Our View
It is no accident that we are wired to cherish memories of places where we have lived, played, celebrated, worked, or spent time for self-retrospection. In many respects, it is what makes all of us human and binds us across cultures and geography.
As we travel, hotels and resorts serve as our anchor in that place and act as the translators for where we are, what is offered and as settings for memories that will encourage our return,
sometimes to take a place in that hotel or resort so that we may more deeply connect with that place.
Mendy Winkler, Principal, and Stephen Perkins, retired founding partner, created HotelStudio as a collaborative full-service design firm with a design centered focus in creating a deeper connection between the guest and place as embodied in the hotel or resort. Drawing from more than 30 years of experience in hospitality design and a team of fresh minds, HotelStudio enjoys collaboration with project partners to create unique properties and experiences while meeting the Owner’s operational aspirations
For projects small and large, modern and traditional, modest and luxurious, we have enjoyed professional relationships with clients that are similarly moved to create places and understand the value of that relationship with their guests.
Leadership
Mendy Winkler
Principal
Mendy Winkler and Stephen Perkins created HotelStudio as a pure hospitality design firm building on their understanding of the reasons that travelers seek specific kinds of esthetic experiences and amenities and to connect those experiences to the destination. Mendy Winkler has achieved a great deal over decades of practice in collaboration with Owners, Brands, and Consultants, and believes that this approach benefits owners, asset managers, and operators in ways that build loyalty and better serve the communities of which these places play a very important role.
Mendy Winkler knew from an early age that she would be a Hospitality Designer. What she could not have known is that she would eventually manage and design some of the most important hotels and resort projects in the US and abroad. Prior to completion of her design degree for the University of North Texas, she started her hospitality design career with Wilson and Associates’ Dallas office and joined teams designing the Four Seasons in Cairo, The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, The One and Only Royal Mirage in Dubai and Las Ventanas al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort, in Los Cabos.
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In 1999, Mendy joined ForrestPerkins and quickly became an office and firm leader, elevated to Vice President of Interior Design, responsible for managing designers across the Dallas, Washington, and San Francisco offices. Mendy Winkler and Stephen Perkins collaborated on many projects while at ForrestPerkins, notably the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, Omni LaCosta Resort and Spa above San Diego, The Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner, The Willard in Washington, DC and the St. Regis Hotel and Branded Residences in Amman, Jordan.
Mendy’s understanding of all roles in the design and documentation process is best-in-class and her reputation precedes her as a project manager of the highest integrity and capability. She believes that integrated design, well- executed details, and management of the owner’s budget are critical components in a successful project.
Notable projects led by Mendy include the Banneker Kimpton Club in Washington, DC, The Harpeth in Franklin, Tennessee, The Fairmont Hotels in Bermuda, Lake Louise, Victoria, Vancouver and New Orleans, The JW Marriott Hill Country Resort, The St. Anthony Luxury Collection in San Antonio, and the St. Regis Hotel & Residences in Amman, Jordan.
HotelStudio itself is a distillation of the myriad of experiences, successes and lessons learned, over decades, and is a platform for collaboration that promises to deliver design driven with place-specific story lines that will resonate with guests and operators alike. HotelStudio creates honest, bold, and evocative spaces and experiences.
Stephen Perkins
Founding Partner & Trusted Advisor
Stephen Perkins, renowned hospitality designer and architect, quietly retired at the end of 2024, to endeavor more into the sweeter part of life with his wife, children, grandchildren, and dogs. They travel often to visit the grandchildren and attend dog shows all around.
While Stephen has retired, he continues to remain engaged with HotelStudio for business development and in a mentorship role for both the firm and Mendy. Stephen is always up for good research and story narrative creation for project contributions. He will always have celebrated engagement with HotelStudio.
In creating HotelStudio with his partner Mendy Winkler, Perkins sought to restore place as an important consideration in the design of hotels and resorts. The design opportunity in hospitality is to present the itinerant guest with an environment that is exciting without creating unease, clever without being arch, amusing and in good taste, and sophisticated in its attempt to offer accessible aspiration. Most of all, the guest should understand the inextricable link between the locality and the design of the hotel’s interior architecture and design.
In 2004, Stephen was inducted into Platinum Circle, the hospitality design industry’s highest honor, and in 2007, in recognition of his analysis of the upper upscale and luxury segments for CAPEX 2007, was admitted to the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC).
Stephen co-founded ForrestPerkins in 1998, leading the Washington, DC office and the firm to reaches of international architectural and interior design luxury projects. This is where Stephen and Mendy Winkler, Director of Design, began working together in 1999, building a working relationship based on beautiful and luxury design solutions, trust, and a foundation of project management and client satisfaction. Just a few of the projects the two developed together during this time were the St Regis Amman Hotel & Residences in Amman, Jordan, The Fairmont Hamilton Princess on the isle of Bermuda, The Willard and The Jefferson hotels in Washington, DC, Ritz Carlton Tysons Corner Fairfax, Virgina and The Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.