Jean-Jacques Pergant has been named Co-President of the newly created
LXR Luxury Resorts formed by Blackstone Real Estate Advisors following
their acquisition of Wyndham International. The group combines the top
eleven Wyndham properties (mostly luxury resorts including El Conquistador
and the Boulders) with the former Boca Resorts and New York's Rhiga Royal.
Pergant shares the presidency with Joseph Berger, while John Tolbert is
named President of Sales and Marketing.
Robert Foster has been named President of Noble House Hotels & Resorts.
Foster, a Cornell graduate, was most recently the General Manager of Noble
House's Caleo Resort & Spa in Scottsdale (the former Sunburst Resort).
Foster, who spent nineteen years with Sheraton, had been the Chief Executive
Officer of GlobalRooms.com.
The Irvine Company has named Hansjoerg Maissen General Manager of the
(soon-to-be) former Four Seasons Newport Beach. Maissen had joined the
company two years ago as General Manager of the Pelican Hill and Oak Creek
Golf Clubs. Maissen's prior international career including stints as General
Manager of New Orleans' posh Windsor Court for Orient-Express as well as
Frances luxe Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat. No new name has been announced
for the hotel, as the Four Seasons flag will be dropped October 31.
William Hall has been appointed Vice President of Operations at RockResorts.
Hall's extensive background in hotel operations includes eleven years with
Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Beach, Pasadena and Naples. Hall, who began his
career at Westin Hotels, was most recently the General Manager of the Mayacama
Club in Santa Rosa.
Michel Ducamp is the Senior Vice President Hospitality for Parallel,
a limited-membership destination club in Phoenix. Ducamp, a Cornell graduate,
was previously the Managing Director of Nantucket Island Resorts, following
several years at Park Place Entertainment in Las Vegas.
Jim Alderman has been named Senior Vice President Acquisitions and Development
for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. Before joining Kimpton, Alderman
was Senior Vice President of Development, North America, for Starwood Hotels
and Resorts Worldwide.
Michael Fernandez has joined the soon-to-open Regent South Beach as
General Manager. Fernandez was most recently the General Manager of the
Tides, also on South Beach. He previously spent four years with Four Seasons
as Resort Manager at the Four Seasons Scottsdale and Hotel Manager at the
Four Seasons Beverly Hills.
Fresh from his pre-opening experience at Wynn Las Vegas, Peter Walterspiel
has been appointed Vice President of Residential Development for Harmon-Koval
Partners, the developers of the future W Las Vegas due to open in 2008.
Andreas Ioannou transfers to the Hilton Fort Lauderdale as General
Manager. Ioannou has been with Hilton since 1989 at the Waldorf=Astoria,
Fontainebleau Hilton, and most recently at the Hilton Charlotte, his first
posting as General Manager.
Mark Hartman has been named General Manager of the new Hilton Branson
Landing project set to open mid 2006. Hartman has been with Hilton for
twenty years most recently at the Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting
Center on Chicago's North Shore, where he has served as General Manager
since December 2003.
Shaun Robinson is the new General Manager of the Hilton Costa Mesa arriving
from the Doubletree San Diego/Del Mar. Robinson began his career in England
and has spent time in various management positions for Hilton in Irvine,
Minneapolis, Beverly Hills and Scottsdale.
Robin Harlow was recently appointed General Manager at Hawaii's Aqua
Palms Hotel. Most recently, he was the Domestic and Internet Sales Manager
for the Kaanapali Beach Hotel.
Roger Ploum has been promoted to General Manager of the Westin Grand
Bohemian in Orlando replacing Stuart Newmark who was promoted to Senior
Vice-President of Operations for the Kessler Collection. Ploum was recently
the General Manager of the Celebration Hotel.
Stéphane Zaharia is the new General Manager at the Cuisinart
Resort in Anguilla taking over from Rabion Ortiz who is leaving to join
the W Resort Martineau Bay as General Manager. Zaharia comes from Gordon
Campbell-Gray's Carlisle Bay on Antigua. He also was the Hotel Manager
at Ian Schrager's Sanderson in London.
Thomas Meding has joined the Parker Palm Springs as Hotel Manager taking
over from Manfred Moennich. Meding comes from the Ritz-Carlton Tyson's
Corner where he was the Executive Assistant Manager in charge of Food and
Beverage since 2003. Meding's resume also includes food and beverage management
positions at the Fairmont Copley-Plaza, the Pierre, the Waldorf=Astoria
and the St. Regis New York.
