New Hires Join Belmond El Encanto’s Management Team

WHY IT RATES: Both Roche and Huther bring a wealth of industry experience to their roles at the Santa Barbara hotel. —Janeen Christoff, TravelPulse Senior Writer

Rob Roche and Colleen Huther have joined the Belmond team as director of sales and marketing and general manager, respectively, overseeing the historic Santa Barbara Resort, Belmond El Encanto.

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Roche joins the team with more than 20 years of experience across luxury hotel brands that include St. Regis, Rosewood Hotels and Resorts and Four Seasons Hotels. Most recently while working with The Peninsula Beverly Hills, he was responsible for implementing strategic goals for the principle teams across its Reservations, Sales, Advertising, E-Commerce, Social Media and Public Relations departments.

Huther joins the property with more than 30 years of luxury hotel experience working for international hotel brands including Hilton, Accor, and Marriott. She joins Belmond from the Hilton Checkers in Los Angeles where she was general manager. Prior to that, she was general manager of the Hilton Santa Clara Hotel in Northern California.

Today, Belmond El Encanto continues to be a luxurious escape–having just received the Forbes 5-Star recognition for the fifth consecutive year in 2018–and catering to couples, wellness-seekers, wine lovers, families, foodies, and Hollywood’s elite.

Belmond El Encanto features 92 luxuriously designed bungalows and suites set in seven acres of lush historic gardens with sweeping views over Santa Barbara and the Pacific Ocean beyond. The property features distinct styles of early Santa Barbara architecture–California Craftsman and Spanish Colonial Revival—and original and nostalgic settings remain throughout, such as the trellis-lined Arbor and Lily Pond.

The iconic resorts offer a variety of activities and amenities for today’s modern luxury-seeking guest, including a zero-edge pool and state-of-the-art fitness offerings, a boutique spa featuring ocean-inspired treatments, and coastal California cuisine exquisitely paired with an extensive wine selection derived from vineyards near and far.

SOURCE: Belmond press release.