Andre Balazs

I think it's fair to say more adultery goes on in hotels than any other place in the world.

One of the few luxuries left is travel. And the aspect of travel that is luxurious is not the movement, but the being there.

Bathtubs, pools, water - to me, it's a very essential part of being grounded and sensual and feeling yourself.

I love water - I'm an Aquarius, but that has nothing to do with it - and I've never been away from water in any place.

I don't think it ever does any harm in any business to feel that there is someone there who cares about it. If you look at any business, fashion being the most obvious, the aura, or the reality of the designer, is part of what creates it. It's true in luxury goods stores and in good food stores. It leaves a palpable sense that someone cares.

I often compare putting a hotel together to old-time movie production. You come up with a story line, you hire the writer, the director, the stars, the set designer.