The Richness of Travel
Goes Beyond the Hotel Room
Life Beyond the Room designs meaningful, sustainable, and extraordinary Sensorial Travel™ experiences that preserve culture and tradition.
Sustainable, Sensorial Travel™ Design
Sustainable tourism is a travel approach that actively contributes to the well-being and empowerment of both the traveler and the local communities visited. It is travel that preserves and celebrates the unique heritage and biodiversity of each destination while fostering a deep connection and respect for its people.
At Life Beyond the Room (LBR), we encourage our travelers to step off the beaten path, beyond the hotel room, and discover places unknown to most tourists.
A Sensorial Travel™ concierge, LBR is dedicated to designing custom, unique itineraries for travelers seeking authentic experiences immersed in the lifestyle, flavors, and culture of each region. Our commitment to sustainability, even when staying in high-end, luxury accommodations ensures that your impact is positive.
You will have the trip of a lifetime while making a long-lasting positive impact on the places you visit and the people you encounter. You will meet as a guest and leave as a friend!
What is Sensorial Travel™?
Sensorial Travel™ is the discovery of a new place through our senses. Slowing down and soaking in the sights, the flavors, the smells, the noises and the feelings of a new environment allows us not only to experience the flow and rhythms of a new culture but also to reconnect to the very essence of ourselves.
When you slow down and activate your senses, you become more connected to others, to yourself, and to the world around you. This way of traveling, and living, allows you to experience more of the wonder and joy this beautiful world has to offer.
The simple pleasures of the soft texture of fresh picked lettuce, the peppery tannins bursting from a sip of red wine, the joyous buzz of people at the local outdoor market as they select their produce and chat with their farmers and neighbors.
This is what we call Sensorial Travel™
We believe travel broadens perspective, builds relationships, and enriches one’s life experience.
Our Story
LBR Founder Karen Costa Hattaway was born and raised in Rome. Her passion for traveling and curiosity in learning foreign languages and discovering new cultures led her to her first foreign exchange program to the United States when she was a junior in high school. After becoming fluent in English, she attended John Cabot University in Rome before pursuing a second study abroad program in California.
She graduated in 2015 in journalism and communications and had the opportunity to work in television news. However, she quickly realized her heart was elsewhere. Her love and passion for her country and her language led her to take a leap of faith and start teaching Italian full-time in 2017.
After spending countless hours giving travel advice to her students, several suggested she charge for the tremendous value she was providing. She founded Life Beyond the Room in 2018.
Since then, she has been on a mission to bring authentic travel experiences to her travelers through engaging, culturally-enriching and people-filled itineraries, away from the everyday masses. Her focus on sustainability and preserving the places we visit is at the forefront of every travel experience she offers.
While many of her clients are first-time travelers and want to see the main sites, her goal is to make them fall in love with the country so much so that they want to return in search of a deeper experience.
She encourages her travelers to step off the beaten path and discover places unknown to most tourists. While she loves all of Italy, her heart belongs to the south, specifically to the regions of Sicily and Puglia where she believes the food, the people, the culture, and history are richer than anywhere else in the country.
On a trip to Castello Aragonese d’Ischia with her mother, Karen sat in this beautiful room with a large window that overlooked pure beauty.
At the time, she was searching for a name for her concierge travel business, which evolved from her Italian lesson business.
As she reflected on the Italian way of life, La Dolce Vita, and how the richness went so far and deep…..beyond the pretty 5-star hotel room, our name, Life Beyond the Room, emerged.
Karen believes that if you do what you love, you will never have to work a day in your life! When she’s not crafting itineraries or reading books on sustainable travel, she is training Brazilian jiujitsu, doing yoga, surfing, and spending time with her family, husband Jett Hattaway, to whom she owes much of her company’s success, her two children, Kiara and Alessandro, and her dogs Pepe and Prosciutto.
Meet The Team
Our local managers live in the destination countries and speak the local languages, allowing us to create partnerships with local craftsmen, who often don’t speak English nor have a strong online presence, thus bridging the gap between tradition and the 21st-century discerning traveler.
Karen Costa Hattaway
Founder & Travel Designer
Born and raised in Rome, Karen has always had a passion for traveling and from the young age of 14, she started exploring Europe alone, seeking new adventures, learning new languages and discovering new cultures. After her journey to the United States, she decided to turn her passion into a career and created Life Beyond the Room to share her beautiful country of Italy with travelers in the most immersive and authentic way.
Jett Hattaway
Sales & Strategic Partnerships
Originally from Atlanta, Jett first traveled to Italy when he was 17 years old to the region of Puglia where little English was spoken and even fewer tourists visited. That trip was the beginning of a newfound passion for authentic and immersive travel. With a background in entrepreneurship and business development, he spent years in the renewable energy industry where he gained an appreciation for sustainability. Jett leads our corporate/company trips and builds partnerships with venues to accommodate larger groups and events.
Francesca Marelli
Regional manager • Europe
Francesca, originally from Lake Como, is one of our most tenured local managers. She has a passion for travel and photography and has spent years promoting some of Italy’s most iconic landscapes through her work. Fluent in both English and Italian, Francesca will take care of all the logistics of your itinerary so you can focus on the experience.
