Seatmates: Marissa Klurstein
On designing a dream hotel in Capri, Florence’s Renaissance charm, and why she never travels without a toddler pillow
This interview is part of Seatmates, a Window Seat series where tastemakers, travelers, and creatives share how they move through the world—what they pack, where they stay, and the travel rituals that shape their lives.
Very few people talk about hotels with as much heart as Marissa Klurstein. After all, she’s the brilliant creator behind one of Substack’s top travel newsletters, Happy Hoteling, which she describes as “the curation of the most special hotels around the world, for good people with good taste.” Her passion for thoughtful hospitality is contagious, and she has an undeniable gift for discovering the kinds of stays that linger in your memory.
With our shared love of travel and beautifully designed stays, I couldn’t think of a better Seatmate to spotlight this month. Marissa’s perspective on what makes a hotel unforgettable is inspiring, and I’d be willing to bet that her expert insights will end up influencing one of your future vacations.
Read on to learn which Italian city she’s about to call home, which hotels shaped her Happy Hoteling philosophy, and all the destinations she’s manifesting next.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a copywriter and brand strategist turned travel writer, who’s always been obsessed with hotels. Now, writing about them is my job, with my Happy Hoteling Substack and website, and I will never get over that. I used to play “hotel” as a kid, instead of house.
I’m writing from San Francisco, where I grew up just outside, but I’m about to do the damn thing and move to Italy. I’m incredibly lucky that it’s a country that I’ve spent a whole lot of time in, and have become an expert on, and I’m ready to have culture back on my weekly agenda.
To me, travel is the best education and investment. Not just in yourself, but in your contribution to the world. I see the big goal as understanding as much as possible. And, I happen to think special, true-to-the-land hotels are a really great way to bake your cake and eat it too.
You just announced that you’re planning a move to Florence, Italy. Out of all places, what drew you to make it your next home base? How do you think living there will influence your work and your perspective on travel?
There are so many reasons, and they all weigh in equal parts. First, it’s where my parents met, and where my dad lived for over 20 years and I think I’ve always felt innately at home there because of that. But also, I was an Art History major and specialized in the Renaissance and just love that period and history and the material arts in general and when that’s the case, Florence is the clear choice. And then little things that are big to me – the fact that, besides in the sweltering summer, the weather is very close to San Francisco’s, which I love. And that, like San Francisco, it’s a second city. Also like SF, it’s a city people are proud to be from, and locals still live there. Lastly, I have only ever really been loyal to two designers, Pucci and Ferragamo, and they happen to be the only two fashion houses in Florence. Ok one more, promise, I also really like steak and a bistecca alla Fiorentina can’t be beat.
There’s no doubt my life will change, and probably in big and many ways. First, I will write about my day-to-day life for the first time, because I will be living in Florence, a city that many of my readers love or want to visit. But then, most excitingly, I get to get on the high-speed Frecciarossa train or rent a car and go somewhere in Italy I love or have always thought I would love, or a hotel that’s out of the way but worth it. I’ve made it a goal in my mind to have at least two hotel stays a month. So far, my planning has me going way over that, but I’m really excited to make that come true.
I will be an immigrant, a visitor trying to assimilate into a culture that is not mine by birth. I have never been an immigrant before, and especially at this moment in time, I think having that first-hand experience (albeit the easiest) will change how I travel.
You often talk about hotels as experiences. Is there a particular property that changed your perspective on what a hotel can be?
You know, I don’t know if it’s as much one specific hotel as an accumulation of all the hotels that I loved in my formative years growing up. To me, staying at a special hotel fosters memories. Memories are the goal, at least for me. And they foster connection, whether it’s with yourself or with your people or strangers or the land. That is all an experience, the way I see it.
But, the way you intended the question, there are two hotels that I stayed at in my early-20s that made me feel so much, and so much good, that I could attribute my hotel perspective to their stays. Grand Hotel Bagni Nuovi in the Dolomites is an old world spa hotel with a grand ballroom-turned-dining room that looks just like the Grand Budapest Hotel. Every aspect of it was an experience, and none of it over-the-top or hyper-luxury – just very sensorial, very evocative.
And then a similar experience with Hotel Jardins Secrets in Nimes, in Provence. I’m a very maximalist person, and it’s a very maximalist hotel with such beautiful antiques and so many cinematic scenes that were just so very eccentrically French. I remember it was a whole experience trying to figure out how to open the ancient door, and that really stuck.
Funnily enough, I stayed at both hotels with the same friend, one of my best friends from high school, who I lived with at the time in New York. After we got home from that Provence trip, her mom said that I should plan trips for a living. It always stuck in the back of my head, and now we’re here!
Ok, fun question: If you could design your dream hotel, what would it look like, and where would it be located?
Best question, and one I think about a lot. I have so many notes on my phone of Frankenstein-ed hotels. I would love to sit next to you on a plane (you can have the window) and play this game the whole flight like it’s 3rd grade recess and we’re deciding our fates with MASH. (ed. note: Wait this sounds like so much fun?! I’d book a long-haul flight just to play this game the entire time.)
