Stephane Vogel has a great fondness for NoVA, though the general manager of the Kimpton Lorien Hotel once called Switzerland home. Lured by the prospect of a career in the American hotel industry, Vogel relocated to the U.S. in 2000 and managed luxury hotels in D.C. before arriving at Alexandria’s Lorien earlier this year.
Drinking
Wine: My wine collection is very small because we can’t keep the wine. [Laughs] Chrysalis
Vineyards (Middleburg).
Beer: DC Brau, Port City Brewery (Alexandria).
Restaurants
Quarterdeck (Rosslyn). I love seafood. Osteria da Nino (Shirlington). Pineapple and Pearls (D.C.). An absolute home run.
Inspiration
Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant (former University of Alabama coach). If you keep your head down, and you do what you’re supposed to do, and you work as hard as you possibly can, there is no reason why you can’t be a winner.
Sports
[My son] is in the young Capitals program. I’m also in a league. The great thing about my hockey league: It happens on Saturdays at 10 p.m., so everyone’s in bed.
Outdoor Fun
Fishing: Fountainhead Regional Park (Fairfax Station)
Golfing: Pohick Bay (Lorton)
Daydreaming: C.F. Phelps (Fredericksburg). You can take the dog there and just relax. Potomac Overlook Park (Arlington). Close to home and it feels like you’re in a different world for a moment.
Best Thing about the Hotel Industry
You have a unique opportunity to make people happy, and that is such a motivation.
Fashion
I like to drop the tie; I like the look. I love to shop at Nordstrom.
Suits: Calvin Klein
Shirts: English Laundry
Jeans: Lucky
Shoes: DSW
Grooming
The only thing that I pay attention to is that I have good gel or styling pomade. R+Co Conformist Hair Paste. Shaving: I’m a plain Jane Gillette dude. Cologne: Creed Aventus