COVER STORY
luxury ,” Johnson said . “ I ’ d stayed in the best hotels , why couldn ’ t we do it ?”
Salamander Middleburg opened seven years after the project ’ s approval and Salamander Collection is now 10 years old with six other properties . They are all diverse , all with Johnson ’ s imprint . These include Innisbrook Resort , in Palm Harbor , Fla ., which also hosts the PGA Tour ’ s Valspar Championship each year ; Hotel Bennett , in Charleston , S . C .; Aspen Meadows in Colorado ; and two properties outside the U . S .— Aurora Anguilla Resort & Golf Club and Half Moon in Montego Bay , Jamaica .
Then there is Salamander Collection ’ s newest addition , Salamander Washington DC . Johnson was born in Pennsylvania but was reared amid an itinerant lifestyle due to her father ’ s profession . He was a neurosurgeon , a Black neurosurgeon , and was never able to nail down a permanent position . That was until the family moved to
Illinois , where Johnson ended up attending the University of Illinois .
It ’ s the Washington , D . C ., area that Johnson now calls home and last year Salamander struck it big in the nation ’ s capital when it and Henderson Park , a London-headquartered private equity firm , acquired the Mandarin Oriental in Washington , D . C ., with the express purpose to rebrand and relaunch it as the Salamander Washington DC .
Many were left scratching their heads . They knew Mandarin Oriental and its global portfolio of 40 luxury hotels . What is a Salamander ? But like The Notorious B . I . G . once lyricized : “ If you don ’ t know , now you know .” Or will know . In fact , said Johnson , much of what ’ s been established in Middleburg , which has also been instituted at Salamander ’ s other properties , will be imbued in D . C . “ We are linking them all ,” said Johnson . “ You ’ re going to see a lot of similarities .”
Prem Devadas is the president of Salamander Collection and plays the diurnal duty opposite Johnson ’ s more regal role . Devadas joined Salamander during those pioneering Middleburg days , fresh off a large hand in opening The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island , another resort gem in South Carolina . It ’ s evident that Johnson leans on Devadas to make Salamander move . She gets him and he gets her .
“ All of our properties together , there is a spirit ,” he said , “ and that emanates from Sheila ’ s vision ,” which he calls " comfortable and inclusive luxury .” What one expects of Half Moon in Jamaica should be the same expectation of Salamander Washington DC or Aspen Meadows . The properties are distinct , but the vibe is always Salamander . Consider rooms and corridors , where you will find photos snapped by Johnson herself . “ No matter where you are in the country , or outside the country , we believe in the authenticity driving that experience ,”
Salamander Washington DC is Salamander Collection ’ s newest addition . It was the former Mandarin Oriental .
16 hotelsmag . com October 2023