Jonathan L’epée Urbani
Creative Director & Small Group Leader
Jonathan is a photographer and videographer by profession, but an insatiable traveler by nature. Born to a Swiss father and an Italian mother, he has lived in several countries and now resides in Rome. He speaks English, Italian, and French and has spent over fifteen years exploring every corner of Italy, driven by a deep love for his homeland.
His journey began behind the lens, honing a keen eye for detail and a talent for visual storytelling. Today, he channels that vision into his creative work and shares it with travelers, offering them an authentic and immersive experience of Italy—one filled with deep connections and unforgettable moments.
Laura Roselle
Travel Designer & Find Your Roots Specialist
Laura became a Travel Designer and Find Your Roots Specialist after being a client of Life Beyond the Room. She has extensive experience in genealogy and has researched her own Italian heritage back to Ponzano Romano, Caserta, and Abruzzo. She learned about Italian laws and recognition of Italian citizenship and became a dual citizen.
Camilla Di Pietro
Local Manager • Italy
An adrenaline seeker, Camilla holds a Master’s Degree in Sports Management and is passionate about adventure sports. She is a track sprinter and loves incorporating running and surfing into her travels. She studied abroad in SoCal and currently resides in Rome, thrilled to welcome you and share her Eternal City with LBR travelers.
Katie Archibald-Woodward
Travel Designer
Thanks to her parents’ love of travel, culture, history, and anthropology, Katie has been traveling the globe since before she could walk. She has always felt a connection to the world and seen herself as much a global citizen as a proud Southern Californian. In addition to travel, she finds life being out in nature, doing yoga, photography, singing, dancing, eating great food, learning new languages, reading and writing poetry and having rich conversations.
Francesca Patera
Local Manager • Italy
Francesca was born in Lecce, a stunning baroque town in the region of Puglia, the heel of Italy. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism and, after working and living abroad, including Paris and Barcelona, she returned to her hometown, where she now runs her own rental properties, sharing her passion for her region with every guest. Francesca is also a yoga instructor and liked to incorporate wellness in her travels.
Athena Corcoran-Tadd
Travel Designer
An avid traveler and lover of languages, different flavors, and unexpected adventures, Athena has lived in seven countries and traveled to many more. With the aid of almost 6 languages (German is hard but she’s really trying…), she continues to explore the ways in which local languages open doors. Always looking towards the next horizon, Athena even spent 7 months sailing a ship during lockdown! She currently resides in Lisbon and loves sharing Portugal’s secrets with our travelers!
Mia Yakel
Local Manager • Costa Rica
Mia is an energy healer, yoga instructor, and professional photographer. Her passion has led her to study all over the globe, both in the healing and visual arts! She currently resides in Costa Rica and is eager to share the culture and beauty of this land with others.
Mariasole Ferlito
Executive Assistant
Born in Rome, Mariasole holds a Master’s Degree in Interpretation and has always been captivated by the power of language and the attraction of exploring new cultures. Fueled by curiosity and love for adventure, she discovered her passion for travel at a young age. At 15, Mariasole embarked on an exchange program that took her across the Atlantic to the United States. Spending two entire summers immersed in American culture left an indelible mark on her, sparking a passion for discovery.
Jamie Owens
Travel Designer
Jamie currently lives in San Diego, CA where she also teaches paddleboarding to dogs and humans alike. With a love for travel and a background in Environmental Science + Marine Biology, she strives to make sustainable travel the new norm. As a former PADI Divemaster she has traveled to many countries, exploring both above and under water. Some of her other interests include hiking, backpacking, camping, yoga, skiing and cuddling with her two dogs. Her mantra: “fill your life with adventures, not things!”
Christine Provine
Destination Expert & Small Group Facilitator
Christine’s journey around the world began at the age of 12 with her first trip to China, and since then, she has explored over 30 countries. With deep roots tracing back to Sicily, her great-grandparents immigrated to the U.S., and today, Christine is embracing and cherishing her Italian heritage more than ever. Professionally, she has built a career in yoga and wellness, leading international retreats in destinations such as France, Portugal, Guatemala, and Mexico. Passionate about preserving cultural traditions, nurturing the earth, and honoring the ancestral stewards of the land, Christine’s heart is dedicated to these values in all aspects of her work and life.
Carolina Campi
Marketing Specialist
Carolina originally from Rome is an avid hiker, indoor climber, snowboarder, and motorcyclist, Carolina has spent years exploring the Italian Dolomites, uncovering breathtaking trails, remote mountain lodges, and the most scenic routes for two-wheel journeys.
With a background in design and strategic marketing for sustainable companies, Carolina combines her expertise with her love for nature and exploration, representing the LBR brand through her art.
Kristen Louise Bettencourt
Destination Expert
Kristen is a passionate and curious Travel Designer with ancestral roots in the stunning hills of Sicily, Italy. Her diverse career journey—spanning roles as a single mom to triplets, a martial arts personal trainer, and a licensed cosmetologist across three states—has given her the unique opportunity to form meaningful connections with incredible people from all walks of life.
Kristen’s world travels, especially to Italy, have reignited her love for its rich culture, vibrant people, and mouthwatering cuisine. She’s eager to share the authentic Italian experience with those seeking a truly extraordinary journey.
