My name is Lydia Economakis, and my journey in hospitality began with a feeling I couldn’t quite explain — a quiet pull toward the world of hotels. One day, without experience or a plan, I walked into The Williamsburg Lodge at the Colonial Williamsburg Resort and simply asked for a job. I was hired as a Front Desk Agent, and from that moment, I knew I had stepped into my calling.

Soon after, I accepted a second position at the fabled Fort Magruder Hotel and Conference Center — a grand, historic property said to be haunted. Built upon the grounds of an old Confederate fort, its redoubts and burial mounds still shaped the earth beneath its gardens. I did, in fact, see things there that I couldn’t quite explain. But the true ghost that lingers is the memory of its beauty; as of 2024, the Fort did not survive the pandemic that shuttered so many doors.

When the world reopened, I returned to Colonial Williamsburg, this time to the Spa of Colonial Williamsburg — a sanctuary of elegance and tradition. There, I learned that hospitality is not a job but a language — one of warmth, anticipation, and unspoken grace. I worked my way from the front desk to management, leading a team of receptionists and fitness staff in a Forbes Five-Star environment where every detail mattered and every guest was a story waiting to be told.

Over the years, my path has taken me through luxury hotels, five-star spas, and fine dining properties, teaching me that true hospitality is both an art and an act of care. And though my role has evolved — from innkeeper to storyteller, from manager to maker — the essence remains the same: a devotion to service, beauty, and human connection.