The Luxury Travel Magazine
The Luxury Travel Magazine
Maz Green is constantly on the move. Only just back from a mammoth trip to Mexico, Jamaica and Las Vegas, she is already packing her bags for Japan, Italy and France. Adventure is always on the horizon and her popular social media profile Where to Find Me makes it clear that not only does she discover some of the world’s most exciting unique and boutique hotels along the way, but her followers also share a similar affinity for distinctive stays. From a bamboo paradise in Ubud to embracing the bare necessities in Tulum, Maz discusses some of her favourites. Beau Monde Traveler catches up with her about her past adventures and what’s in store.
Maz, the face behind Where to Find Me, was raised in London by her Japanese mother. She says she ‘always felt very connected to both my English and Japanese roots’; growing up she would only speak English to her mother who would reply in Japanese. Annual trips to the island country to visit family have meant that Japan has become a second home, and one that Maz is incredibly proud of. Although she says, ‘I feel very lucky to have grown up in London – such a multicultural city’ with an abundance of opportunities – she explains the ‘harmony between the traditional and the modern’ in Japan is unrivalled. Maz beams as she describes this phenomenon and explains that it is something that ‘you can’t quite grasp until you see it for yourself’. As she says, in one direction, you can admire 60-storey skyscrapers and get food served by robots, and in the other, you will find a hidden park with ancient shrines and traditional temples.
From a very young age, Maz had wanted to pursue a career in film, either as a director or producer. She discusses the similarity between this early dream and her current job as an influencer in which she regularly shoots and edits video content, ‘I love the process of bringing a vision to life on camera’, and explains, ‘you can imagine my joy when video became the new popular form of media’. However, before she started Where to Find Me, Maz worked in finance but found that her creativity was hampered by spreadsheets and numbers. Finance was never something that she was truly interested in, it was simply what she perceived as a successful job.
After spending all her annual leave seeking refuge in a change of scenery at boutique hotels, she came to a decision, ‘the unhappiness of being unfulfilled forced me to make a change’. Maz found that she enjoyed sharing these unique stays with her friends and Where to Find Me was born. ‘Once I had the idea, I couldn’t be any more determined to hit the ground running’, she says, and invested in a new camera and photography courses and started saving to launch her business. Now, Where to Find Me has more than 366k followers on Instagram, a figure that is constantly growing. ‘This is a testament to the fact that absolutely anyone can teach themselves a new craft with work and persistence.’
Maz’s travel dreams developed in her twenties when, once working, she had the means to explore abroad. She enjoyed travel in general but when starting Where to Find Me, decided to narrow her focus because ‘finding something that sets you apart is integral’ to success in this industry. Her brand is all about unique and boutique hotels, which she finds much more personable and exciting than large businesses and chains. At the start, it took her more than an hour to edit a single photo but now it has become second nature and only ‘takes me a few minutes’. She is also efficient at editing video content as this has always been her preferred form of media, but with the push for long-form content on TikTok, it can take hours. And despite social media being the foundation of her business, it does have its downsides. She explains that ‘to have your business be rather dependent on social media algorithms is really tough’ and it is difficult ‘to keep up when your work is grounded in metrics’.
Although she wouldn’t change her job for the world, there are also some challenges to being a content creator. She feels that ‘there is a bit of glamorisation’ surrounding the job and she sometimes feels undervalued when some brands undercut influencers’ rates, which ‘can get quite tedious when you work so hard’. Equally, it can be hard to enjoy the moment when all that you can think about is work and shooting content.
However, the opportunity to experience a host of different cultures and ‘getting to live a more enriching life’ makes everything worth it. Maz has a self-admitted ‘obsession with the Mediterranean’; Italy is a firm favourite as she feels the country is full of beautiful regions, kind people and exquisite food. When asked about her favourite boutique hotel, Maz doesn’t hesitate before offering up the Borgo Santo Pietro in Tuscany. ‘The best way I can describe it is a fairytale come to life. It’s a love letter to Tuscany’. She speaks of a picturesque luxury farmhouse hotel surrounded by quintessential Tuscan rolling hills and cypress trees. The Borgo Santo Pietro is ‘chic but feels like a home away from home’ thanks to its relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Maz recommends this property as the ultimate honeymoon getaway.
One of Maz’s favourite unique hotels is Bambu Indah in Ubud. As its name suggests, this property is made entirely from bamboo and Javanese teak but ‘without compromising on any of the luxuries’ of a high-end stay. Guests are immersed in the vibrant jungle within a complex centred around sustainable practice. ‘I slept in this roofless treehouse, which sounds very daunting at first but… it was eco-luxe at its finest’. Maz also sings the praises of Azulik in Tulum, which encourages embracing just the bare necessities; ‘there are no showers and no electricity. Just you, a treehouse, some candles and a bath’. Despite the simplicity of the stay and a departure from the modern world, Azulik’s beachfront location, warm hospitality, and wellness centre make it incredibly luxurious. ‘Hotels that are rooted in sustainability are important’ and as she points out, don’t have to compromise on providing that pampered feeling.
Maz has learnt to ‘keep my travel plans somewhat flexible’ as she doesn’t want to risk missing out on work opportunities while she is abroad. With this in mind, she tends to ‘follow the sun wherever I go, and I try to escape London in the winter’. Next on Maz’s itinerary is a trip to Japan in May to visit her grandmother, whom she hasn’t seen for nearly four years due to Covid. While they usually stay in the capital, her family is planning on travelling together to Kyoto and Osaka; neither is hard to reach on Japan’s famous bullet train. She will then fly back to Europe for some time in her beloved Mediterranean.
Maz urges travellers to ‘get connected with the other side of the world’ because ‘travelling is such an enriching experience’. If fear is holding you back, she points out ‘we are more resilient than you think’.
