James Adamson

James Adamson is currently the General Manager of Kimpton Hotel Monaco Philadelphia; a 268 room luxury hotel in Old City.

James oversees every aspect of the hotel management and development and has a very hands-on approach to his management style. Don’t be surprised to find him welcoming guests as they arrive or enjoying a glass of wine with guests in the bar, out on sales calls with his team or having a laugh with employees somewhere in the building.

Throughout his 15 years with Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, James has been a part of numerous hotel openings across the country. He has consistently ranked top 10 in the Company in Employee and Customer Satisfaction scores and has received Best Place to Work recognition from each city he has worked in. James began his career with the Hotel Monaco in Salt Lake City as a Guest Service Agent in 2003. He quickly demonstrated his natural ability to lead and became the Front Office Manager and later the Assistant General Manager. In 2006, James relocated to the Washington DC area as the opening General Manager of the 45 room Morrison House Hotel where he led the complete conversion and renovation of this luxury Four-Diamond boutique hotel to a Kimpton property. In 2008, James was promoted to General Manager of the Hotel Helix a 178 room boutique hotel in downtown Washington DC. In his 5-year term at this position, James successfully presented and committed owners to a $18 million renovation/rebranding of this property to now Mason & Rook Hotel a 4 Diamond full service hotel with a meeting space addition, and full service restaurant – Radiator.

From DC, James took a coveted opportunity to move to Philadelphia as the General Manager of Kimpton Hotel Palomar Philadelphia; a 230 room luxury hotel in Center City, where he spent just under 2 years before making his move across town to Hotel Monaco in May of 2015.

In addition to his leadership ability, James played a key role in the launch of the DC Capital Bikeshare. Through his partnership with a Hotel pilot program that provides guests with complimentary 24-hour memberships to Capital Bikeshare. Today, Capital Bikeshare offers 110 stations across Washington D.C. and Arlington, VA. James has been involved in many community and civic organizations including; Board Member of the Old Town Business Professionals Association, Board Member of the Alexandria and Washington DC Hotel Associations and now; Board Member of Broad Street Ministry, Board of Directors Visit Philadelphia, Board Member of Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association and participates in the Hospitality Initiative Committee and Hotel Association Planning Committee.

James is a native of Salt Lake City, UT where he obtained a dual degree in Japanese and Asian Studies from the University of Utah and recipient of a 1-year full ride scholarship from the Japanese government to attend Kansai Gaikokugo Daigaku. He spent several years travelling Asia and is fluent in Japanese. He is also an Eagle Scout and in his free time, James enjoys golf, camping and skiing. He currently resides in Center City, Philadelphia with his wife, Sonia and their 7m old son, William.