Search online for the term "iconic hotels" and you will find scores of fabulous properties like Belmond Hotel Splendido in Portofino in Italy, to Laucala Island in Fiji. Through some quirk of fate or careless oversight all the luxury hotel experts somehow missed the gem of Yalta, Villa Elena. What follows is a very abbreviated history of the hotel, followed by an exclusive interview with the hotel's Director, Kira Zakharova.