Manchester's Leading Hotel Welcomes a New General Manager
Jason Harding takes the mantle at Rocco Forte’s The Lowry Hotel
Jason Harding, one of the youngest General Managers in the country at 35, joins The Lowry Hotel from the renowned St David’s Hotel and Spa in Cardiff, where he held the post of General Manager since November 2003. Under his direction the hotel won a host of awards including Best Urban Day Spa 2005 in Conde Nast Traveller and Wales’ Leading Hotel and Spa Resort at The World Travel Awards 2005.
The move to Manchester is a welcome return to the North West for Jason, who originally oversaw the hotel’s launch in 2002.
Overseeing all aspects of arguably Manchester’s most talked about hotel, new General Manager Jason Harding will be responsible for day to day operations and strategic direction of the award winning hotel, River Restaurant and River Bar, The Lowy Spa and Conferencing and Banqueting.
Harding began his illustrious career in the hotel industry whilst working as a carpenter in the London Hilton on Park Lane when he was just 19 years old. Never having set foot inside a hotel until that day, he found himself completely mesmerised by this self-contained world that catered to every possible need and it was a moment that was set to change his life forever.
Leaving his carpentry trade behind, he went on to work at the hotel for two and a half years before joining The Café Royal on Regents Street then onto Estates Manager at Brockett Hall in 1998. He was then head hunted by the former General Manager of The Café Royal and became Rooms Division and Spa Manager of Rocco Forte’s flagship hotel, The Balmoral, in Edinburgh.
Shortly after his arrival the General Manager of The Balmoral was made redundant, effectively leaving Jason to take on the day to day running of the hotel at the impressively young age of 29.
No stranger to the prestigious Lowry Hotel, Jason actually held the position of Resident Manager at the hotel back at its inception in 2002 after two and a half years at the Balmoral.
His focus was on refining and perfecting the exacting customer experience now enjoyed by all guests and, during his tenure, The Lowry was awarded the Large Hotel of The year at The Excellence in England Tourism Awards amongst various other plaudits.
After fourteen months at The Lowry it was decided that Rocco Forte’s latest hotel Browns in London needed someone of Jason’s ability to step in to help launch the property. Whilst honoured, Jason was reluctant to leave The Lowry but, with a little persuasion from Sir Rocco himself Jason took up his offer which proved to be a wise move when he was unexpectedly offered the prestigious position of General Manager.
It was fantastic experience for Harding which he thoroughly enjoyed. However having always harboured a hope of returning to The Lowry Hotel at a later stage in his career, he was overjoyed to be offered the General Manager’s position when John Philipson announced his plans to move overseas earlier this year.
Jason, who also holds an MSc in hospitality management comments:
“It’s amazing to be returning to The Lowry Hotel again after four years away. I have always been a huge fan of Manchester and this move back really feels like I have come home again. So much has changed and I’m looking forward to getting to know the city and its people again.
“We have a brilliant team of colleagues working at the hotel and I am really excited about helping them to develop. As a team we will continue to bring guests the high level of service and attention to detail that makes The Lowry Hotel the North West’s leading hotel destination.”
Ends
For further information, please contact:
Marcella Clarke, Peter Burling or Sarah Marsh at Brazen PR. T: 0161 923 4994 or 07809 554 222. E: marcella@brazenpr.com or sarahmarsh@brazenpr.com
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Rocco Forte Hotels was established in 1996 to create a collection of luxury hotels in Europe. The hotels have individual styles, with each hotel reflecting its nationality and location. The collection is linked together under the Rocco Forte Hotels brand, which guarantees attention to detail, quality and service delivery.
The Rocco Forte Hotels collection includes:
- Hotel de Russie, Rome
- Hotel Savoy, Florence
- The Balmoral, Edinburgh
- The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
- Hotel Astoria, St Petersburg
- Hotel Amigo, Brussels
- Brown’s Hotel, London
- Villa Kennedy, Frankfurt
- Hotel de Rome, Berlin
- Le Richemond, Geneva (closed for refurbishment, will open summer 2007)
- The Charles Hotel, Munich (will open summer 2007)
Future openings:
Prague - 2008
Verdura Golf & Spa Resort, Sicily – 2008
For further information and online reservations, please visit the Rocco Forte Hotels website: www.roccofortehotels.com.
Angleterre Hotel, St Petersburg, is a deluxe four-star sister to Hotel Astoria. For information and reservations, please visit www.angleterrehotel.com
