Susanne Hatje Named General Manager of Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London - Opening in the Spring of 2023

Hong Kong, 9 November 2022

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has recruited seasoned hotelier Susanne Hatje to supervise the opening of Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London in the spring of 2023.         

Ms. Hatje joins the pre-opening team from her role as General Manager of Mandarin Oriental, New York, the Group's flagship property in The Americas. She has over 25 years of experience in the hotel business, including 18 years in top management positions at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.

Ms. Hatje presided for nine years over the award-winning Mandarin Oriental, New York. Prior to that, she managed all areas of the Group's portfolio of branded Residences at Mandarin Oriental as the worldwide Group Director of Residences. Her expertise in establishing prominent Mandarin Oriental hotels includes the 2008 opening of the renowned Mandarin Oriental, Boston, as well as the 2005 inauguration of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, which has received several accolades since then.

Ms. Hatje was previously General Manager at Mandarin Oriental, Munich, where she oversaw the rebranding from Rafael hotels, and Resort Manager at one of the Group's former properties in Hawaii.

Christoph Mares, Chief Operating Officer, commented on the selection, stating,

"Susanne's expertise supervising Mandarin Oriental's branded Residences and successfully launching new Mandarin Oriental properties makes her the right candidate for this high-profile opening in the heart of Mayfair. From her experience developing The Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, which lies next to the Group's legacy flagship, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, Susanne has a thorough understanding of how the Mandarin Oriental brand can be transformed from opulent tradition to intimate modernity."

The Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London is located on historic Hanover Square, in the centre of the city's most fashionable neighbourhoods, where fashion, media, art, and commerce mix. The new hotel in Knightsbridge will be a quiet, stylish, and intimate sibling to the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London.

For those who have already fallen in love with Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London, there will be a new way to enjoy the iconic brand, inspired by the vitality and inventiveness of its new neighbourhood.

The hotel, which consists of 50 bedrooms and suites and 78 Mandarin Oriental homes, will be an oasis of tranquilly with a lively environment in the public areas. Ms. Hatje will be the protector of Mandarin Oriental's famed service, which will be at the core of this new property that will include a Mandarin Oriental urban spa centred on rejuvenation and recalibration as well as the first UK restaurant and bar from Michelin-starred Korean Chef Akira Back.

"Launching a Mandarin Oriental hotel is always a labour of love, and I am privileged to have supervised a number of the Group's most important openings. To open a property in London, on one of the city's most historically significant squares, is a true honour."

Ms. Hatje said,

"We hope to make this a destination that represents and enriches our lively new neighbourhood, where art, fashion, and business intersect."

Ms. Hatje was awarded "Hotelier of the Year" by Virtuoso in 2017 for effectively putting new properties among the finest in the world. Ms. Hatje, a German citizen, entered the hospitality profession in 1998 as an apprentice at the Atlantic Hotel Kempinski in Hamburg.

While expanding her profession, she pursued her education via the hotel management programme at New York's prominent Cornell University and the Master of Business Administration programme at Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).

The globetrotting, action-oriented general manager enjoys climbing, surfing, sailing, and West End theatre.