Four Seasons Resort Mykonos, Greece

Four Seasons Tenure

• Since 2010
• First Four Seasons Position: Director of Housekeeping, Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole

Employment History

• Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole; Four Seasons Hotel Seattle; Four Seasons Resort Peninsula Papagayo, Costa Rica; Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver (formerly a Four Seasons hotel); Fairmont Hotels and Resorts

Education

• Diploma, Hospitality Management, Niagara College, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario; Master’s Certificate, Essentials of Hospitality Management, Cornell University

Birthplace

• Toronto, Canada

Languages Spoken

• English, Spanish

“I think of our experience as Mykonos 2.0,” says Ryan Grande of the luxury hospitality he leads as General Manager of Four Seasons Resort Mykonos, Greece. From team fashions to dining tabletops to the names of individual guest rooms, every detail of the company’s first Aegean Island address draws inspiration from the destination around it. “Even our kids’ club has the feel of a Mykonian village,” he continues. “We’re celebrating the beauty of the island and the culture it inspired, and creating incredible ways for guests to experience them as only Four Seasons can.”  

In his first-ever opening assignment, Grande sees opportunity to enhance his international expertise while planting his personal flag in “a jewel box.” Boutique in size, Cycladic in design, and generous with luxury services and amenities, the Resort is a steppingstone for Four Seasons expansion in Greece and a paradise for guests with 15 unspoiled acres along the white-sand beaches of crystal blue Kalo Livadi Bay.

Days are full for Grande, who along with shaping the Resort experience and connecting with guests is focused on ensuring a warm embrace for Four Seasons from locals and travellers alike. To that end, he works closely with the community, as Four Seasons does across all its destinations, to develop programming to cement partnerships with local businesses that benefit island residents. It is ground he has covered before for Four Seasons in Jackson Hole, where as GM he engaged community leaders to solve big-picture issues such as extending the length of the travel season.

The Resort team that Grande leads in Mykonos is largely local, or at least Greek, offering him a rewarding opportunity to learn about their culture as they reveal it to guests. His style of leadership is “high touch” and “hyper-focused on attention to detail,” he says. “I like to be visible throughout the Resort and invest my know-how in our people just as Four Seasons has invested in me.”

Grande grew up steeped in the art of hospitality from a multicultural household that went all out on social occasions and holiday celebrations for family and friends. He picked up on elements of hosting from various cultures at an early age, and it sparked a passion for travel that still sizzles as he has visited Four Seasons properties all over the world, discovering unique customs, settings, and luxury guest experiences along the way.

His path to a hotel career began as a part-time bell man while he was still in his teens. Upon moving into room service, he began to realize the industry promised exposure to much that intrigued him, including real estate, food and beverage, and especially problem solving. “I didn’t want to be in a role that I’d know what was waiting for me every day. The rewards of hospitality come from thinking on your toes, and when I added them up hotels made the most sense.”

Being from the hometown of Four Seasons, he naturally gravitated toward the luxury end of the industry with a goal of becoming part of the home team. After getting his start with another international brand with Canadian roots, he landed with Four Seasons as Director of Housekeeping in Jackson Hole and went on to rise in management on the Rooms and Residences side of operations first in Vancouver, then in Costa Rica. After a turn as Hotel Manager in Seattle, Grande returned to Jackson Hole as GM in 2021.

Now set in Mykonos, Grande says he feels right at home on the island and the property. “I’m definitely a resort guy now,” he says with a laugh, noting elements that distinguish resorts from hotels, including a relaxing ambiance and greater variety of amenities, most notably restaurants and lounges, that encourage guests stay longer. “As a manager, you really get to be a part of the experience at a resort. For me, there is nothing like engaging with guests.”