Welcome To The Mothership

“[Liz Lambert’s] work as a master hotelier, and her deep sense of place infused in every hotel, is why she not only made it onto our list of people changing the way we travel but also our most powerful women in travel list, too.”

Condé Nast Traveler

“There's something to be said about that one hotel brand that completely changes the game for everyone else. When you think about hotel lobbies as communal hang-out spots, design that connects the feeling of a place to actual decor, and a vibe that draws you in even if you're not staying there, one name comes to mind: Ace.”

Condé Nast Traveler

How Ace Hotel's Creative Lead Changed the Game: Interview with Kelly Sawdon

Over the past two decades, Lambert has become one of the most influential hoteliers in the industry. Her personal aesthetic—a mix of industrial minimalism, Texan traditionalism and bohemian rocker-chic—has given rise to a new breed of American boutique hotels.

The Wall Street Journal

Liz Lambert was included in the Wallpaper* USA 400 in 2024. The Wallpaper* USA 400 honours the people defining America's creative landscape in 2024, from legends to rising stars, activists to celebrity shapeshifters.

Making hotel lobbies socially magnetic and in-house restaurants and bars urban destinations has become the blueprint for a lot of boutique hotels. Arguably, Ace Hotel, the small hotel company founded in Seattle in 1999 by a trio of musically focused entrepreneurs, perfected that design.

The New York Times

“There are seasoned hoteliers, and then there are hoteliers like Kelly Sawdon, chief brand officer and partner at Ace Hotel Group, whose work over the last few decades has literally shaped the face of the modern boutique hotel.”

Fathom

el cosmico 2.o

Befitting the cosmic campground, El Cosmico will embark on its next adventure in partnership with the teams that are designing housing on the moon and Mars with NASA. Liz Lambert and Kelly Sawdon have joined forces with ICON, the leader of large-scale 3D printing and BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, world renowned architecture firm, to reimagine and rebuild El Cosmico. The relocation and expansion of El Cosmico to more than 60 acres on the outskirts of Marfa will showcase entirely new architectural approaches made possible by large-scale 3D-printing including domes, arches, vaults and parabolic forms. In addition to 3D printed accommodations, the new El Cosmico will feature most of the trailers and tents from the existing property as well as a restaurant, pool, spa, and shared communal facilities.

THE TEAM

LIZ LAMBERT

Founder + Chief Creative Officer

A partner at Lambert McGuire Design, partner at MML Hospitality, and founder of Bunkhouse Group, Liz Lambert is a celebrated hotelier and designer who has created some of the country’s most interesting lifestyle hotels. Her creations include Hotel San José, Hotel Saint Cecilia, and Austin Motel in Austin; El Cosmico in Marfa, Texas; Hotel San Cristóbal in Todos Santos BCS; and Hotel Saint Vincent in New Orleans, as well as numerous food & beverage concepts. Lambert's retail endeavors can be found at Far West Collective, her design studio focusing on collaborations for travel, rest, and home.

KELLY SAWDON

Founder + Chief Executive Officer

Kelly Sawdon is a Partner at Ace Hotel Group/Atelier Ace, and was acting Chief Brand Officer from 2007-2020. Under her leadership, Ace Hotel and its subsequent portfolio brands cemented itself as synonymous with culturally visionary hospitality in cities across North America, Europe and Asia. She joined Ace in 2007 following an executive role at the Ace-affiliated company Neverstop, which pioneered the concept of experiential marketing and specialized in brand strategy, events, and multimedia. At Ace, Sawdon built and oversaw Atelier Ace, the award-winning in-house design and creative studio responsible for development, operations, branding, interior design, and more. She was instrumental in the growth of the brand from 2 Pacific Northwest hotels to an international hotel group with 4 brands and 14 properties.

LANE SANDERS

Chief of Staff

Lane Sanders graduated from The University of Chicago Law School and practiced corporate law at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett and other boutique law firms. Lane also founded a popular bar in Brooklyn and worked with some of New York City’s top real estate developers as a commercial broker. Most recently, Lane was Chief Operating Officer and later Chief Hospitality Officer of Texino, a venture-backed outdoor lifestyle and manufacturing company. During her tenure, Texino scaled from 7 to 160 employees, built 100,000+ SF of manufacturing and retail space in Los Angeles, built hundreds of camper vans and medical vans, and rented thousands of camper vans.

ISADORA MCKEON

Creative + Brand

Isadora worked for Liz Lambert for over a decade. As the first employee of Bunkhouse, she was Liz’s right hand and involved in every aspect of the business as they built the company from one hotel and two coffee shops to what it is today. From there, Isadora went on to serve as the creative lead at Sydell Group, exploring the potential of thoughtful hospitality at scale. As Senior Vice President of Creative & Culture, she oversaw brand, experiential marketing and culture for the portfolio - including the NoMad, LINE, Freehand and Saguaro brands.

LANDRIE MOORE

Creative + Brand

Landrie spent 10 years in New York in the magazine industry, most of those years in the Vanity Fair creative services department. She returned to her Texas roots where roads led to Bunkhouse. During her time as Vice President of Creative and Brand at Bunkhouse, she worked on new project development and concept, in addition to overall marketing strategy across ten hotels and accompanying restaurants.