Philippe Lamadieu

(Fujairah, UAE, March 2003): Newly appointed director of operations at Le Méridien Al Aqah Beach Resort is Philippe Lamadieu, a French national who has extensive experience in the Middle East hotel sector.

His most recent posting was with Six Continents, where he acted as a specialist in food and beverage operations, opening restaurants at properties in Malta and Tunisia as well as reorganising the F&B department at the Crowne Plaza Muscat.

A 24-year veteran of the hospitality industry, Lamadieu was born in Corsica but travelled extensively to places as far afield as Cambodia and Africa, starting his career in Burkina Faso before moving on to Torquay in the UK and then back to France.

After a spell at the Hotel Ritz in Paris, he moved to Dubai as restaurant manager for the Royal Abjar in 1992 when that hotel was the emirate's first new city five-star for many years.

Spells in Bahrain, Sharm-El-Sheikh and back in Dubai at the Oasis Beach followed, and Lamadieu says he is delighted to return to the UAE for his third spell here.

"Fujairah is a very different emirate, and the opening of Le Méridien Al Aqah Beach Resort is already making waves as people travel here to experience the hotel and its unique location on this 2km beach," he said.

"As director of operations, it is my responsibility to see that everything runs smoothly, for both the leisure guest and the business traveller - but it is a role that is made easier by the exceptional design and facilities of the hotel."

Features of the resort include rooms that are among the largest in the UAE at 48 sq metres minimum, extensive outdoor dining, a large children's club with its own enclosed pool, grass area, sanded play area and swings, a free-form pool again the largest in the country, plus ballroom and reception venues,

A joint venture between Emirates airline and the Hotel & Resort Investment Company, Le Méridien Al Aqah Beach Resort is located on a two kilometre sand beach on the UAE east coast facing the Indian Ocean.

Le Méridien is a global hotel group with a portfolio of more than 140 luxury and upscale hotels (38,000 rooms) in 55 countries worldwide. The majority of its properties are located in the world's top cities and resorts throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. The company also enjoys a strategic alliance with JAL-owned Nikko Hotels, providing loyal guests access to an additional 42 properties around the world. Headquartered in London, Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts Ltd is owned by Nomura International Plc and managed by Terra Firma Capital Partners. Details from www.lemeridien.com