If you happen to be visiting Seattle's historic Sorrento Hotel on First Hill and you run across a beautiful woman whose style is a perfect combination of class and edge, that would be hotel co-owner Barbara Malone. Ms Malone hasn't just lifted the hotel from a period of obscurity; she has helped it achieve national acclaim from DETAILS magazine as one of four hotels in the nation for the culture obsessed. The hotel is now heralded as being in same league as LA's The Standard, NYC's Ace Hotel, and Louisville's 21c Museum Hotel. How did she get Seattle's century old hot spot put on the map? She did so by creating a scene, bringing in Michael Hebb champion of Radical Hospitality who developed the Night School, a series of programs geared toward sociable and savvy adults, which was called "The Program of the Decade" by Seattle Magazine. Art Chats with Roy Makin, music with Anna Jennings, and cocktail lessons with legendary barmaster Murray Stenson are just some of the events that have made Night School at the Sorrento Hotel such a hot ticket.

Barbara and her husband are not just committed to improving their hotel. The couple is actively involved in the Seattle community on a  variety of levels. They have been instrumental in developing the Pike/Pine corridor. Her husband, Michael Malone is a maverick in the Seattle business community, and the Malones are supporters of The Frye Art Museum, as well as advocates of the independent film movement that has been gaining momentum in Seattle through SIFF and The Film School.

Barbara Malone is a New York native and obtained a degree from FIT. She's clearly inclined to artful sophistication. If you are ever in a room where she is mingling, you will hear people remark about her style and grace. She is easy to like, and many develop an instant crush upon meeting her—perhaps because of her coolness and coy smile. It is tough to gain traction in Seattle when it comes to building a social scene, but Barbara Malone may just be our reigning Culture Queen.