Emilie Lynam

Emilie is drawn to places that reveal themselves slowly. From the Basque Coast and Italy’s lakes and cities to Morocco, Japan and, most recently, Egypt, she travels with an instinct to look beyond the obvious — getting to know the people, food and traditions that give a destination its soul.

Some of her strongest memories have come from these encounters: eating cicchetti shoulder to shoulder with locals in a tiny Venetian bacaro, or seeing the city from the water through the eyes of a local boatman. In Japan, a kaiseki dinner became an unexpected highlight — eating ingredients chosen to reflect the season while watching that same season unfold through the window. Food, for Emilie, is often one of the most revealing ways to understand a place.

More recently, Egypt left a lasting impression. Sailing the Nile by dahabiya brought her remarkably close to life along the river — fishermen casting their nets in the morning, villages passing at the water’s edge and young children swimming out to catch hold of the boat, calling happily up to those on deck. Days spent with a private Egyptologist brought another layer, revealing the ingenuity and stories behind a civilisation she had previously known only from a distance.

She has found that same sense of connection in Morocco, from conversations with artisans in Marrakech to evenings beneath the stars in Agafay, where Berber musicians gather around the fire and bread is baked over glowing coals. These are the experiences she seeks out most: those that make you feel, however briefly, part of somewhere rather than simply a visitor.

As OROKO’s Head of Product, Marketing, Emilie brings that curiosity into her work — seeking out the hotels, experiences and journeys that offer a deeper sense of place, and understanding what it is about them that stays with travellers long after they return home.