂 That stunning view, above, was part of what prompted me to write about the W Retreat Koh Samui in February, after I returned from an amazing stay there. Realising that what made the place so special was in no small part down to the the talent of the staff at the retreat, Nick (the general manager) and I got talking… W Hotels pride themselves on being cool, hip, and […]
That picture, again below, is of my hotel “room” from last week in Koh Samui at the “W Retreat” in Mae Nam. What’s a hotel room doing on Paul’s blog? I hear you ask – Well, there’s a bit of a back-story to this one and the place is stunning enough to warrant me actually putting fingers to keys and writing about it (yes, it’s that good). And for once, I’m posting an entire page of […]