Paul Birchall has been named General Manager at the Thompson Beverly
Hills formerly the Beverly Pavillon now operated by Steven Brandman's and
Jason Pomeranc's Thompson Hotels. Birchall was previously the General Manager
at both the Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive and the Luxe Bel-Air Summit Hotel.
Martin Nicholson has been appointed General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton
Huntington Hotel & Spa. He was most recently the General Manager at
the Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort Rose Hall, in Jamaica and has held
various management positions in Ottawa, the US Virgin Islands, Ireland
and Carmel.
Jean Guillaumeau is the new General Manager at the Royal Méridien
King Edward in Toronto. Guillaumeau was most recently running the Habitation
and Le Domaine Méridien in St. Martin. This is his second time around
at the King Edward where he held the position of Hotel Manager in 1998.
Les Utley has been named General Manager of the Hotel Zoso in Palm Springs
scheduled to open in October 2005. Utley also served as General Manager
of the Fairmount in San Antonio and the Vail Athletic Club Hotel and Spa.
Previously, he has held Director of Sales and Marketing positions with
Ritz-Carlton and at the Pierre.
Michael Bastis has joined the Hyatt Regency Monterey as General Manager.
Bastis joined Hyatt Hotels in 1982 and was most recently the General Manager
of the Hyatt Regency Grand Cayman Resort & Villas.
Norbert Relecker has been appointed General Manager at the Highlands
Inn Park Hyatt. Relecker has been with the company since 1985 and was most
recently the General Manager of the Hyatt West Houston. Before that, he
was the Executive Assistant Manager and Food and Beverage Director for
Grand Hyatt New York.
Tom Robertson has been named General Manager of the Renaissance Schaumburg
due to open in mid-2006. Robertson has been with Marriott since 1973 and
began working with the Renaissance brand in March 2002 when he assumed
the position of General Manager at the Renaissance Chicago O'Hare Suites,
a title he held until his most recent position at the Renaissance Dallas
in 2003.
Frank Holtslag is the new General Manager at Circa39 in Miami Beach
taking over from Frank Cook who will be the General Manager at the soon
to open Glenn Hotel in Atlanta. Holtslag was previously the Corporate Director
of Revenue Management at Island Outpost and Executive Assistant General
Manager at the Tides in Miami. Most recently he was the Miami-based Director
of Sales and Marketing for the Bitter End Yacht Club in the British Virgin
Islands.
André Boersma has been appointed Senior Vice President and General
Manager of Sol Kerzner's One&Only Ocean Club in the Bahamas replacing
Russell Miller who was appointed Senior Vice President and General Manager
of the new Condo-Hotel being constructed at Atlantis, Paradise Island.
Boersma comes to the resort after a two-year tenure as Resident Manager
of the One&Only Palmilla in Los Cabos. He was previously the Resident
Manager of Esperanza and Las Ventanas al Paraiso.
John Wells has been named to the position of General Manager of the
Hilton Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Wells has served as General
Manager of the Hilton Boston Back Bay since 2001.
Michael and Luciana Nijdam have transferred from the Pitcher Inn in
Vermont to its new sister property Winvian in Connecticut scheduled to
open in the spring of 2006. The Nijdams are succeeded at the Pitcher Inn
by Ari Sadri who has been promoted to General Manager from the position
of Restaurant Manager and Sommelier.
Kate Simpson has been named General Manager at the Millennium UN Plaza
Hotel, having most recently served as General Manager at the Crowne Plaza
at the United Nations.
Michael French has resigned as Chief Operating Officer of the Inn of
the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino. Brian Parrish, VP Marketing for the
tribe, has been appointed acting Chief Operating Officer.
Catherine Mura is the newly named General Manager of the Andrew Hotel
on New York's Long Island. Muro was most recently the Assistant General
Manager of the Garden City Hotel. She had been with the hotel since 1990,
starting as Front Desk Manager.
John Price has been named General Manager of Chicago's House of Blues.
Price has been with the hotel for seven years starting as Front Office
Manager and had been the Executive Assistant Manager since 2002.
Dirk Burghartz has moved down the street from the Pierre where he was
the Hotel Manager to assume the same position at the Four Seasons New York.
