Didier Jardin joins Four Seasons Resorts Maldives at Kuda Huraa as General Manager

With a give attention to serene island dwelling and the attraction of a Maldivian village, 4 Seasons Resorts Kuda Huraa is an award successful luxurious property that beckons friends with the welcoming embrace of a lagoon, flower gardens, a personal spa island in a captivating village setting. The posh resort now welcomes Didier Jardin, a hospitality veteran who has been with the 4 Seasons since 1994, because the resort’s new Common Supervisor.  

Born in La Ferte Bernard, France  this sailor, diver and fireplace fighter; sky diver, adrenaline-junkie, Didier Jardin’s childhood had been spent in France’s Loire Valley, a area recognized for its extraordinary castles and for its Sancerre and Pouilly Fume wines.

With the epiphany {that a} profession in hospitality would afford him the possibility to see the world, he commenced a two-year apprenticeship to develop into a fine-dining waiter, then moved to Paris to practise his craft. He spent three years finding out resort administration incomes a CFA Meals and Beverage Diploma, from Chartres, France and a Lodge Administration Diploma, Lasalle Faculty, Montreal. 

“After commencement, marriage and three chilly winters, we had been craving a hotter life. Someplace with waterfalls, seashores and rainforest,” Didier recollects. His spouse and he packed backpacks and a tent – “as a back-up in case cash ran out” – and flew to Hawaii. It was a daring transfer. “I utilized in all places within the islands and bought provides from a Mexican restaurant on the seaside and 4 Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. Wanting again, I made the precise alternative,” he says with a smile.

Almost three a long time later, 4 Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa is Didier’s tenth 4 Seasons posting. From the seashores of Santa Barbara, Bora Bora, Mauritius and Hualalai to the cityscapes of New York, Cairo and Chicago – the birthplace of his twin daughters – he’s nicely on his technique to attaining his objective of working for 4 Seasons in each area the place the model operates.

Persons are key to Didier’s definition of success. “Success is constructed upon the happiness of your workers: in the event you get that proper, every little thing else will observe,” he states emphatically. As opening Common Supervisor of the architectural marvel of 4 Seasons Lodge Kuwait, he travelled via 15 additional international locations hiring the precise group. His perception? “You may construct something from scratch however you possibly can’t create soul: that has to return from the folks you rent.”

Speaking of soul: “I got here from a small village of simply 200 folks: Kuda Huraa jogs my memory of that,” he says of his island house. “That real sense of unity and togetherness, of coming house, of individuals doing issues as a result of it’s life, not work. It’s a spot to share recollections and tales. Life could be very completely different when everybody lives and works on website: our group is sort of a household, and friends develop into prolonged household who come to go to.  Right here, you’re at house while you’re at work and at work while you’re house. The sense of connection is magnified – that’s what provides Kuda Huraa its soul.”

Connection underpins Didier’s management ethos – as does his ardour for “giving again and giving alternatives.” Having began within the trade as an apprentice himself, 4 Seasons Resorts Maldives Apprenticeship program is of explicit curiosity to him, whereas his open-door coverage additional helps his want to be seen as simply one of many group. “We’re all born the identical means and all have a job to do,” he concludes. “I’m agency, truthful and versatile however most of all I try to have enjoyable. There’s no greater motivator than a constructive working surroundings.”