Ramee Grand Hotel and Spa – Seef has welcomed two top level executives to its management team in Bahrain.

Kumar Ashwani has been named the director of sales and marketing and Rocco Santopietro joins as the property's new general manager.

Ashwani brings with him 22 years of hospitality experience and has worked with Intercontinental Group and Accor. He started his hospitality career in India 1995 with Holiday Inn, continued his way up to success to move to Bahrain in 1997 with Intercontinental (IHG) and to the Mercure Grand seef Hotel (Accor) in the year 2004 to gain experience of pre-opening.

In his new role, Ashwani will be in charge of sales and marketing to reposition Ramee Grand Hotel and Spa – Seef. He is responsible for sustained operational excellence at both properties and direct oversight of sales strategy, market planning and revenue management.

Santopietro brings to Ramee over three decades of hospitality experience. One of his key objectives will be to continue to grow the hotel’s position within the local, regional and international markets.

Santopietro began his career in Gstaad in Switzerland at the Palace Hotel in 1978. Over the years, he worked at with several operators in Switzerland, Greece, Uk, Italy, France, Romania, The Far East, Caribbean and Egypt.

Santopietro joins Ramee Group from his most recent role as cluster general manager at Red Sea Hotels & Resorts. In this position, he managed three resorts conference and Mall and was instrumental for the company in the planning and pre-opening phase of six new resorts In Sahl hasheesh in Egypt.

He has worked with international hospitality groups such as Mandarin Oriental, Starwood and Wyndham and has overseen the opening and pre-opening of various high-end Hotels such As The Dorchester, Casa Angelina, Murano Urban Resort and island resorts as general manager, namely in London, Positano, Paris, Antigua amongst other locations. His extensive experience in food and beverage operations within five-star luxury hotels led him to being a part of the pre-opening team at The Dorchester In London, Mandarin Oriental Bali, Singapore, Macao and Manila.

He has also gone through 18 months of Mandarin Oriental Management’s corporate executive training at six of its properties – Hong Kong, Jakarta, Bangkok and Singapore and took up a corporate role With Stein Group as corporate director of opening and operation support.

Santopietro added: “I am thrilled to join the Ramee family as it continues on the growth journey in the region. Ramee Group has seen unprecedented growth in the past decade and still has a long runway. I look forward to working with some of the best talent in the industry “My mission is not only to ensure Ramee Grand Hotel & Spa continues to be recognised as the leading luxury hotel in Bahrain but also to expand the brand awareness in this competitive market.” - TradeArabia News Service