Northstar

22 | www.travelweekly-asia.com GAME CHANGERS Born in England, whilst living as an expat in Nigeria, and later moving to the British Virgin Islands, then St Lucia in the Caribbean (until the age of 18), Melanie Hall moved to London for 11 years, starting her career in Harrods on their renowned management training scheme. In 1996, she started her journey in Asia, as head of creative for Calvin Klein Asia in Hong Kong. She now resides in Singapore with her husband and three children and makes frequent trips to their resort properties in Bali. Melanie Hall talks to Ian Jarrett. You've said that your late father, the architect Alan Chambers, was the big influence on your life. What are the most important lessons you learned from him? Both my parents always said to me, "Melanie, you can do anything you want to in life", which has been quite liberating and given me the confidence to never feel boxed-in to one particular field of work. I always remember my father doing the interiors of our many homes. He was never afraid of using colour to accent each space. I remember the day in St Lucia, in our new home, he stencilled a linear, very graphically-perfected version of the St Lucia "Pitons" (renowned mountains) on the wall using colours that matched the fabrics of the upholstery. This concept must have stuck with me, as now I typically match wall "graffiti" and artwork to my interiors also. You've been called Bali's 'Goddess of Groove' and Luna2 has been described as cosmic spaces for jet-setting lunatics. Do these descriptions match your own lifestyle? I don't consider myself overly "groovy", but I am a keen 'hot- spotter' for what's cool and happening around the world. I have travelled fairly extensively and always try out hotels of note; I understand the world of fashion and like to keep ahead of the game. I am a keen gastronaut and always like to try the newest restaurants and crave new experiences. I'm not one for conformism. What is your philosophy on life? Shoot the moon. Visualise your own version of success and achieve life-long ambitions with passion. Surround yourself in the process with like-minded, sincere, honest, kind, positive thinkers, who will mutually love and learn from you and each other. Embrace each other's successes. Most of all, enjoy life, and make the most of family and friends. How do you hire? What qualities do you look for? I'm not looking for conformists. First and foremost, I look for "nice" people with superb skills, who can work as a team to drive the business forward. I am fortunate that we now have an incredible team, with general manager Brenden Peace, at the helm, having worked with Luna2 for seven years, most recently as executive chef and director of food and beverage. What kind of mentoring advice do you typically give to your staff? The first book I hand them is Paul Arden's "Whatever you think, think the opposite". I encourage them to "think differently", as per Steve Jobs, to think out-of-the-box. I am a stickler for detail, and expect the same from my team. You worked at Harrods with Mohammed Al Fayad. What's the story about Al Fayed giving you his Harrods account number to go shopping in the store? I started out with my first job at age 19, (having left college after one year, which I found uninspiring), joining the renowned Management Training Scheme at Harrods in London. During my employment, I was awarded several prizes (bottles of champagne) by the owner, Mohammed Al Fayed, for my high levels of customer service. During my first year at Harrods, I approached Mr Al Fayed to propose the first (of what became many) Management Trainee Balls. He insisted we hold the ball at the Dorchester. I had weekly meetings with him, and he would sit with his feet up on his foot stool, and say "OK Melanie, what do you want from me today?" And towards the final stages of the planning for this event, Mr Al Fayed turned to his secretary and said, "Give Melanie my Harrods account number. She needs to shop for auction prizes at my expense." I chaired the committee and we raised GBP10,000 for charity. What took you into the hotel business? In January 1998, when I moved to Jakarta (to be with my future husband) it felt a natural transition for me to start my own design business. During this time, we were fortunate to purchase a beachfront prime spot in Seminyak, Bali. My husband and I then recognised a clear gap in the market for more intimate, high-end, avant-garde hotels, with extreme attention to personal service. With my passion for design and my husband Stewart's business and finance expertise, back in 2007, it all just slotted into place, and we created Luna2 private hotel, with super-star services of an exclusive hotel, within the privacy of a home. Shortly after, the land directly behind became available, so we snapped it up. My husband said to me, "What would you recommend we build on this site?" So I just started drawing up Luna2 studiotel. I knew we were only allowed to build on a 50% footprint; I knew I had to build away from the temple land beyond; I knew the maximum building height was approximately 15 metres; with these specifications in mind, the design process was an easy one, and Luna2 studiotel took shape very smoothly. Where do you go from here with your growth plans for Luna2? We are currently in concept design stage for our next Luna2 studiotel in Niseko, Japan. This will be an exciting step off the beach for us and onto the slopes of Asia's most newly talked about ski resort. Our site is located in the heart of the village, and Luna2 studiotel will offer our signature 'FUNked-up modernism' design. Regarding the concept, think 'A space-age, 60's pop, Bauhaus, Swiss alpine chalet'. Watch this space. We are now interested in Europe and the Caribbean. BALI'S GODDESS OF GROOVE

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