Belmond Cadogan in London has appointed a new general manager ahead of the hotel’s reopening this weekend.

The luxury 54-bedroom hotel has appointed Xavier Lablaude from the group’s Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa, where he has been for almost 10 years.

Lablaude boasts over 25 years of international hospitality experience to the role, having worked in a number of five-star properties in France and North America before taking up his position in Cape Town.

He replaces general manager Klaus Kabelitz who left Belmond Cadogan in December 2019 to join The Biltmore Mayfair. During his tenure he oversaw the grand reopening of The Cadogan in February 2019 following an extensive £28m renovation.

Now Lablaude will lead the hotel to ‘new heights’ under the LVMH umbrella, the luxury French goods group which acquired the Belmond portfolio in 2018 for over £2bn.

Robert Koren, divisional senior vice president, Europe, Middle East & Africa said of Lablaude’s appointment: “Xavier is an intuitive, hands-on leader with a proven track-record running successful luxury hotel operations that put the guest experience front and center. During his ten-year tenure, Mount Nelson has garnered growing international acclaim thanks, to a large extent, to Xavier’s innate understanding of Belmond’s strategic vision. We are delighted that Xavier will now lead Belmond’s latest portfolio addition, located in the all-important flagship city of London, as The Cadogan and our company continue to reach new heights under the LVMH umbrella.”