Virtuoso Hotelier of the Year: Franka Holtmann of the Hotel Meurice, Paris

It comes as no surprise that Franka Holtmann, General Manager of the opulent Hotel Le Meurice in Paris, was awarded "Hotelier of the Year" at Virtuoso's annual Travel Mart Conference at the Vegas Bellagio hotel in August. Holtmann was selected by Virtuoso's 6,000 member travel advisors as well as the editors of Virtuoso Life for the top spot. She beat out an impressive roster of hoteliers who had been nominated: Rainy Chan, The Peninsula Hong Kong; Geoffrey Gelardi, The Lanesborough, London; Anthony Lee, The Connaught, London. Holtmann's experience in Paris' legendary luxury hotel sector extends far beyond her tenure at Le Meurice, where she has overseen the fantastic renovations by design legend Philippe Starck. She was the second-in-command at Hotel Plaza Athénée in 2000, and then became the first woman general manager of a palace hotel in France at Hotel de Crillon. She has rightfully been called the "First Lady of Fine Hospitality."