It would have to be Capri. I am very, very fortunate – I grew up spending a month in Capri every summer and know it like the back of my hand. And while two of my favorite hotels in the world are on Capri, there isn’t one single name that checks all the boxes.
It would be on the most beautiful street on the island: Via Tragara (there’s one villa I have in mind but I have to keep that secret). Now, this may be controversial, but there would be an application to stay. Capri doesn’t need a private club but it also doesn’t need just another hotel. It’s an island that has a lot of loyalists like myself, even if their yearly ritual didn’t start in childhood. I would love this to be a hotel for those people and their friends. Because everyone who loves Capri wants the people they love to love Capri.
Every room would have unique hand-painted murals by an artist from Naples. The lobby would have a sunken conversation pit, and guests would be able to sign up to “DJ” for aperitivo for a night, if they wish. The exterior would be white, as would the walls, but the ceilings would be painted brightly, and different local tiles would mark each room. Color would be everywhere, except for on the walls. Mostly, solids and stripes. No lemons, please and thank you. The local Caprese digestivo is finochietto, which is made from fennel and is really only homemade and found on the island (and sometimes Ischia and the Amalfi Coast) and is vastly under-known and wildly delicious. The lobby would be candlelit from 10pm onwards, with complimentary finochietto as a nightcap. The pool would be striped, and the waiters clad in slim striped jackets. Bougainvillea, which grows wild on the island, would be the main pop of color against the white of the building and the blue of the sea and sky.
Rates would be fair, so you can stay a week or more. We would have a house gozzo boat that you’d get a complimentary half-day on during any week+ stay.
Sadly, this will likely remain only a dream. But what a dream!
What’s been your most memorable hotel stay?
Oh man! It’s so hard to choose. I probably have to say the Ritz Paris for my 30th birthday, with my best friend from Capri. Even with the base room that I booked, someone meets you outside the airplane (literally) and takes you directly through customs and handles your bags, etc. That’s memorable on its own, but turning 30 there was something I’ll cherish forever—I’ll likely not be able to stay again because I stayed in 2021 and COVID pricing made it literally half the price it is now.
The bed was the most divine bed in the world, and I’m a bed snob. So soft, so plush, but also decked out with the right plugs etc. The TV that appeared in the mirror over the bathtub—which had the signature gold swan faucet—might take the cake though.
Is there a destination or property at the top of your wishlist?
Property: Villa Feltrinelli on Lake Garda is #1 on my bucket list, and it hasn’t wavered. It’s been the lock screen on my phone since before I pivoted my way into the world of hotels, and I’m manifesting it for my birthday this year, if and only if I hit a big Substack milestone.
Destination: So many, I want to see the world. But, Namibia is currently on my mind, as is Mozambique, Rajasthan, and Morocco—all places I’ve written about recently or often on Happy Hoteling.
What are your must-haves when it comes to luggage and items you travel with?
Believe it or not, I don’t have a lot of musts in this arena. I do always fly with my Away Bigger Carry-On Flex because it fits enough for me for a month in the summer, or two weeks in the winter. It’s the biggest carry-on on the market, even though it’s too big for low-cost carriers.
For the move, I just got the Away Trunks in both of the sparkly colors from Holiday, because I just really wanted glittery (but subtle and cool, which is kinda off-brand for Away imo) luggage and needed something really big to schlep all my stuff.
The only thing that’s a true must for me when I travel is my down toddler pillow. It’s the key to success, friends.
What is your go-to airport outfit?
For the past year or so, I’ve worn the Donni cropped kick flares for most flights, with a J Crew cashmere sweater and a Gap long sleeve tee. Or, I’ll wear baggy vintage Levi’s and the same on top, with a Brandy Melville short sleeve tee for summer. For shoes, it’s almost always Friulane, which I have from multiple places (Vibi Venezia is a great one though), or in the summer it’s often my classic Melissa fisherman jellies with socks, because they’re bulky and I usually don’t have much more room in my suitcase. A few months ago, I got a new pair of Tod’s driving loafers for the first time in a decade and now they’ll likely be my go-to because they make sense for everything.
Do you have any rules or rituals when it comes to air travel?
I’m deathly allergic to nuts and really allergic to a lot else, so I’ve really had to train myself to just chill and enjoy the ride. If I’m proud of myself for anything in travel, it’s being quite good at rolling with the punches. So no, no rules or rituals, really. I do pretty much always go through every single movie first, watch every trailer that I have any interest in, favorite the contenders, and then spend at least an hour choosing the first title.
Last question: aisle or window seat?
Long-haul: window, of course. But short-haul: aisle, for easy exit.
To hear more from Marissa, subscribe to Happy Hoteling and follow her on Instagram. Interested in being featured in Seatmates or know someone who should be? Drop me a line here.
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Tori Simokov is a Travel Writer and Graphic Designer/Strategist based in New York. To get in touch, email tori@v1projects.com. Want more? Check out Instagram, TikTok, or shop her curated favorites.
Loved this! And I’m sorry but was that the dress from 13 going on 30 that she’s jumping on the bed at the Ritz on?! ICONIQUE!!
PS open that hotel please! I want to come and stay!