Four Seasons Doha appoints new director of F&B

Manuel Santos has joined the team at Four Seasons Hotel Doha as the new director of food & beverage.

Prior to joining the hotel, Manuel Santos headed up the F&B division at Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi, where he managed a team of 380 staff across the resort's various outlets. Santos also spent three years at Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill as assistant director of food & beverage.

He had previously led the pre-opening team as restaurant manager of Al Hambra restaurant at Al Qasr in Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah, where he worked alongside chef de cuisine Alfonso de la Dehesa from three Michelin star Spanish restaurants El Bulli and Arzak.

The Portugese national has also worked in Portugal, the Bahamas, and the UK during his 17-year career, and will bring his background in building and marketing dining concepts, his operational expertise, and high standards of quality to his new role, where he will direct operations at the seven F&B outlets as well as in-room dining and banqueting operations.

Commenting on his appointment, Four Seasons Hotel Doha general manager and regional vice president Rami Sayess said: “We are extremely glad to get a consummate hotelier such as Manuel on our team here at Four Seasons Hotel Doha and feel his experience and reputation for strengthening restaurant products and promoting them successfully will give us a distinct edge in what is fast turning into a highly competitive dining landscape.

“Manuel will also serve as a member of the hotel’s planning committee. His solid experience working on several pre-opening and refurbishment projects all through his career and his ability to constantly refresh restaurant concepts with creative activations and promotions make him the ideal man for the job here in Doha."

Santos holds a diploma of techniques and hotel management from the Porto Hotel School of Management.