Before joining Four Seasons, Burghartz was with Sheraton Hotels of New
York and Ian Schrager's Hudson. He spent many years with the Rafael Hotel
Group spending time at Turnberry Isle, Elbow Beach and the Breidenbacherhof.
At the Four Seasons New York, Burghartz replaces Simon Pettigrew who has
transferred to Hawaii with the company.
Olivier Thomas will be joining the St. Regis New York as Hotel Manager.
He was most recently the Executive Assistant Manager at the Hotel Excelsior
in Rome and has held various management positions at the Savoy, the Hotel
Palace in Milan and the Plaza-Athénée New York.
Theresa Fatino has been appointed Chief Creative Officer for Sam Nazarian's
SBE Hotel Group. Fatino is credited as one of the creative founders of
the W Hotel brand as the former Vice President of Design and Brand Development.
Prior to joining W Hotels, Fatino served as Product Designer and Fashion
Director of Product Development for Pottery Barn and Neiman Marcus.
Philippe Villain is now with Aramark as Vice President Convention Centers
and Cultural Attractions. Villain was previously with Planet Hollywood
for over ten years in various operational positions, most recently as Vice
President Operations. He also spent four years with Disneyland Paris.
Jeff Yamaguchi has joined the Sunshine Group in New York. A former Four
Seasons employee, where he served as Corporate Director of Residences,
Yamaguchi was previously at the MGM Grand Las Vegas as Vice President Residences.
Jonathan Heath is the new Director of Hotel Operations at the Kor Group.
Heath started with the group as General Manager of the Tides and has previously
been Development Manager for Soho House London.
Regula Wipf has been named Director of Operations at the Lodge at Rancho
Mirage replacing Lesley Carey. For the past six years, Wipf had been Vice
President and General Manager at the King Pacific Lodge in British Columbia.
Kelley Jones has joined the Starr Restaurant Organization as Vice President
Operations, based in Philadelphia. Jones was most recently with Kimpton
Hotels and Restaurants as Vice President Restaurant Development and Acquisitions.
Prior to joining Kimpton, Jones spent five years with Jeffrey Chodorow's
China Grill Management.
Allan Perales has been promoted to Assistant General Manager of the
Hotel Burnham in Chicago. Perales originally joined Kimpton in 2001 as
Room Service Manager at the Hotel Monaco New Orleans.
Paul Sherlock has been appointed Vice President of Food & Beverage
Operations for Noble House Hotels & Resorts. Sherlock was previously
the Director of Operations for Noble House's LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort,
having joined the company in March 2002 after serving as Food and Beverage
Director at the Lodge at Pebble Beach.
Jean Weiss is joining the soon-to-open St. Regis San Francisco as Director
of Food and Beverage. Weiss was recently the Director of Food and Beverage
at Napa Valley's Carneros Inn following four years at the Lodge at Torrey
Pines, a property he opened.
Gamal El Fakih has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at Carlisle
Bay in Antigua. El Fakih spent two years at the Hilton Tobago as Food and
Beverage Manager and was previously a Restaurant Manager at the Four Seasons
Caracas, the Ritz Carlton Doha and the Hyatt Regency Riyadh.
Paul Cardona has joined the Orrington as Director of Food and Beverage
replacing Dino Gregorio. Cardona was most recently at the Lodge at Vail
in the same position. He has spent time in various food and beverage positions
at Bacara, the Crescent Court, Four Seasons Olympic and the Four Seasons
Austin.
The Coastal Hotel Group has named Cornell graduate Peter LaFemina Chief
Financial Officer. Most recently, LaFemina directed a private Las Vegas-based
consulting practice and previous positions include Vice President of Finance
for Harrah's Las Vegas Resort & Casino, Corporate Director of Financial
Planning & Analysis for Primadonna Resorts and Chief Financial Officer
at the Sheraton Desert Inn Resort & Casino.
Tony Eccher is the new Controller at the Long Beach Marriott. Eccher
was previously the Director of Operations at the Sofitel Los Angeles, a
property he joined in 2001 as Financial Controller. He was also with Noble
House Hotels and Resorts as Regional Controller.
Bryan Guillot has been named Chief Marketing Officer of Baha Mar Development
Company and Cable Beach Resorts and Crystal Palace Casino.Guillot most
recently served as a Marketing Consultant to Cable Beach Resorts. In addition,
he was responsible for the successful planning and opening of Universal
Studios' first hotel property the Portofino Bay Hotel. Prior to his work
with Universal, Guillot served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing
for Tishman Hotel Corporation.
