Brimming with 15 years of F&B experience in the region, Marina Bohnert's most recent role was as assistant F&B director of Anantara The Palm Dubai. In her new position, she will be launching and looking after the hotels exciting new dining outlets, developing the restaurant concepts, curating menus, and enhancing overall dining experiences for guests and visitors alike.
Working in tandem to introduce and lead the culinary concepts at the new property is executive chef, Kasdi Dahari.
Most recently leading the operations for the launch of Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas in Qatar, Refai comes with extensive hospitality experience in the region. He has worked on several pre-opening concepts, working across different properties in Asia and the GCC region.
Amarinder Sadana has joined from Hilton's corporate office in Asia Pacific. He brings over 19 years of international experience from both on-property and regional positions. Having worked across several countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and India, Sadana will oversee the entire commercial function from sales, revenue, reservations, events and marketing, Sadana will drive the commercial strategy for both rooms and food and beverage to ensure a quick and impactful ramp up of the hotel.
Spearheading the opening of the new Hilton property in Dubai is Andreas Searty.
Kempinski Residences The Creek in Dubai promises waterfront living with a focus on health and wellness.
Accor, a world-leading hospitality group with over 400 hotels across India, Middle East, Africa and Turkey is adding the world-renowned cruise ship, Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2), into its portfolio. Taking over operations from May 2022, the cruise ship will undergo further upgrades and renovations prior to joining the MGallery Hotel Collection. Once fully rebranded, Queen Elizabeth 2 will undoubtedly become a landmark property for the MGallery brand and Dubai overall.
W Hotels Worldwide, part of Marriott Bonvoy's portfolio of 30 extraordinary hotel brands, today announced the opening of W Dubai - Mina Seyahi. Situated on the highly sought-after Jumeirah Beach coastline, the 31-story hotel boasts striking glass architecture with unobstructed views of the sun-soaked Arabian Gulf and Dubai's iconic landmarks.
Gaurav Gulati is the executive head chef at Th8 Palm, managed by Accor, with over 20 years of experience in kitchens from across the world. Born in India, Gulati's career spans seven countries including Qatar, the United Kingdom, Seychelles, Morocco, Montenegro, India, and the UAE.
Karam is an experienced and passionate hospitality professional, with a strong F&B background in top establishments across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.
Kerzner International Holdings Limited ("Kerzner"), the owner of the iconic Atlantis Resorts and Residences, ultra-luxury One&Only Resorts worldwide, is proud to announce the launch of Rare Finds; a diverse collection of resorts celebrating the individuality of each property, showcasing their unique identity, location, talent and expertise, with a distinct ability to captivate the imagination, provoke thought and elevate a destination through transformative experiences, unmatched food and beverage offerings and spectacular entertainment.
Diaconu started her career in the sales department at Grand Hyatt Dubai in 2014 and moved up to sales manager in 2017. She was later made assistant director of sales for both the Grand Hyatt Dubai and the Andaz property before her latest promotion.
Besson began as a sales executive at Hyatt Regency Dubai and was soon promoted to sales manager. Then moving to Grand Hyatt where he was promoted to director of sales in 2019. Since June 2020, he has led the sales and marketing department as director of sales at Andaz Dubai the Palm.
Clinton D'Souza has joined Marriott International through the St. Regis Downtown Dubai. The long-time restaurant professional comes in as F&B manager of four outlets. He will oversee Basta, Bleu Blanc, The St. Regis Bar, The Library and in-room dining.
Grand Mercure Hotel and Residences and Ibis Styles Dubai Airport has a new cluster marketing manager. Cyrine El Klifi joins the Accor complex with just over half a decade of experience under her belt.
Sofitel Dubai The Palm has named its new director of operations - hiring internally as the resort bolsters its leadership team. Antonio Ostuni steps up to the role from his previous position of director of F&B.
Joining in February 2022, Rafael González Ensesa has stepped into the role of GM at Jumeirah Living Marina Gate. Ensesa has previously worked for the likes of Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and Fairmont, across Europe, Asia, Indonesia and North America. In his role as general manager for Jumeirah Living Marina Gate, the fresh GM looks to elevate the reputation of luxury residential hospitality.
Mark Hehir has taken the lead at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray. With 38 years of experience, Hehir has held senior executive roles with major global hospitality brands across Asia, and later took on the role of CEO for The Small Maldives Island Co. From GM to CEO, Hehir has developed and managed high profile luxury resorts across the Maldives, Thailand and Bali, working for leading luxury brands including The Ritz Carlton, One & Only Resorts and Anantara.
Driven by the final weeks of Expo 2020, Dubai’s hotel industry reported its first month of 90% or better occupancy since 2007, according to preliminary March 2022 data from STR.
Atlantis The Palm Dubai has a new director of restaurants. F&B expert Fredericos Tsaparas steps into the role with almost a decade of regional experience behind him.