Bixente Pery appointed GM of the Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts appointed Bixente Pery as GM of the Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado Santa Fe.

Pery arrived at the Resort, located minutes from downtown Santa Fe, N.M., after 11 years with Four Seasons. He joined the company in 2007 as director of food & beverage at Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo, and assumed the same position at Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara in 2011.

In 2015, Pery was appointed hotel manager of Four Seasons Hotel Houston, which saw him overseeing daily operations while playing a part in a major renovation that included, among other enhancements, the launch of a new food-and-beverage outlet.

Pery's initial focus at the 57-acre resort is on raising awareness of the isolation and experiential opportunities the property offers in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

“I want travelers and the community to develop a deep emotional connection to this property and escape to a magical destination,” Pery said in a statement. “This is a unique place of privacy, tranquility and luxury where they can disconnect to reconnect and make memories for life.”

Born outside of Bordeaux but raised near the Spanish border in the Basque region of France, Pery grew up cooking alongside his grandmother and pursued culinary training as a teenager. He cooked first in his native region; then on an aircraft carrier for the French Navy during mandatory military service; and finally for hotels across South America and Central America, eventually becoming an executive chef on an opening team in Managua, Nicaragua, before moving on to the same position at two hotels in the United States.

Pery said his time in the kitchen gave him “a big advantage” for his eventual career in management. “You grow in the back-of-the-house and get firsthand experience in what the staff goes through everyday,” he said. “More than anything, you learn how to please guests.”

Now living in New Mexico, Bixente spends his downtime with his family: cooking, following soccer and rugby, and occasionally playing golf. “I always wanted to be someplace that had roots in Spain, so I’m happy I ended up in Santa Fe," Pery said.