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The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain Hotel & Spa’s recently-appointed general manager, Christian Zandonella, aims to lick the competition as the five-star hospitality sector in the kingdom heats up with the arrival of a host of newcomers.
The 36-year-old Italian, who grew up in Munich, Germany, had his first taste of the food and beverage sector helping his father travel around small towns whipping up business from the family’s ice cream van.
Mr Zandonella said: “I loved driving around with my father. It’s what started it all. I especially loved to ring the bell when we drove into small towns and all the kids were jealous as I was sitting ‘at the source’.
“All my friends and family were in the restaurant industry. Family and friends gatherings were usually after midnight once the last guest had left for home. Cooking food every night in a different kitchen and eating all together in an empty dining room still is a great memory to me.
“Waiters, owners, suppliers, friends and family were all sitting around together. It was beautiful.”
His love for the industry grew and, in 1995, he graduated with a degree in hotel management in Munich and took up an apprenticeship as a restaurant service professional.
In 2004, he joined The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and began what was to become an impressive global career in hotel management at the group’s property in Cancun, Mexico.
In 2008, following the opening of The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, Mr Zandonella was promoted to the position of assistant food & beverage manager. He then moved back to Europe where he became the executive assistant manager of food & beverage at the company’s Hotel Arts Barcelona. During this period, he became the leader of the Food & Beverage Advisory Board for the continent.
After a couple of years enjoying the Spanish sun he returned to Germany where he worked with the Kempinski Adlon Hotel in Berlin. He then returned to the Ritz-Carlton fold in 2012 and set off to North America as the hotel manager of the group’s first establishment in Toronto, Canada.
Mr Zandonella has also assisted in opening several Ritz-Carlton properties in Montreal, Aruba and most recently Rancho Mirage. He was also the interim general manager at Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Puerto Rico.
He has settled in well with The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain Hotel & Spa family and is keen on using the knowledge he has gained to further develop the luxurious beach resort.
Mr Zandonella, who speaks fluent German, Italian, English and Spanish, said: “I am positively surprised by the heartwarming friendliness of the locals. They are very open and well educated and it is very easy to communicate with them as literally everybody speaks fluent English.
“I also feel a very strong and emotional bond for the company. I love the fact that here in Bahrain we offer a lot of space, an extensive beach, nine food and beverage outlets and a fantastic spa.
“But what I love the most is our staff, or as we call them, the ladies and gentlemen. They are the heart of the resort and the building only comes alive with them.
“In terms of improvement, there is never ever a finish line. We are as good as our last performance and day. It can take you 30 years to build a reputation and only one to ruin it. We will never give up continuing to be Bahrain’s leading luxury resort.”
With that said, the property has already introduced a new mobile app in order to make life easier for its guests, as hotels across the island embrace new technology.
“We constantly need to change and innovate and we need to adapt to the new generation traveller,” said Mr Zandonella. “We are currently introducing the mobile check-in through our Ritz-Carlton App. The mobile app will definitely make things easier for our guests; more than anything it will give our guests the choice.
“They can decide if they want to have more or less interaction. Ordering room service, for example, through your mobile device, will be very popular. You can order something while you are in your car coming in from the airport. By the time you get to the room your order will be there waiting for you.
“Additionally, you will even be able to order your drink or food from your mobile device while you are sitting on the beach.”
The application will also allow tourists to make hotel reservations at various Ritz-Carlton hotels and resorts, enrol in the company’s rewards programme, browse hotel information, photographs and find out about events at the hotels as well as view recommendations and tips from its world-renowned concierges.
The team members are fully aware they will have to remain on the ball as existing five star hotels have invested heavily in meeting the stiff competition in the kingdom, the Four Seasons prepares to open its doors close-by in Bahrain Bay and the newly-opened ART Rontana is aiming to woo more custom over to Amwaj Islands … with additional five star complex openings on the horizon too.
Mr Zandonella believes that the hotel’s ownership group has kept the resort fresh and appealing to loyal guests and helped attract newcomers.
He said: “They share our vision to remain at the forefront of Bahrain hospitality as The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain Hotel & Spa has been in the market for more than 10 years. You see, we don’t start reacting because we now have more competition; every area in the hotel is always under observation. What can we do better? We question what we do all the time.”
Only last week a celebrity chef was called in to add his touch to one of the restaurants. Mr Zandonella teased that there are even more innovations to come. “There is a lot cooking but it is a bit too early to talk about it,” he said.
