Written by Edith Young

We meet Sasha De Sola at San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel, an oasis perched on one of the city's slopes. Sasha is a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet. She's also a good influence — in her presence, our posture perks up. Clad in magenta (courtesy of the Drew dress), Sasha runs circles around us on the Fairmont's terrace, a secret garden visible to the hotel's balconied guests. Up here, watching Sasha plié and pirouette like a human dreidel with transfixing grace, you'd never know that this hotel was also home to the Tonga Room, a famed tiki bar with fake thunder and rain capabilities located in the bowels of the building.