Panama’s Bristol Buenaventura Names John Blanco GM

The Bristol Buenaventura, Panama’s newest beachside hotel, appointed John Blanco as the newly appointed general manager. Mr. Blanco has had two decades of experience in the luxury hospitality industry.

He served as the managing director of The Landmark Hotels Group in Hawaii for the past three years, where he was responsible for all operations at Honolulu’s Kahala Hotel & Resort and Mexico City’s Embassy Suites.

Prior to his work at Landmark, Mr. Blanco was a key management member at a number of Ritz-Carlton properties, including The Ritz-Carlton, Penha Longa in Portugal; The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne in Florida; and the Ritz-Carlton Bali in Indonesia, among others.

Additionally, Mr. Blanco’s impressive tenure and knowledge of six languages, including English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and German, will assist in making each guest’s experience at the hotel a unique and personalized one.

Mr. Blanco earned his Hotel and Restaurant Management degree from Switzerland’s Center International de Glion in 1986. From there, he underwent further extensive training under Chef Gulatiero Marchesi at the Michelin three-star restaurant, Marchesi Ristorante in Milan, as well as the Hotel Excelsior and The Dolder Grand Hotel in Switzerland.