#BoHoLover: Meet Ashley & Carolyn of The Lazy Travelers @LazyTravelers

We asked The Lazy Travelers, Ashley & Carolyn, to share their ideas on hotels and Amberlair. They are #BohoLovers, Boutique Hotel Lovers – just like us!

How do you choose a hotel when you travel?

It really depends! If we’re heading to a city, we’ll pick the neighborhood that sounds most interesting and go from there – we like to be within walking distance of great bars and restaurants whenever possible. If we’re going somewhere coastal or more rural, then it’s definitely all about the views. We love asking for input on Twitter, too. People are passionate about hotels they love (and hate)!

If you had to choose 3, which were the most special hotels you have ever stayed at? 

Our list is endless if you ask us individually, but of the trips we’ve taken together, we’d have to say the
Inn at Hastings Park in Lexington, the
Andaz in downtown Napa, and
Château de Challain in the Loire Valley. In no particular order, of course.

What made them so special?

They all had very personalized touches. The Inn was decorated by a local designer, and every inch of the property was beautiful. The Andaz was in the perfect location, and their staff greeted us with a glass of wine as we walked through the door – a surefire way to win us over. And Château de Challain is a grand castle in the middle of a tiny French town, with a team of German Shepherds to look after you…What more can you ask for?!

If you had your own boutique hotel, what 3 things would you make sure existed?

It seems simple, but free WiFi, anywhere and everywhere, with none of this “pay for faster internet” nonsense that some hotels seem to think is ok. A seamless check in, ideally seated somewhere beautiful and with a welcome drink in hand. And lastly, conditioner AND face wash in the shower. Not enough hotels offer these!

Name 3 things you loved in hotels you stayed in before…

A comfortable bed is a requirement, and the Four Seasons properties might just have our favorite (so far). We’ll also never forget the view from our penthouse at the Sixty LES, and we love that the Library Hotel Collection offers a complimentary wine & cheese hour every afternoon at all of their properties.

Name 3 things you wouldn’t want to experience in a hotel ever again.

We won’t name names, but when the A/C doesn’t work properly in the middle of summer…We are a force! The WiFi issue we mentioned before is a massive pet peeve and seems to happen regularly. The biggest issue for us, however, is when a staff doesn’t properly address a problem. Everything can go wrong – and sometimes it’s just one of those days – but if everyone makes you feel like they’re aware and ready to handle anything, it makes all the difference.

How do you feel about the Amberlair concept?

We love it! We can’t wait to see where you end up, and we’re already angling for an invite to opening night…We assume there will be wine, right?

Where are you off to next?

We both have long weekends coming up in new-to-us cities! Ashley is off to Istanbul next month to celebrate her husband’s birthday, and Carolyn is heading to Chicago on the tail end of a business trip to explore the best of the Windy City. We have a few other things in the works, but you’ll have to keep tabs on us to find out more!

The Lazy Travelers are two best friends who have mastered the art of exploring a new city. Ashley & Carolyn are professional bar hoppers, wine drinkers, and food testers, but you’ll never find them zipping around, checking things off a list of “must-sees.”

Together, they’ve stayed in a château in the middle of the French countryside, driven across Ireland without a valid license, toured Switzerland by train, downed pint after pint in the Irish countryside, and gotten locked in an Austrian dungeon in the middle of the night. Whether they’re traveling together or apart, they’re sharing every detail as they conquer the globe, one glass of red at a time.

Along with their blog, you can also find The Lazy Travelers, Ashley & Carolyn on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.