Already General Manager of Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan, Uday Rao has been appointed the new General Manager of Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay.
Arriving in Bali in 2012 as the Resort Manager at Sayan, Uday was promoted to General Manager within six months. Rao said that over the past three years, he has fallen in love with Bali: “Living here, my life has changed profoundly on a personal and professional level. So when the opportunity was presented to expand my role here, I did not hesitate at all.”
A native of New Delhi, Uday completed high school in India before immigrating to San Diego at the age of 16 to study business management in the United States, then in Japan. Post graduation, he got the travel bug and gravitated to the world of hotels. As he explains, “I practically grew up in hotels.”
Uday started with Four Seasons in 1991 in Chicago, working as an overnight receptionist, then worked through various positions, transferring to Tokyo, Singapore, Dallas and the Maldives. He returned to India in 2006 to open Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai, serving as Hotel Manager.
Though he has worked once with another hotel company, Uday feels most comfortable with Four Seasons. “I have spent more than 23 years with Four Seasons in various parts of the world at various stages of my career. There’s no better place for me than Four Seasons. This is where I belong and feel the best fit with the company culture, the philosophy and the people.”
Though located only 90 minutes apart, the two Resorts in Bali feel completely different. With 60 suites and villas, Sayan is nestled in a lush green river valley in the island’s central highlands near Ubud. With 156 villas and residences, Jimbaran Bay is like a traditional Balinese village set right on the ocean’s edge on the southern coast.
“I’m very excited to take on the management of Jimbaran Bay,” says Uday. “Operationally it’s a challenge, given all the various elements that will be new to me – from the beachside Sundara restaurant, which is constantly growing in popularity, to the new culinary team encompassing a new Executive Chef and a new Executive Pastry Chef. Plus, there’s the new Cooking Academy, a new Spa concept and the new Tropicsurf surfing program. It’s genuinely thrilling to be part of all this.”
Sayan has its own projects underway, including a new Asian-inspired menu at the Avung Terrace restaurant, as well as a new spa concept and a new yoga pavilion by the sacred Ayung River overlooking the rice fields. As Uday explains, “Our focus is on positioning Sayan as a destination resort for spa, yoga, meditation and lifestyle retreats, while at the same time, giving an authentic Balinese experience for our guests.”
As General Manager of both Resorts, Uday intends to create more synergy between the two properties, while keeping their characters distinct. “We want Four Seasons guests to spend time at both Resorts to enjoy a complete Balinese experience,” he said.
