Turnberry appoints Jordi Tarrida as new general manager

Jordi Tarrida has been appointed as the new general manager of the five-AA-red-star, 150-bedroom Turnberry Resort in Ayrshire.

A stalwart of Starwood Hotels & Resorts since 1980, German-born Tarrida joins Turnberry, which is part of the Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts brand, from the Arabella Golf & Spa Resort in Majorca.

His first position with Starwood was as front office clerk at the Macuto Sheraton Caracas in Venezuela, moving the following year to the Sheraton Frankfurt Hotel & Towers, where he remained until 1986.

Over the following nine years, Tarrida held a succession of sales positions, including sales manager in the Sheraton sales office in Germany, director of sales at the Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel & Resort and director of sales at the Sheraton Frankfurt Hotel & Towers.

In 1995, Tarrida was appointed area director of marketing for Spain and Portugal, before taking on his first general manager role at the 172-bedroom Westin La Quinta Golf Resort in Marbella, Spain. He moved to Majorca in 2006 as area manager of the island, where he oversaw the renovation and rebranding of the 133-bedroom St Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort.

In his role at Turnberry, Tarrida, who will report to Michael Wale, senior vice-president, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, will be responsible for the 150-bedroom hotel as well as the resort's three world-class golf courses, including the Championship Ailsa course, where the 2009 Open was held. The resort also has an ESPA spa and on-site outdoor activity centre offering quad biking, horse riding, fishing, off-road driving and falconry.

Wale said he was delighted to welcome Tarrida to Turnberry. "He brings with him a wealth of experience in the international luxury resort business and I have no doubt that Scotland's Luxury Collection Resort will benefit immensely from his knowledge and expertise."

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By Janet Harmer

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