London,
July 11, 2011 – Rocco Forte Hotels is pleased to announced key
personnel
appointments at the company’s head office in London and at its hotel in
Prague,
the Augustine Hotel.
Ivan
Artolli has
been appointed as operations director for its properties in the UK,
Belgium and
Eastern Europe. Ivan, who will be based at the
company’s headquarters in London, will join Rocco Forte Hotels’
management
board and oversee operations for Brown’s Hotel in London, The Lowry
Hotel in Manchester, The Balmoral in Edinburgh, Hotel Amigo
in Brussels, the Augustine Hotel in Prague and Hotel Astoria in
St Petersburg.
Artolli, originally from Padua in Italy, has an impressive 35 years of
experience in the hotel industry and is currently Rocco Forte Hotels’
longest
serving general manager with successful spells at Hotel Savoy in
Florence,
Hotel Amigo in Brussels and at present The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh.
Prior to joining the company, he held senior positions at among others,
the Grand Hotel et de Milan, Villa d’Este Grand Hotel at Lake Como in
Italy and
Paris’ Plaza Athenee.
Reporting
into Karim Naffah, managing director Rocco Forte Hotels, Artolli will
be
working alongside Operations Director Martin Elsner, who oversees the
group’s
properties in Germany and Italy as well as its new developments.
Karim Naffah comments: ‘As our brand
profile continues to rise and we expand in the Middle East and North
Africa, we
decided to reinforce our top team by appointing an additional
operations
director. Ivan brings with him a great blend of hospitality expertise
and brand
knowledge, which made him the natural choice in leading operations
across
several of our properties. We are particularly pleased to have filled
this
position internally, underlining our continued commitment to the
development of
the team.’
Ivan
Artolli will join the team in London to take up his new position once a
successor at The Balmoral Hotel is in place.
Ken Dittrich has been
appointed as general manager of the Augustine Hotel in Prague with
immediate effect.
Dittrich joins the Augustine Hotel after spending more than 20 years as
General Manager of various leading hotels across the globe, most
recently as
General Manager at the Corinthia hotel in St. Petersburg.
Since the mid ‘90s, Dittrich has held Senior Executive level positions
in some of the most prestigious hotels in the Far East, the US, and in
particular, South America but he is now, he says, ready to return
closer to
home.
Conveniently located in the
picturesque heart of Prague, the Augustine Hotel, is close to the
majestic
Prague Castle, the Wallenstein Garden, the famous Charles Bridge and
within
easy reach of the city’s many colorful tourist attractions, making it
an ideal
choice for business and leisure travellers. The 101-bedroom property
including
16 suites has been created from seven buildings, many of which have
historical
significance, including the 13th century Augustinian St. Thomas
Monastery,
after which the hotel is named. Several practicing friars still live in
a
separate part of the monastery, adjacent to the hotel grounds.
Originally from Wuppertal, Germany, Dittrich studied hotel business
administration at the Heidelberg Hotel School in Germany, having
already spent
time working in restaurants and hotels while he was finishing his
education. He joined the Intercontinental Hotel Group in 1981 and
gradually rose through its ranks before joining the Regent Singapore
Hotel as
Food & Beverage Manager. He moved to the Westin Hotel and
Resort Group
in 1989, first as Executive Assistant and then, after a number of other
postings, joined the Westin Caesar Park Hotel in Panama as the General
Manager
in 1995.
Dittrich is married with two children and is fluent in German, English,
Spanish and French.
 Rocco Forte Hotels
Rocco Forte Hotels is a
family of 13 individual hotels and resorts. Each property has a unique
style,
reflecting its nationality and location, but all share Rocco Forte
Hotels’
trademark attention to detail, high quality and immaculate service.
Established by Sir Rocco Forte in 1996, Rocco Forte Hotels
comprises: Hotel de Russie, Rome; Hotel Savoy, Florence; The Balmoral,
Edinburgh; The Lowry Hotel, Manchester; Hotel Astoria, St Petersburg;
Hotel
Amigo, Brussels; Brown’s Hotel, London; Villa Kennedy, Frankfurt; Hotel
de
Rome, Berlin; Le Richemond, Geneva; The Charles Hotel, Munich;
Augustine Hotel,
Prague; Verdura Golf & Spa Resort, Sicily. Future openings: Abu
Dhabi 2011;
Jeddah 2013; Marrakech 2014; Cairo 2014; Luxor 2014.
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