Lisa Vanderpump is about to open her first hotel, but it’s far from her first hospitality venture. The Vanderpump Hotel, opening in Las Vegas later this year, is simply the largest canvas yet for a career spent creating places people want to linger, from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe.
Vanderpump has traveled enough to know what works, what does not, and what she will never tolerate again, as she shared in a recent interview with Travel + Leisure. She talks the way seasoned travelers do, with specificity, humor, and a long memory for the companies that get it right—and perhaps an even longer memory for those who get it wrong.
Her most recent travel headache came courtesy of a U.S.-based airline during a trip home from Cap Juluca in Anguilla. Vanderpump found herself stuck for 12 hours with little explanation. And though the airline eventually offered 25,000 miles as compensation, she was unimpressed. “I think I’m worth more than 2,000 miles an hour,” she said. It was not her first run-in with the airline; on a separate occasion, her luggage disappeared for 10 days and somehow ended up in Buenos Aires. “I tweeted that I hoped the CEO’s wife was enjoying my clothes,” she recalled. The post went viral.
With Lisa Vanderpump
Go-to jet lag cure?
Advil, vitamin C, chocolate, and a bloody mary, whatever time it is. I always take overnight flights and bring a big faux fur coat because airline blankets are useless.
Favorite airplane snack or drink?
A bloody mary, red wine with dinner, and lots of water, even though I hate it. And the crisps on JSX, even though the bags are impossible to open.
A destination you never tire of returning to?
The South of France. Cannes in particular, and staying at the Martinez with those pale blue rooms overlooking the sea.
Window or aisle?
Window. And if you have the window seat, please close it when people are trying to watch a movie.
What is the first thing you unpack when you arrive?
Everything. Immediately. I like things organized, and I want the best wardrobe and drawers before Ken gets them.
Best travel companion?
My dog, Donut.
What is one thing you always bring that might surprise people?
English tea bags. I cannot deal with weak tea or lavender nonsense. Builder’s tea only.
This is how Vanderpump travels: with high standards, a sharp sense of humor, and a clear belief that good service should always go a little further. Her taste in hotels skews classic rather than trendy. In London, she returns again and again to The Lanesborough for its old-fashioned English service and sense of ceremony. But she is equally devoted to The Capital Hotel in Knightsbridge, a cozy, intimate property she describes as feeling like her grandmother’s house. Its proximity to legendary department store Harrods—just steps away—is part of the appeal, as purchases can be sent back to the room within minutes.
In New York, her instincts are similar. She gravitates toward The Plaza, favoring character and history over something minimalist or overly modern. “I love luxury,” she said, “but I’m a maximalist. I don’t want to feel like I’m sleeping in a white box.”
Vanderpump notices details other guests miss, and bad lighting tops her list of hotel sins. “We all want to feel beautiful,” she said. “There’s nothing worse than leaving dinner, getting into an elevator, and suddenly thinking, ‘Oh no.’” If there is one indulgence she would happily steal from her favorite stays, the answer comes quickly. “A butler,” she said. “Everyone should have a butler on vacation.”
Her most over-the-top travel experience came courtesy of a trip to Dubai with The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, where the cast stayed in an enormous villa. The scale, she said, was part of the appeal—it made it easy to avoid everyone else. “That’s why Dubai worked,” she said. “You couldn’t find anyone else.”
The trip that truly changed how she thinks about travel happened much earlier on the famed supersonic airliner, the Concorde. “New York to London in three hours,” she said. “It was extraordinary. I still can’t believe we went backward from that.”
Vanderpump has had her fair share of air travel escapades, even admitting that she joined the mile-high club “quite a while ago,” leaving the rest to the imagination.
From the plane to the hotel, she’s meticulously organized and always prepared. She brings a thick faux fur coat on overnight flights, and she drinks bloody marys regardless of the time zone, pairs them with Advil and vitamin C, and tries, begrudgingly, to hydrate. When she arrives at the hotel, she unpacks immediately and moves quickly to claim the best wardrobe space before her husband, Ken Todd. She travels with her own English tea bags because hotel tea is almost always too weak.
Nikki Ryan Photography
All those travel habits feed naturally into how she thinks about hospitality now. Opening a hotel does not feel like a pivot so much as an inevitability for Vanderpump. “I love design, and I love hospitality,” she said. “Putting those together just makes sense.”
Las Vegas, in particular, feels personal. She remembers visiting as a young woman and never imagining she would one day shape spaces on the Strip. The Caesars property is set to open in early 2026, transforming the Cromwell Las Vegas, adding to her brand’s existing Vegas footprint, including Pinky’s by Vanderpump, Vanderpump á Paris, and Vanderpump Cocktail Garden. “Vegas is the playground of the world,” she said. “It’s theatrical, it’s fun, and I love it.”
What she wants guests to feel in the Vanderpump Hotel depends on where they are standing: in the room, calm and refuge from the chaos outside; in the public spaces, something playful, a little naughty, and unmistakably hers. “I’ll do anything,” she said, laughing, “but not boring.”
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