Barceló Nasandhura hires chef David Yanes
- Barceló Nasandhura Malé said on April 30 it hired food-and-beverage director Akaki and executive chef David Yanes to reshape dining at the hotel. (traveltrademaldives.com) - Yanes will run a multi-concept program spanning Alimas, Oivaru, and rooftop BHeaven, mixing Maldivian flavors with Asian, Mediterranean, and European dishes. (traveltrademaldives.com) - The move matters because Nasandhura opened only in April 2025 as Malé’s first five-star hotel and is still defining its identity. (hoteliermaldives.com)
City hotels in the Maldives usually sell convenience first. You stay near the airport, maybe get one solid dinner, then move on to a resort island. Barceló N(traveltrademaldives.com)e chef to build a more ambitious dining program inside the property. (traveltrademaldives.com)andhura Malé named Akaki to oversee food and beverage and put chef David Yanes in charge of the culinary side, giving the hotel a cle(hoteliermaldives.com)t matters because hotels do not talk this much about two hires unless they want guests — and the trade — to read them as a signal. (traveltrademaldives.com) ### Who is David Yanes? Yanes is a Spanish chef who has already worked inside Barceló Hotel Group and c(traveltrademaldives.com)in Ibiza and the Canary Islands, then added range in London through work in both a Mexican restaurant group and a French pâtisserie. Basically, he is not being positioned as a single-signature fine-dining chef. He is being positioned as someone who can make several outlets work at once. (traveltrademaldives.com)ne with Maldivian flavors, using locally sourced ingredients and a format built around variety — Asian and Mediterranean dishes, European classics, seafood-led signatures, live cooking stations, themed buffet nights, and seasonal events. That sounds less like “chef’s table” and more like a hotel trying to make every meal period feel intentional. (traveltrademaldives.com) ### Which restaurants does that touch? Pret(traveltrademaldives.com)ing Alimas, Oivaru, Dons, and the rooftop BHeaven. The new announcement highlights BHeaven, Oivaru, and Alimas as distinct concepts under Yanes, with BHeaven framed as relaxed all-day dining and Alimas as the more social, contemporary venue. (traveltrademaldives.com) ### Why does this matter in Malé? Because Nasandhura is not an island resort. It is a(traveltrademaldives.com)transit guests, business travelers, local diners, event traffic, and visitors who may never leave Malé. If you want those people to spend on-property instead of treating the hotel as a sleep stop, food has to be part of the reason to come. (hoteliermaldives.com) ### Why now? Timing is the tell. Barceló Nasandhura Malé only opened on April 28, 2025, as the first five-star hotel in the Maldivi(traveltrademaldives.com)sharpen what the place is known for. Food is one of the fastest ways to do that. (hoteliermaldives.com) ### What is Akaki’s role in this? Akaki is the operating counterpart to the chef story. The hotel says he brings more than 15 years of luxury hospitality experience across Georgia, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, and the Maldives. In practice, that means Yanes can focus on menus and kitchen direction while Akaki shapes service standards, o(hoteliermaldives.com)otel culinary personality. The other gives it execution. (traveltrademaldives.com) ### Bottom line This is a staffing announcement, but the real story is positioning. Barceló Nasandhura Malé opened as a landmark city hotel. Now it is tryi(hoteliermaldives.com)book, but by making a capital-city hotel feel worth visiting for the meal itself. (traveltrademaldives.com)
