EDG No|Mad - Designer William Ho's Tour of the Middle East

From New York to Sydney EDGers are seeking cool trends, great hotels, amazing history and of course, fabulous restaurants. This “travel lust” is part of what makes EDG special: keeping our heads in the sky and our feet on the street. William Ho from our California office leads the charge in the “feet on the street” department.

Originally from Hong-Kong and currently residing in San Francisco, he has visited over 27 countries since he caught the travel bug. The mystery of culture, art and how others live fuels Williams passion for travel. As a designer, William uses this information to help create innovative hotel and restaurant designs. 

Recently, William took a tour of the Middle East including Turkey, Israel and Jordan. The trip was part research and part pilgrimage; a voyage he won’t soon forget. With a little help we’ve collected a list of William’s favorite restaurants, hotels and activities we hope will inspire us to get off Pinterest and into the real world. You don’t have to go as far as the Middle East but if you do, here are some of William’s top recommendations:

Best Route: SFO > Istanbul >Tel Aviv >Eilat > Jordan (and back again). Planes, trains and buses were part of this equation, but it was all worth all of it to get the maximum exposure to local flavor.

Where to stay: Set in Istanbul's exclusive Nişantaşı quarter and overlooking the Bosphorus strait, the St Regis Istanbul resides in a modern building with a central location. Featuring art deco design accents, the polished rooms have flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi and iPod docks, marble bathrooms and sitting areas. Upgraded rooms add balconies, while suites offer living/dining rooms, wet bars, free-standing tubs and/or butler service. There's a rooftop restaurant with a strait-view terrace, plus an elegant brasserie and a plush bar. Other amenities include indoor pools, a gym and spa. According to William, “The hospitality and location were impeccable. The rooms are comprised of warm neutral tones, plush materials and soft ethereal lights which made the stay unforgettable”.

Where to eat: “In Tel Aviv, restaurants rivaled any haute cuisine found at home. The food scene is trendsetting, rustic and modern the food scene is amazing. In particular, Shila – The place is known for having “the bar with the best food or the restaurant with the hottest bar”. Since Shila was established ten years ago, it has become a gastronomic home for people that like to eat and have fun.  Also on William’s list was Mizala. The restaurant is located in a historic building, which is a part of the White City and an architectural gem preserved by the city of Tel Aviv and recognized for its importance by UNESCO. The menu is composed of dishes that combine the most innovative techniques of cooking, and a worldly range of flavors, while still as preserving the traditional home cooking of the Israeli kitchen.

What to do:  Recently it seems the 2,300-year-old “lost city” of Petra has been found by the masses. 400 square miles of desert make up the Petra Archaeological Site, which is a testament to design and ingenuity. The site is filled with hundreds of monuments, including a Roman-style amphitheater, cave dwellings, and a colonnaded structure called the Monastery, which sits atop a high peak. It’s easy to traverse through the Siq, a canyon that leads to the Treasury building (its pediments and columns were hewn by hand out of a cliff). It’s “beyond description” according to William.

A trip like this is a once in a life time experience and if you do it right, once is enough. William managed to check everything off his list: great hotels, amazing history and of course fabulous restaurants. With a mind open to the possibilities (and feet ready to do a lot of walking) it’s a life changing journey he won’t soon forget.  

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