Melia Hotels Announces New Managing Director for Two Properties

Bernard Wyss Appointed Managing Director at Mexico's Playa del Carmen Resorts Opening November 2011

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. August 25, 2011

Miami, FL -August 24, 2011 - Meliá Hotels International (previously known as Sol Meliá Hotels & Resorts) has announced that Bernard Wyss , Area Vice President (AVP) of the Paradisus Resorts luxury all-inclusive hotel brand and formerly based at Paradisus Palma Real in Punta Cana, has been appointed to lead the opening of the brand's two new resorts in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Mr. Wyss will be based in Mexico as the Managing Director of the two new properties: Paradisus La Perla and Paradisus La Esmeralda.

The announcement arrives as the two new resorts approach their November 2011 opening date. The luxury all-inclusive resort brand has also appointed Rafael Torres as the Managing Director of Paradisus Palma Real in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Mr. Wyss' former role. Both Wyss and Torres have extensive backgrounds in the hospitality industry and will be instrumental to further developing and enhancing the premiere luxury resort brand. Mr. Wyss' will continue his strategic role as the AVP of the Paradisus Brand from Playa del Carmen.

“Meliá Hotels International is proud to have individuals such as Bernard Wyss and Rafael Torres as part of its executive team working with a premium brand like Paradisus Resorts,” said Alvaro Tejeda Schroeder, Senior Vice President of Meliá Hotels International. “Bernard's tremendous success with this brand will continue at our resorts in Playa del Carmen, Mexico and we look forward to Rafael Torres' contribution as the new Managing Director to Paradisus, Palma Real. Their collective experience in the luxury hotel environment, which is extensive, will undoubtedly further elevate Paradisus Resorts as the most exclusive all-inclusive luxury resort brand in the world and aid in its expansion,” added Tejeda Schroeder

Bernard Wyss has been part of the Meliá Hotels International team for more than eleven years and has been an integral part of helping create one of the most successful hotel companies in the world. An industry veteran, he has over 20 years of experience in luxury hospitality. During his time with Meliá Hotels International, he has been involved in numerous initiatives on behalf of various portfolio properties and with assisting new management teams in improving standards across all brands, most recently at Paradisus Puerto Rico, now a Gran Meliá. He is a graduate of the Centre International de Glion, Switzerland, where he earned his Hotel Management and Tourism Bachelor's Degree.

Rafael Torres started his career with Meliá Hotels International in Palma de Mallorca in 1995. Assuming a variety of industry roles from Front Office Manager to General Manager, he is a seasoned hotelier who has moved up the ranks within the successful company. Mr. Torres' career has taken him all over the Caribbean and Europe, having worked with properties in Cuba, Spain and Italy. Prior to moving to the Dominican Republic, he was the General Director for the Meliá Lebreros hotel in Seville. He is originally from Granada, Spain and has a Bachelor's Degree in Tourism and Hotel Management from the University of Granada.

About Meliá Hotels International
Meliá Hotels International was founded in 1956 in Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and is one of the world's largest resort hotel chains, as well as Spain's leading hotel chain. It currently provides more than 350 hotels and 87,000 rooms in 35 countries on 4 continents under its brands: Gran Meliá, Meliá, ME, Innside, Tryp by Wyndham, Sol and Paradisus. Its product and service portfolio is complemented by Meliá Club, the only vacation club operated by a Spanish company.

In 2011, the family company founded by Gabriel Escarrer Juliá, that operated under the name "Sol Meliá" for decades, began a new stage in its development under the brand name that represents its present and its future: Meliá Hotels International.