It might surprise you to know that I’ve returned home from stays at some of the world’s finest hotels and resorts, only to realize that I’ve left something behind.  Usually—as was the case with the can of OFF!® Deep Woods® Insect Repellant that never made it home from Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve; the asthma inhaler I left in the piano bar at La Mamounia; or the iPhone charger that remained plugged in next to my bed at Le Sereno—none of it was worth losing any sleep over, and I didn’t. 

But a few times it’s been a piece of jewelry that, while insured, has caused me no small amount of consternation, frustration, and regret.  Sure, there’s a process (i.e., calling the hotel, speaking with Housekeeping, Security, and/or the Lost & Found, etc.), but nothing ever comes of it, no matter whether you know precisely where it was left or how it would’ve been impossible for someone not to have found it (a particular Tahitian pearl choker erroneously left on the bright white comforter in my room at a premiere Mexican resort; or the pair of diamond and titanium earbud-covers and the earbuds they were on, left on the desk in my stateroom on a five-star cruise ship, are perfect examples). 

I’ve discussed this over the years with a number of friends, and the consensus seems to be that, especially in this post-COVID world, it’s hardly worth contacting the hotel, as nobody even expects people to turn in what they find.  This is not to say that the folks with whom I’ve chatted think there’s someone sporting my Robert Wan necklace while turning down rooms on the Riviera Maya, so much as the possibility that someone being paid by the hour to clean rooms might be inclined to sell or pawn such an item, to help feed their family or pay the rent, if the guest has already checked out.  And what’s more, I can’t say I really blame them.  There but for the grace of God, and all that. 

So, it is with a mix of delight and glee and simply being damned impressed by the integrity shown by the staff of the Hard Rock Hotel New York, that I am regaling you with what might otherwise have been a tale of woe.

About a week and a half after my return from New York and my stay at HRHNY, I was preparing for another trip; this time to Los Angeles for the “Hollywood May Edition” of Giorgio’s (the fabulous outpost of the glamourous, invitation-only disco dance-party produced and curated by my dear Bryan Rabin, about which you will read in a future article). 

While packing my travel jewelry case, I went to the velour-lined wooden box on my dresser, in which I keep the day-to-day jewelry that I don’t keep in my safe, in order to grab the pieces that I’d be taking to LA.  Much to my surprise, a favorite bracelet I tend to wear ‘for day’ was not in its usual place.  So, in short order, I looked in my safe, and in the myriad pockets of the two carry-ons with which I’d traveled to New York, to no avail.  I knew that I’d planned to wear it on the plane home from New York and had left it in the safe—with the watch and ring and necklace I’d wear on the plane, as well—when I was packing up my travel jewelry case.  And while there was a high probability that it had fallen off in one of the airports, or on the plane, or in one of the cars that took me to and from the airports, there was a chance that in my haste I’d neglected to put it on and had left it in the large laptop-sized in-room safe.

So, I did a Hail Mary (check me out, using a sports metaphor!) and texted Dale Hipsh, the longtime Hard Rock International muckety-muck who’d been a particularly convivial host to me, during my stay.  What follows is the transcription of our text exchange…

SHULMAN: Hey Dale:  Would you please do me a favor and see if an 18K gold multi-strand bracelet was left in the safe in 2001, or (fingers crossed) was turned in to the lost-and-found or Security?  I think I accidentally left it behind.  Thank you so much!  Best, SHULMAN #GetIntoIt (3:01pm)

DALE:  Checking now… (3:02PM)

SHULMAN:  Much obliged, Sir *cowboy hat emoji* (3:02PM)

DALE:  It might take until tomorrow, as it is 6PM here… (3:04PM)

SHULMAN:  No problem, whatsoever (3:04PM)

At this point, having resigned myself to losing a favorite piece and bracing myself for having to file an insurance claim (ugh!), I began getting ready for my DJ-set, that night, at the grand opening of the new Golden Monkey Tiki Lounge at Resorts World Las Vegas, and got in the shower.  Upon drying off and brushing my teeth, I noticed that I’d received a text at 3:19PM, so I went and opened my messages, and there—looking back at me from the screen of my phone—was a photo (see photo, above) of my bracelet in a sealed Ziploc bag, with a report showing the date and time that the housekeeper, Tenzin, had turned it in to Security, and the signature of the officer who’d logged it in.

To say that you could’ve knocked me over with a feather wouldn’t be an understatement.  I was positively giddy, and immediately texted Dale back that yes, that was my bracelet, and expressing my thanks in every way that’s suitable via text.  He then offered to FedEx it back to me, so that it would arrive on Monday, after I’d returned from LA.

Suffice it to say that I am currently weighing the best way to express my thanks to Tenzin—whose honesty and integrity have restored my faith in humanity—while to Dale and everyone at Hard Rock Hotel New York, I send my most heartfelt gratitude.

Hard Rock Hotel New York
159 West 48th Street | Times Square
Click HERE for info

Get into it!
#HRHNY