If you have just one job, prepare to feel lazy. Sheena Bhattessa has three.

 

She is an actress, the founder of an online travel magazine AND in charge of PR for The Mandeville Hotel in Marylebone.

“There's no balance whatsoever,” she admits.

“But I've had this motto since I was very young: ‘Find something you enjoy and get someone to pay for it.'”

And she loves everything she does.

“There's no real downtime. If anything is compromised, it's my social life.”

The Mandeville hotel (pictured below) has been owned by her family since before she was born.

Now her father and brother do the day-to-day running of the business and she looks after its PR, website and social media.

Growing up in the hotel industry has given her a real insight into what travellers want.

“You do look at hotels in a different way. I am much more observant and it gives you lots of ideas, she said.

She praises the “incredible” staff.

“The hallmark of a good hotel is service and details, like a plug point next to a mirror so you can dry your hair.

“It should feel like the home you want at home,” she says.

Travel

With a background in travel, two years ago Bhattessa decided on a whim to set up a luxury women's travel magazine called Citizen Femme.

This project now takes up a lot of her time.

She loves travel with Italy being her “go-to” destination.

Her parents are from Kenya and Tanzania, her husband splits his time between America, the Caribbean and London, and she has family in India.

“I love India. The colours, the smells, the food – it feels like home.”

She adds:  “It’s changed in recent years and it’s catering for the new generation.

“When I visit Bombay, it’s heaving with a new world of youth. The shops, the coffee places, the films, the infrastructure – it’s an exciting time.”

 

Acting

The third string to her bow is drama.

Bhattessa was in her first West End production last year in the RSC's Queen Anne at the Haymarket.

And now she is working on producing her first ever feature TV series, “a true story with an Indian-British crossover”.

But with all the juggling, the one thing she doesn't sacrifice is family time.

“We all live in Marylebone within a five minute walk of each other and see each other all the time.

“The area feels like a quaint village. I walk up the high street saying hello to everyone,” she says.

 

For the full interview in the Mayfair Times, read here.