Tom Badley has joined the Hertz Corporation in Las Vegas as Director,
Business Development. Badley has previously been with Hyatt Hotels since
1999 at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe, the Hyatt corporate office in Chicago
and the Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas Resort.
Noam Gafni has been named Director of Business Development and Sales
for the East Coast market at Luxe Worldwide Hotels. He was most recently
the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Andrew in New York.
Kelly Fogarty has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for
Noble House's Portifino Hotel and Yacht Club. Fogarty was previously the
Director of Sales at the Kor Group's Sheraton Delfina in Santa Monica and
Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hollywood Roosevelt.
Marian Wilson has been named Director of Sales and Marketing at the
Carefree Resort. Wilson was previously the same position at the Omni Indianapolis
North Hotel. She has formerly been with Starwood for six years at the Westin
Indianapolis, Rancho Bernardo Doubletree, and the Westin Horton Plaza.
Rob Stirling has been named Director of Sales & Marketing for the
Grand Del Mar Resort and Spa slated to open January 2007. Stirling was
most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the W San Diego. He
also spent thirteen years with Hyatt Hotels at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake
Bay, the Hyatt Regency La Jolla, the Hyatt Regency Dallas and the Hyatt
Regency DFW.
Some new additions at the Four Seasons at Beverly Hills: Sarah Holtze
and Tara Grand both as Sales Managers. Holtze joins from the Four Seasons
Worldwide Sales Office in New York and was previously with MTV Networks.
Grand was previously at the Los Angeles satellite office for the Four Seasons
Hotel Tokyo at Chinzan-so. She has also been with the Four Seasons Canary
Wharf and the Four Seasons Houston.
Austin Watkins has joined the Four Seasons Whistler as Director of Sales.
Watkins was previously in the same position at the Four Seasons Newport
Beach and has worked at the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel and Spa and Ritz-Carlton
Marina del Rey.
The Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa has named John Rovie as Director
of Sales. Rovie comes to the Arizona Biltmore from the Fairmont Scottsdale
Princess where he served for twelve years, most recently as Director of
Group Sales.
Barry Peterson has been named Director of Catering and Conference Services
at the St. Regis San Francisco slated for opening in November. Peterson
was previously in catering at the Ritz-Carlton and Park Hyatt both in San
Francisco.
Some new additions at La Quinta Resort & Club: Dan Kyser is the
new Director of Sales; Ann Gorman is the new Director of insurance Sales;
Megan Pitman Warzeniak joins as Director of Northern California & Pacific
Northwest Sales and Nicole Campbell to Executive Meetings Manager. Kyser
was most recently at Emerald Point Resort where he was Director of Sales
for the last three years. Gorman was the Senior Sales Manager at the Hyatt
Grand Champions. Campbell was most recently at Magnolia Boutique Hotels.
Kevin Scott Robinson replaces Nicolas Béliard as Director of
Rooms at the Four Seasons Nevis. Robinson is promoted from the Four Seasons
Dallas where he was Assistant Director of Rooms having joined the hotel
in 2002 as Front Office Manager.
Christian Tavelli has been named Rooms Division Manager of Las Ventanas
al Paraiso. Tavelli was most recently the Director of Rooms Division at
Hotel & Casino Torrequebrada in Spain and previously served as Duty
Manager and Assistant Food & Beverage Director at the Marbella Club.
Wayne Neyens has joined Kimpton Hotels of Boston as Human Resources
Director. Neyens was previously at the Clift in San Francisco, the St.
Regis Monarch Beach and St. Regis Los Angeles/Century Plaza.
Mark Birtha has been promoted at the Venetian to Executive Director
of Casino Marketing Administration. Birtha, a Cornell graduate, joined
the hotel in 2002 from the Bellagio as Beverage and Restaurant Manager.
Jim Borowski has transferred to the Four Seasons San Francisco as Director
of Engineering. Borowski was in the same position at the Four Seasons Newport
Beach and previously Assistant Director of Engineering at the Four Seasons
Miami and Four Seasons Las Vegas.
First Lady Laura Bush announced that Cristeta Comerford was chosen to
be the new Executive Chef for the White House. A naturalized U.S. citizen
from the Philippines, she will be the first woman and first minority to
hold the post. Comerford has been a Sous Chef at the White House for ten
years.
