Le Newsletter | One Shining Moment, At the Selina
What are the rooms at the Selina like?
It was last summer when I realized I didn’t know.
Strange considering it was years ago when I learned about the Selina, a global chain of what I call “artist hotels”, with over 100 locations including a coastal locale in Sayulita.
Inside the deluxe room at the Selina in Cuenca, Ecuador | Shop similar bedding, including a Loewe throw, in the author’s affiliate shop.
It was there where I danced with the founders of Mother Sierra - a beaded jewelry line that collaborates with Huichol women to source each piece they sell - to the sounds of live music performed by a band consisting of Argentine expats who turned out to be my neighbors. I’d go back to that same outdoor dancefloor many times, including in the daytime - when it converted to a restaurant & a workspace serving amazing custom smoothies.
Later, I’d have dinner, do a sound bath, & have my tarot cards read at the expansive Medellín location - where the center of the hotel was like a city inside of a city, full of restaurants, boutiques, a tattoo shop, and a barbershop.
Fast forward & I’m curating a group show in Soho that includes projected visuals of the making of Renaissance, a conceptual photoshoot by Paris based artist Iris Brosch. The shoot was styled by Project Runway cycle one winner Isabelle Danola, & featured a diverse cast of models including frequent Danola collaborator & independent designer Terri Jeann, as well as Harper’s Bazaar featured Asia Monet. The setting of the shoot?
A drained rooftop pool at no place else but the recently opened Selina in NYC.
But with all of this experience at the Selina - I’d still never stayed at one, & only had a vague idea of what the rooms might look like. I knew there were shared spaces in a hostel style set-up, & I’d heard that single rooms were also an option… then I checked in at the Cuenca location.
Breakfast nook in the deluxe room at the Selina in Cuenca, Ecuador
Private workspace in the deluxe room
Bathroom in the deluxe room | Bathtubs are not standard in each room at the Cuenca location, including those with a balcony - but there is one in this particular room.
As a longer term guest, I’ve acclimated to the Selina as a live/work space. I’m living my Shining moment. Without the ghosts. Between pitching to external publications, constant emailing, discovering & rediscovering the city, & writing for this very newsletter - the thought occurred that there were people like me living & working around the world who might be familiar with the Selina while having no idea what it’s like to actually stay there. & so I decided to bring readers inside with me.
This is the deluxe room - pictured throughout. But what about the rest?
This edition of Le Newsletter will be updated in the coming weeks. Come back to learn about the hotel’s connection to Cuenca as a cultural center. To explore local art both historic & contemporary. & for an insider’s take on the amenities at the Selina Cuenca.
As a bonus for paid subscribers - there will also be a local guide consisting of information for travelers including an inside look at a hot new local spa, where to source apparel to suit a variety of personal styles, restaurants offering a diverse array of cuisine styles at a variety of price points, & a step inside of the museums & galleries. All within walking distance of the hotel.
Closing Notes
While I currently find myself in Ecuador, I want you to go on a bit of a journey with me.
One where you find yourself in the Cathedral Baptistery in the northern Tuscan town, Pietrasanta. It’s the Solstice, & thanks to a collaboration between SECCI Gallery & curator Enrico Mattei - you become witness to Segni Elementari - art that is a literal collaboration between man (Gio Pomodoro) & the heavens.
Three of Pomodoro’s sculptures, including Figlia del Sole - an homage to the Gothic painting Madonna of the Sun - are suddenly hit by a solar spotlight. The rays have traveled through the Apuan Alps to pass into the Baptistery.
This marks the beginning of an exhibition that runs through September 8th, the day of the Feast of the Nativity of Mary. Your engagement with this place & space based celestial sculptural exhibition is ceremonial. Ritualistic.
Suddenly you’re elsewhere. It’s June 26th. You’re in the East Village, walking into the doors of 22 E. 2nd Street. You are in the shadow of large scale paintings from Maja Ruznic’s new solo show, poignantly titled The World Doesn’t End.
You got tickets to hear the artist speak here.
Still in NYC, but now in Astoria, you pop into MoMA PS1. It’s June 29th. A man who has lived many lives - Grey Gardens landscaper & gardener for a royal Saudi family, taxi driver, & eventual sculptor - is signing a copy of his book between 3-5 PM.
His name is Jerry Torre, his cousin Little Edie called him the Marble Faun. His work is on display, it speaks to a life lived.
Until next time,