simonesez: about simone ink

Background of Simone Rathle
and simoneink

With nearly twenty years of experience as a public relations executive in the high-end hospitality industry, Simone Rathlé knows fine hotels and restaurants. Her Washington D.C.-based boutique consulting firm, simoneink, specializes in promoting a select collection of restaurants, small hotels, resorts, and spas from the Adirondack Mountains to the hills above San Diego, from her hometown of New Orleans to the nation’s capital.

Her hotel clients include The Garrett Hotel Group, two of whose four properties are Relais & Châteaux members, including The Point, in Saranac Lake, New York, a resort consistently listed as #1 in the country by the Zagat Guide to Top U.S. Resorts, and Lake Placid Lodge, also in the Adirondacks and a constant on the top travel destination lists. The Garrett Hotel Group’s most recently acquired property is The Inn of The Five Graces in Santa Fe, which was named one of Andrew Harper’s Top 25 Global Hideaways for 2005. Her two New Orleans hotel properties, International House and Loft 523, were recently featured in Chic Hotel. Cal-A-Vie, the luxury spa that Ms. Rathlé represents in Vista, California, outside San Diego, has just emerged from a $10 million renovation, complete with a new 17,000-square-foot fitness center; it was named #2 in the world among Top Destination Spas by Travel + Leisure in October 2004.

Among the fine restaurants Ms. Rathlé represents is Seeger’s in Atlanta, the completely renovated showcase for the award-winning cuisine of world-renowned chef Guenter Seeger. John Besh is the talented chef behind Restaurant August, in New Orleans, which has been listed in Gourmet magazine’s Guide to America’s Best Restaurants, and The Besh Steak
at Harrah’s. In 2006, Chef Besh received his second nomination for a James Beard Foundation Award and competed and won against Mario Batali on Iron Chef America. Four of the most highly acclaimed and popular restaurants in the nation’s capital, DC Coast, TenPenh, Ceiba, and Acadiana, also benefit from Ms. Rathlé’s expertise. Jeff Tunks, their chef and co-owner, was Washington’s Chef of the Year for 2003-2004 and David Guas, their Executive Pastry Chef, was Washington’s Pastry Chef of the Year for 2004-2005. TenPenh was also included in Gourmet magazine’s Guide to America’s Best Restaurants.

Prior to establishing her own firm, Ms. Rathlé directed media relations for some of the world’s most notable hotel corporations. For Orient-Express Hotels, she coordinated all PR for the Windsor Court Hotel, New Orleans, and The Lodge at Vail, Colorado, and was a liaison with the European properties for a period of over six years. Following her tenure in New Orleans and affiliations abroad, she became Public Relations Director for Exclusive Hotels by Forte, whose properties include The Hotel Plaza Athénée, The Hotel Westbury, and The Watergate Hotel in the US, the King Edward in Toronto, The Plaza Athénée in Pairs, and The Westbury in London for four years. A position with The Wentworth Group placed her in charge of PR for The Westbury, New York and The Westbury and The Wentworth Club, London.

In her capacity as PR executive, Ms. Rathlé has worked extensively with corporate and media executives, dignitaries, and celebrities, including President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan; President George H.W. Bush; Prime Minister John Majors; Raul Granillo Ocampo, the Ambassador of Argentina; Prince and Princess Michael of Kent; Keith Richards; Julia Child; and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

Ms. Rathlé has won two gold Addies, or American Advertising Awards. She is also an avid runner, and has competed extensively, completing a marathon and winning the New York City Turkey Trot for her age category. She is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier and the Southern Foodways Alliance. In recognition of her expertise in the industry, Leading Hotels of the World appointed Ms. Rathlé to its Media Advisory Board for 2004-2005. Ms. Rathlé also was appointed to the Media Advisory Board for the Louisiana Tourism and Cultural Development Committee under Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu on several occasions. In 2006, Ms. Rathlé was asked to lend her expertise and talents to the James Beard Foundation Awards. She was responsible for promoting the awards to television outlets.

One of Ms. Rathlé’s proudest accomplishments for 2005-2006 was developing two successful fundraisers entitled “Po’ Boy Power!” for the benefit of Hurricane Katrina victims, efforts which were featured on national news. She was also involved in raising funds for policemen and firemen in the city’s devastated communities, and participates on the New Orleans Hospitality, Arts and Cultural Economy Public Relations Council, formed to address the long-term public relations issues the city faces following Hurricane Katrina.