BANGKOK — One of the newest luxury hotels in Bangkok has made a veteran of the hospitality industry its general manager.
Last month, the year-old Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit gave the reins to William J. Haandrikman, who has held senior management positions at high-end hotels in eight countries on three continents since joining Accor in 1992.
He most recently served as general manager of the 503-room Sofitel Shanghai Jing’an Huamin, where he oversaw the pre-opening phase. The hotel was set to be one of the finest five-star properties in China’s largest city.
The Dutch national has also managed the renowned Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom in Austria and the prestigious Sofitel Paris La Defense in France.
Haandrikman is a graduate of the Hotel School in the Netherlands, the ESSEC Executive Management Program and the Executive Management Programme at Cornell Business School, USA.
Opened in April 2012, Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit has made a name for itself in the luxury hotel market by marrying French sophistication with Thai hospitality and design.
Inspired by the art deco period, the 344-room, limestone-steel-and-glass structure extends 32 stories above Sukhumvit Road and is capped by L'Appart, a Parisian-styled eatery and lounge designed to look and feel like a lavish penthouse apartment.
A rice motif — in honor of the grain that has shaped Thailand's landscape and culture — runs throughout the property, site of the country's only Le SPA with L'Occitane.
To learn more about Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit, visit www.sofitel-sukhumvit.com.
