Anticipating the launch of its fourth luxury hotel on Bali, GHM has named Walter Hess general manager of The Chedi Club Jimbaran Bali, set to open its doors later this year.
Hess will draw on more than two decades of experience at a constellation of five-star hotels on four continents to shepherd the debut of the 34-villa property at Jimbaran Bay.
A 44-year-old Swiss native with a prominent career in destinations as diverse as the Caribbean, Canada and Costa Rica, Hess arrives in Bali off his most recent post as resident manager at the highly acclaimed Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam.
He received his hospitality training in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the prestigious École hôtelière de Lausanne, and spent five years honing his skills in the food and beverage arena at hotels in Geneva and Bern before relocating to Malaysia to work at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in the state of Johor.
Between 1997 and 2009, Hess caught his stride in key positions in the rooms divisions of a string of five-star Four Seasons hotels, where he climbed the ranks from front desk supervisor to director of rooms. After a two-year stint as Executive Assistant Manager of the One & Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives, Hess joined Singapore-based hotel group GHM in 2012.
“Anytime we can promote from within, we do,” said GHM President Hans R. Jenni. “Walter Hess knows GHM, knows the GHM guest, and with his experience, he will be a good fit for this destination. At Jimbaran, our guests-to-come will immediately realise the benefits of a seasoned GHM manager at the helm.”
Encompassing 34 butler-serviced pool villas nestled within a 22,000-square-metre estate — the work of noted architect Robert Nation and Indonesian interior decorator Jaya Ibrahim — The Chedi Club Jimbaran will be GHM’s third hotel to open within the span of a year, following the debut of The Chedi Sakala in November 2013 and The Chedi Andermatt in December 2013.
Hess is fluent in German, French and English, and conversant in Spanish and basic Japanese.
