Above: the Four Seasons Resort in Nevis (CJ Photo)

By Alexander Britell

The Four Seasons Resort Nevis has named Sven Wiedenhaupt as the property’s new general manager.

Wiedenhaupt, a 23-year veteran of luxury hotel management, has already arrived on the island.

His previous posts include director of food and beverage at the Four Seasons Hotel New York and, most recently, general manager of the Four Seasons Hotel Damascus.

“This is my first resort with Four Seasons, and my first island,” he told Caribbean Journal. “This will be doing business differently on many levels — typically in New York, people would park their car, here, they have to fly in, so the logistics of getting people here are different — and the joy that people have of arriving in Nevis.”

Wiedenhaupt has already held meetings with Nevis Premier Vance Amory, who himself took office just last month.

“That was a great visit, and I look forward to working with the local government in Nevis and in St Kitts,” he said.

Above: Sven Wiedenhaupt (Photo: Four Seasons)

The island of just around 12,000 people is a big change from previous stops in Doha and Damascus, and he said his impressions thus far have been “unbelievable.”

“I’m fortunate to be part of this journey, this hotel’s journey — they’ve been doing a terrific job for the last 22 years,” he said.

Wiedenhaupt, a native of Germany who graduated from Switzerland’s L’Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, has also worked at companies including Intercontinental and Marriott at four- and five-star properties in Arizona, California and Wisconsin. He succeeds former GM Andrew Humphries, who stepped down at the end of 2012.

“It’s really about helping and being a part of the Nevisian story, being a part of the success of the island, through collaboration with the local government as a key tourism partner and a key employer,” he said. “It’s about recognizing that we have a responsibility to be a great neighbour and to continue to enhance the island’s prestige and image globally.”