Stuart Johnson has been appointed General Manager at Rocco Forte Shanghai
Stuart Johnson, the 2012 Hotelier of the Year and general manager of Brown’s hotel in London for 11 years, is moving to Shanghai to open a new property for Rocco Forte Hotels. Set to open in 2018, the 280-bedroom hotel is being developed in partnership with Longhua International as part of the Longhua International Aviation Service Centre, a new urban complex in West Bund. Johnson will move to China in January to oversee the final stages of its development and opening. The property will take over the top 15 floors of the tallest building of the development. It will incorporate three different restaurants, overseen by Lydia Forte, Sir Rocco’s daughter and director of food and beverage for the group, a spa, swimming pool and ballroom. Olga Polizzi, director of design of Rocco Forte Hotels, will undertake the interior design. Johnson joined the five-red-AA-star, 117-bedroom Brown’s hotel in 2005, two years after it was acquired by Rocco Forte from Raffles Hotels.in 2003. The hotel was closed in April 2004 for a £25m refurbishment. Marco Novella will step into Johnson’s shoes as manging director overseeing three hotels.
