Grand Hyatt Kauai welcomes new general manager

Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa welcomes a new leader as Jerry Westenhaver takes over as General Manager. Westenhaver assumed the role from Doug Sears who had been at the helm for the past 9 ½ years, as Sears moves as General Manager to the Hyatt in Indian Wells, near Palm Springs, California.

Westenhaver comes to Kauai from Oahu where he has been the General Manager since 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach, a hotel he helped to open back in 1976 as a Food & Beverage Manager. In his 37 year career with Hyatt Westenhaver held a variety of roles in Food & Beverage before becoming a General Manager where he has overseen hotels in California, Puerto Rico as well as the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort in New Mexico.

“The move to Kauai is exciting for me. I’ve lived in Honolulu for a number of years over the past 40 years and I’m looking forward all Kauai offers. This will be my first Grand Hyatt, and this hotel in particular is so revered, I am excited to work with the staff and become part of the Grand Hyatt Kauai ohana.

“The move is bittersweet for my family and me”, stated Doug Sears. “We look forward to the new opportunities. As my son nears high school age we hope to find a good school where he can attend all four years without having to move due to my job while also enjoying his favorite sport, snowboarding. The timing is perfect in that respect but Hawaii will always be our home.”

Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort & Spa, a luxury resort on a white sand beach in Poipu, Kauai’s sunny south shore, offers 602 newly renovated guest rooms each with its own lanai. Set on 50 oceanfront acres, the resort features lush gardens with manicured lawns, six restaurants and six lounges, a water playground with a river pool, waterfalls and a 150-foot water slide, a saltwater lagoon, tennis, the award-winning Anara Spa, and golf at the adjacent Poipu Bay Resort. For more information, please contact 1-800-55-HYATT or grandhyattkauai.com.