We're eagerly awaiting the Alpina Gstaad, which will be the first five-star hotel to be built in the Swiss Alpine village in a century when it opens next year. And now there's some big news from the property: Niklaus Leuenberger, a Swiss hotelier originally from Bern, has been appointed managing director of the hotel. He brings more than three decades of experience with luxury hotels in Asia, the United States and the Middle East.
Leuenberger will be responsible for the management and ongoing operations of the hotel, which is scheduled to open in December 2012. The hotel will have 57 rooms and suites, three restaurants, a spa, two pools and a private cinema.
Prior to joining The Alpina Gstaad, Leuenberger was chief operating officer for Resorts Development Company, a subsidiary of the Alfardam Group in Dubai, overseeing the development of the $800 million St. Regis Hotel and Residential complex in Doha. He spent 27 years in management roles with The Peninsula Hotels in China, Hong Kong and the Philippines before transferring to the New York flagship in 1992. Under his leadership, the New York hotel completed a major renovation in just 10 months and was recognized as having the highest employee satisfaction among all Peninsula Hotels. He was then promoted to regional general manager and charged with overseeing all aspects of the development and construction of The Peninsula Chicago.
Leuenberger has an MBA from Pacific Western University and is a graduate of the Hotel Management School in Lucerne. His apprenticeship was at the Dolder Grand Hotel in Zurich.
For more information, visit www.thealpinagstaad.ch.