Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas’s Donald Bowman on having heart

On how he landed one of the best jobs in Las Vegas:

I went to Surrey University for hotel school and worked for Forte Hotels Group (now Rocco Forte Hotels) in a management training program. I moved into a corporate marketing & sales role but I wanted to get back to operations. I met my wife at hotel school at Surrey University. We lived in London for several years and one day decided it was time to leave, so we had a race to see who could get a job first and the other would follow - she won!  I went with her to Bermuda and became the Front Desk Manager at Elbow Beach Hotel. When Mandarin Oriental took over the hotel, it changed my life as it allowed me to work for one of the world’s leading luxury hotel groups and I had the chance to live and work in some amazing destinations including San Francisco, Hawaii and Las Vegas. I was briefly tempted away from the company to open The Public Chicago with Ian Schrager and afterwards worked at Carmel Valley Ranch. I would still be there today if Mandarin hadn’t opened the door with an opportunity to rejoin the company as the GM of Mandarin Oriental, San Francisco. A few years later, the owners decided to sell to Loews Hotels and I moved back to Las Vegas to consult and teach courses at UNLV. Mandarin Oriental called again with my dream job, the one I have now. 

The Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas lets you experience something in Las Vegas that is non-gaming, non-smoking and pure luxury. It’s an exceptional hotel experience.

On his ideal day off:

I do enjoy spending time at home and you can have a great lifestyle in Las Vegas. On my ideal day off, I wake up and take my silky terrier for a walk. Then it’s a really hard workout, most likely a long run in Red Rock Canyon or a 90-minute Orange Theory class (I’m a big fan of Orange Theory, which happens to be the fastest growing workout franchise in the world.) I eat and recover and then study for an hour - my wife and I are learning Spanish. Then I’ll read a book out on the couch or by the pool before having people over for dinner and drinks.  

On his honest favorite celebration spot in Las Vegas:

I have to say Twist by Pierre Gagnaire (at Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas) but it’s not a lie! Sometimes you might think I would want to escape from work but I love the team here and they deliver service graciously and deliciously.

On his laid-back Las Vegas favorites:

Other Mama is a restaurant in a strip mall not far from where I live. It’s designed really well and has excellent raw bar items with a great cocktail list. All of the Cirque du Soleil cast and crew go to Naked Fish, which is my favorite sushi restaurant in Las Vegas (after Mozen Bistro, of course.) It has been here for years and has some of the best fish in the city and very personal service. BlackSheep has these great beef crisps that are like prawn crackers but beef-flavored.

On his last great vacation:

I just got back from a work trip to Asia where I tacked on a bucket list trip to Singapore. I loved how disciplined and organized Singapore is. At the end of the trip, I also visited Macau - it was interesting to visit the “Las Vegas of the East” after living here in actual Vegas. I stayed at the Conrad  Macao on the Cotai Strip, Mandarin Oriental, Macau and Mandarin Oriental, Singapore. We went to an unbelievable sushi restaurant in Singapore called Sushi Mitsuya where we chatted with the chef the entire meal.  

My next trip is to Macchu Pichu, Santiago, and Patagonia with my wife for our 100th birthday as we both turn 50 next year. There are some pretty impressive hotels on the Chilean side of Patagonia that are all incredibly different but very unique and have a true sense of place. We are hoping to stay at The Explora hotel as well as an eco-lodge down there.  

On his (literal) off-the-beaten path Las Vegas recommendations:

People think that I am mad for loving Las Vegas, but we are surrounded by so much incredible beauty. The first thing for visitors to do is to come out to Red Rock Canyon, which is my favorite place to go running. There is a beautiful 13-mile loop that takes you past the incredible striped layers of Red Rocks in the mountains with views of the valley. It helps people understand what the attraction of living in Las Vegas.

On the best burger in the world:

I was just talking to some colleagues in Asia about the best burger in the world, which I think is at Spruce Restaurant in San Francisco. It’s a beautiful restaurant in a great neighborhood with a very hip bar scene. On the bar menu is an incredible, delicious burger on a slightly sweet English muffin. What’s interesting is that with an English muffin, the burger doesn’t slide out the way it would with a bun. It comes with fries that are twice fried in duck fat and are the perfect compliment. I sit at the bar, get a gin martini, and enjoy a Seghesio Zinfandel (local to Healdsburg, CA) with my burger. 

On his favorite Bermuda spots:

Interestingly, there are very few places you can dine on the beach in Bermuda. Mickey’s Beach Bistro at Elbow Beach has the best calamari and there’s a small sushi bar on the terrace, where you can sit outside and enjoy the most beautiful beach in the world.  

On what people don’t know:

I’m a movie producer! I made a feature documentary three years ago called HEART: Flatline to Finish Line and it was featured in 10 film festivals and is available on Amazon and iTunes as a feature length film now. Two months after we opened the Mandarin Oriental in Las Vegas, my wife was diagnosed with a heart problem and had emergency surgery. Eight months later, she did a triathlon. We started a heart-health focused charity, Ironheart Foundation, and then created a film that followed six former open-heart surgery patients through their trials and tribulations in training for an Iron Man. We thought everyone would just hug it out at the end and we could tie a bow on the whole story, but it wasn’t exactly like that. Devastatingly, one of the team passed away from a complication. Of the remaining five, four started and only three finished. We wanted the film to deliver the message of the beauty around having a heart healthy life. In order to do that, you need to get your heart checked. We thought, if we can get just one person to get their heart checked and it prevents a disaster - that’s enough. And now we’ve heard many stories like that.

Notes: Interview with Donald Bowman edited by Alison Harrigan. All pictures courtesy of Mandarin Oriental.