NINA KOKOTAS HAHN
Copywriter, Travel Blogger and Features Reporter
Welcome! I'm a wide-eyed travel and features writer, hip copywriter, sharp editor and all-around content strategist serving print and digital organizations worldwide. Thanks to art school, a travel agent mom, and a Type A personality, I'm happy to bring a bricolage of crafty skills -- deep travel knowledge, creative inspiration, a passion for the details and a serious love for adventure. My favorite areas to flex word muscle include copywriting, feature reporting, travel blogging, social media, content marketing and SEO, creative direction and inspired storytelling.
Need help covering your next assignment or spreading the word about your destination? Contact me in Chicago to see how I can be of service.
By Nina Kokotas Hahn
This post previously appeared on Condé Nast’s HotelChatter on May 10, 2012.
Sudden waves of warmer weather in Chicago and all that talk last week about theWit’s new retractable roofleft us with one summery something on the brain: more hotel rooftops. Chill beverages, a staggering skyline against the Lake, a spot to kick up your feet under the sun or moon – no way to deny the power of a stellar hotel rooftop lounge.
With rooftop season starting now, where will you go? Start with our latest favorites, an ascending tour of exactly where you want to be under balmy Chicago skies.
Read the full story at HotelChatter.com.
Firing The Donald with the flick of a wrist in Trump Chicago's new boardroom (just kidding, people.)
By Nina Kokotas Hahn
This post previously appeared on Condé Nast’s HotelChatter on March 27, 2012.
Recently in Chicago for meetings, Donald Trump sat down with us at Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago for the chance to talk hotel bidness. Sitting across the table from Trump in the hotel’s newest board room, there was an eerie pull tugging us toward “Apprentice”-land, but we shook it off and stayed the course.
And anyway, we were far more captivated by the latest action in the Trump Hotel Collection and some very recent changes right in Chicago (including Sixteen’s new executive chef Thomas Lents and a new boat dock for Wendella’s Chicago River Architecture Tours — more on that coming soon).
We half expected Trump-is-bigger-than-thou answers and definitely got our share. But Mr. Trump did throw us a few unexpected curveballs, all of which suggest the king of bajillion-dollar hotel and real estate investments is now, more than ever, rockin’ the mantra, “go big or go home.”
Read the full story at HotelChatter.com.
Palm Springs Vacation Hot Spots for Aesthetes
Richard Nutra's 1946 Kaufmann House
This post first appeared on Chicagomag.com and in the February 2012 issue.
As told to Nina Kokotas Hahn
MODERN OASIS: A Chicago design pro reveals his favorite places in this modern oasis, the desert getaway for Hollywood renegades and architecture buffs
“Three years ago, my partner and I purchased a cubist-inspired vacation home, which we have since filled with art from galleries in and around Palm Springs: a midcentury modern metal piece in the dining room, a giant acrylic box filled with fabric-and-leather confetti above the sofa, an original painting from a local artist over the fireplace. The artwork, our organically shaped pool, the perfect views of the San Jacinto Mountains, the seclusion and quiet—this is quintessential Palm Springs living…”
Read the full story at Chicagomag.com.
This post previously appeared on Condé Nast’s HotelChatter on February 14, 2012
By Nina Kokotas Hahn
Look out, Chicago, another new boutique hotel will be popping up on your fertile grounds this spring, taking up residence in River North where the former Comfort Inn & Suites (15 E. Ohio) once stood. Set to open this May, the new indie cool Ace Hotel ACME Hotel Property promises to deliver a casual, design-driven experience for the younger, more technically savvy set.
Read the full story at HotelChatter.com.
8 Great Last-Minute Ski and Surf Escapes
This post previously appeared on Chicagomag.com and in the January 2012 issue.
By Elaine Glusac and Nina Kokotas Hahn
The holiday travel frenzy has dissipated, which is why right now is the perfect moment to catch great deals on last-minute getaways. We found eight amazing destinations, whether you’re a sun lover or a ski fanatic.
