SINGAPORE — The general manager who opened the iconic Chedi Muscat for GHM in 2003 is returning to the luxury hotel group’s fold this month as he takes charge of The Legian Bali.
André Kretschmann moves to the acclaimed 68 all-suite resort with its 11-villa sister property in Seminyak – The Club at The Legian – after six years as an area general manager for the Cheval Blanc Group across Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean.
From 1995 to 2005, Kretschmann was a mainstay at GHM, where he managed properties in Jakarta, on Phuket, in Oman and on Sri Lanka.
“André spent a good deal of his career with us at GHM, and really helped define the image of a GHM manager,” said GHM President Hans R. Jenni, who co-founded the group with Adrian Zecha in 1992.
On the verge of its 20th Anniversary, The Legian endures as one of the most highly regarded hotels on Bali, typically landing among top-3 or top-5 lists of the island’s 1,000-plus hotels. The resort was also recently inducted into TripAdvisor’s Hall of Fame after being awarded with the popular travel review site’s Certificate of Excellence for five consecutive years.
Under the watch of Kretschmann’s predecessor, the hotel opened a new, 30-metre infinity lap pool just above the famed sands of Seminyak, renovated its three-bedroom oceanfront beach house, opened up new streams of natural light into the hotel rooms and refurbished the spa and wellness facility.
Kretschmann’s career in hospitality took flight in his native Germany in the late 1970s. In the mid-1980s, he moved abroad to London and then Paris before relocating to Asia where he’s worked for the past 20 years.
