Writing for this publication is usually such a joy; it feels both jarring and deeply saddening to have to report that our founder, our original editor-in-chief, has passed away. When people ask if there really is an Andrew Harper, I always say, “Of course!” and my thoughts turn to him. He was a passionate traveler right until the very end (his last days were spent abroad). As the current editor-in-chief, I’ll be always in his debt: He helped me plan my very first incognito editorial trip in 2006 to New Orleans, to see how the city was faring post-Katrina.

Our founder carefully concealed his true identity for decades, but we can reveal it now. His name was Robert Atkinson. He loved exploring, but he noticed that too often, a promised paradise turned out to be a disappointment. To share reviews of the places truly worth traveling for, he published the first Hideaway Report in 1979, a six-page newsletter that went to just 87 subscribers.

From these inauspicious beginnings, he built Andrew Harper the company, slowly earning the loyalty of thousands of members. His exclusive finds — luxury escapes then-undiscovered by other travel publications — as well as ads in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, turned the newsletter into a proper business.

The Hideaway Report was the first travel publication to wholly adopt the policy of paying full rate at every hotel it reviewed. That allowed Atkinson to be frank. The candor of Andrew Harper — our founder’s nom de plume — earned him the trust of his readers. His concept was visionary at the time, and it still is today. I’m so proud that my fellow editors and I maintain this tradition, despite its expense.

Until the early 2000s, if members called about their subscription, it was entirely possible that they would have spoken with Mr. Harper himself. Atkinson often manned the phones, answering them, “Hello, thank you for calling Andrew Harper. This is Keith, how may I help you?” He’d take down messages for the editor-in-chief — himself — and “pass them on.” By 2003, the increasing demand for travel services based on recommendations in the Hideaway Report inspired Atkinson to open the Andrew Harper Travel Office in Chicago, his favorite large city in the United States. He would visit us there from time to time, and he was exactly as you would expect, impeccably mannered, dressed in conservatively stylish attire and wielding a certain flair with language.

Atkinson’s obituary perhaps offers the best encapsulation of his life as Andrew Harper: “Hailed by USA Today as ‘upscale travel’s international man of mystery,’ Atkinson and his surviving wife, Brenda, wandered anonymously around the globe for more than 25 years seeking out enchanting, unspoiled destinations for the newsletter’s loyal readers. To maintain the newsletter’s exclusivity, subscriptions were limited to 25,000, mostly celebrities, CEOs and presidents of companies who desired frank reviews of secluded getaways far from the madding crowds.”

The original Andrew Harper is now making one more journey, this time traveling as who he truly is. I wish he’d send us one last review, though his epitaph is not encouraging in that regard: “On his way to the ultimate hideaway; no report expected.”

My small handpicked team and I are privileged to continue his work, circling the globe incognito and seeking out the extraordinary experiences that make travel — that make life — worthwhile.

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We’d love to hear about your fondest memory as a member; write to us at [email protected].