MEXICO AND THE CARIBBEAN
Marco Bustamante is the exec chef at Capella Pedregal, opened in mid-July on a secluded cliffside setting where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The hotel, set on 24 beachfront acres, has 66 guest accommodations, each with private plunge pool and direct ocean views. In keeping with Capella's "six-star" philosophy, there are tons of amenities, including personal assistants to arrange meals and outings and a luxe 12,000-square-foot Auriga spa. Bustamante trained at Per Se (New York City) and came from Hotel 71 (Chicago) but had helped open Capella's very first hotel, Schloss Velden (Velden, Austria) in 2007. Capella Pedregal's f&b team also includes Fernando Flores (assistant f&b manager and restaurant manager), Ernesto Mendoza (f&b assistant manager), and Alejandro Enriquez (sommelier).
The 157 room W Retreat & Spa Vieques Island will open after the first of the year, eight miles off the southeast coast of Puerto Rico. It has a restaurant by Alain Ducasse-called miX on the beach-but it turns out that the Ducasse gang is actually handling all f&b on-site, including the W Café, bars and lounges, room service, and banquets. Heading the team is hotel exec chef Dagan Lynn, who worked for Ducasse at the Jumeirah Essex House and at miX (New York City), as well as with Thomas Keller at Bouchon and The French Laundry (Yountville, CA). His most recent job was at Bank in Minneapolis. Lynn's second is Sébastien Rondier, a 10 year Ducasse veteran. The hotel f&b director is Al Lopez, most recently gm at the Park at St. Bart's and, before that, beverage director at Tabla (both in NYC). Beverage director Raul Gonzalez's résumé includes Le Cirque and Ducasse's Adour (also NYC). W Retreat & Spa is the company's resort brand; this is their first Retreat in North America. There are now 32 W hotels open, with plans to double that by 2011.
BERLIN
The Michelberger Hotel opened in September, next to the famous Oberbaum Bridge and River Spree. Founder/gm Tom Michelberger, 31, conceived the project with friends and describes it as the ideal concept for this "raw, rebellious, and creative" German capital. With 119 rooms and rates from ¤59 ($84) per night, the hotel is designed to appeal to "dreamers, movers and shakers, lovebirds, soul searchers, artists, craftspeople, and globetrotters alike," he says. Designer Werner Aisslinger handled the redo of the 19th century factory building, preserving period details such as the brick façade, high ceilings, and massive paned windows. Five room categories range from a standard double to a loft room for eight. The Michelberger's main floor restaurant offers all-day dining, and there's also a bar. Chef Marcus Laue worked previously at the Resident Hotel and The Four Seasons, both in Berlin.
SOUTH AFRICA
The 24 room Steenberg Hotel & Winery opens Bistro 1682, named for the year Steenberg was first established, this month in Constantia Valley, 20 minutes from the center of Cape Town. Set amid the vineyards in the foothills of the Steenberg Mountains, with spectacular views, Bistro 1682 is a 70 seat daytime-only indoor and outdoor restaurant that also serves as a tasting room. Chef Brad Ball was last at the River Café (Constantia) and Olympia Café (Cape Town). Steenberg's fine dining concept Catharina's, continues to be run by exec chef Garth Almazan. In addition to the hotel, winery, and two restaurants, it features a spa, 18 hole golf course, and soon-to-open conference facility.
In 2003, Delaire, one of the finest vineyards in Stellenbosch, was acquired and completely restored by Laurence Graff, Britain's "king of diamonds," who built a new restaurant on the property and opened it in June. It has 80 seats inside and 100 out. The Delaire Graff Estate Restaurant is getting raves, both for the design (by London-based architect David Collins) and for the "sunshine cuisine" of exec chef Christiaan Campbell, formerly of the Cellars-Hohenhort Hotel (Constantia). Leading sculptors have been commissioned to create works for the restaurant's exterior, while the interior features an important collection of African art. Sommelier/beverage director Tatiana Marcetteau is in charge of the massive cellar, considered one of the most advanced in the Southern Hemisphere. A new 12 suite hotel and spa will open in 2010.
At the 110 year old, 201 room Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town, an Orient Express property, Rudi Liebenberg has been named exec chef and Vicky Gurovich the new pastry chef. Both had been working at the Saxon in Johannesburg.
INDIA
The Leela Palace Kempinski Udaipur opened in October on the banks of Lake Pichola in Udaipur, Rajasthan. It has 80 rooms, two restaurants (one on the rooftop) and a 10,000-square-foot ESPA spa. Exec chef Karim Hassene was previously exec sous at The Ritz-Carlton Sarasota (Florida). F&B manager Abhishek Sharma came over from Soneva Gili by Six Senses in the Maldives. The company's next openings will be in Chennai (2010) and New Delhi (2010), followed by Agra, Hyderabad, and Pune.
Send your international restaurant and hotel f&b news to Julie Mautner at WhiskNews@aol.com