Christophe David is the new Executive Chef at the Park Hyatt Chicago
taking over for Sandro Gamba. David has been with Hyatt since 1997, most
recently as Executive Chef at the Park Hyatt Vendome. As for Gamba, he
has left the company and has not announced plans for the future.
Jamie Derosa is the new Executive Chef at Mark Peel's and Nancy Silverton's
Campanile. He comes from the now closed Restaurant Central in West Hollywood,
following two years with the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group.
Andrew Saba has been named Executive Chef at the Loews Annapolis Hotel.
Saba has worked in the kitchens of the Watergate under the tutelage of
the late Jean-Louis Palladin and most recently served as Executive Chef
at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington DC, which was until recently also
a Loews Hotel.
Richard Hamilton has joined Long Island's Chateau Oheka as Executive
Chef. Hamilton was previously at the Chanler Hotel at the Spiced Pear Restaurant
in Newport and had been in the kitchens of the Dunmore Beach Club in the
Bahamas, MGM Grand Las Vegas, Magnolias in Nashville and the Ritz-Carlton
Laguna Niguel.
Hans Lentz is transferring as Executive Chef of the InterContinental
Chicago taking over for Helmut Sussenbach who retired after fifteen years
at the hotel. Lentz was previously at the Miami InterContinental and the
Ceylan InterContinental Istanbul.
Olafia Easton-Rottkamp has been named Executive Chef at André
Balazs' soon-to-open Standard Miami. She was previously a Senior Sous Chef
at Patina in Los Angeles.
Eric Torralba has been named Executive Chef at Tra Vigne in Napa Valley.
Torralba was most recently the Chef/Partner at Restaurant Antidote in Sausalito
after spending time in the kitchens as Executive Chef at Domaine Chandon.
Ryan Pera has been named Executive Chef at Seventeen at the Alden (formerly
known as the Sam Houston Hotel) in Houston. Pera was previously the
Chef de Cuisine at Quattro at the Four Seasons Houston. He came to Houston
from New York where he worked at Washington Park, Le Cirque and AZ.
Jason Adams has joined the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman as Executive Sous
Chef. Adams comes from the Ritz-Carlton Boston where he was Interim Executive
Chef having joined them in 2002 as Chef Tournant. He has been with the
company since 1998 in Buckhead and St. Thomas. Before joining Ritz-Carlton,
Adams was in London at the Churchill InterContinental and the Hyatt Carlton
Tower.
Romain Renard is the new Executive Pastry Chef at the Four Seasons Washington
DC. Renard comes from the Ritz-Carlton Tyson's Corner where he was the
Pastry Chef at Maestro. He previously held the same position at the Sofitel
Lafayette Square.
Bruno Feldeisen is the Executive Pastry Chef at the Wickaninnish Inn
on Vancouver Island. He previously worked in the same capacity at the Brentwood
Bay Lodge. Feldeisen worked with Joachim Splichal for several years prior
to becoming the opening Pastry Chef at the Four Seasons New York in the
mid nineties. Before moving to Vancouver, he opened restaurants in Washington
DC (Senses) and San Francisco (Solea) as well as a bakery in Toronto.
Richard Bies is the new Pastry Chef at David Burke and Donatella in
New York. He was previously an Executive Pastry Chef at the Chanler in
Newport. Prior to that, he was at the Fairmont San Francisco and at the
Four Seasons Atlanta.
John Cunin has been named General Manager of Mix in Las Vegas. Cunin
was previously the Managing Partner of the Capital Grille also in Las Vegas
and has been the General Manager at Bradley Ogden at Caesar's Palace. He
was best known in San Francisco as the Owner of the Cypress Club.
Jeff Morgenthal has joined Restaurant Joel Rubuchon at the MGM Grand
Las Vegas as Head Sommelier. Morgenthal was previously the Wine Director
at Enoteca Drago in Beverly Hills. He spent time in the wine cellars of
Restaurant Gary Danko in San Francisco and the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel.
William Sherer has joined Aureole in Las Vegas as Sommelier. Sherer
was most recently in the same role at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park South
and was previously at Aqua in San Francisco as Corporate Sommelier for
the Next Century Restaurant Group.
Xavier Bessou has been appointed Food and Beverage Director at the Sheraton
Gateway at Los Angeles International Airport, part of the Kor Group. Bessou
leaves the Sofitel Los Angeles where he has been the Assistant Food and
Beverage Manager. |