CHIANG MAI, Thailand – Three years after joining GHM as executive assistant manager at The Chedi Muscat, Andy Kunz is trading the sands of Arabia for a riverside perch in one of Thailand’s most compelling destinations
Kunz succeeds Stefan Noll as general manager of the GHM property when Noll departs for cooler climes and a new position as hotel manager and head of task force with the pre-opening team at The Chedi Andermatt. Set to open in December, the Swiss development is one of two GHM debuts scheduled for this year.
Like The Chedi Muscat, The Chedi Chiang Mai trades on its setting and heritage to evoke a sense of destination and arrival at the property itself.
The 1913-built, former British consulate anchors the interior grounds of the 84-room riverside hotel, housing The Restaurant, Terrace Bar and Cigar Lounge. Teak, timber and rattan accents pay homage to the hotel’s situation in northern Thailand. Each of the 52 rooms and 32 suites open on to balconies that overlook the gardens and the Mae Ping River.
Since its debut in July 2005, The Chedi Chiang Mai has won international acclaim on Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List and from regional media such as TTG (Best New Spa) and Smart Travel Asia (Top 25 Leisure Hotels/Resorts in Asia).
Recently, the hotel won a #2 spot on a list of Thailand’s Top 25 Luxury Hotels in TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice 2013 awards.
“Muscat and Chiang Mai couldn’t be any more different as destinations, and the resorts cultivate two very different aesthetic traditions, but there are remarkable similarities to the atmosphere and ambience of each,” said Kunz. “These similarities are what set them apart as GHM hotels.”
Swiss-born Kunz began his career in his home country, studying for a diploma at the prestigious hospitality school Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne. After interning in Switzerland and St Bart’s, Kunz joined the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts Group. He has held leadership positions at properties in Jordan, Egypt, Palm Beach and Beverly Hills in the United States and Sydney in Australia.
