An appointment on the heels of the conversion
The Westin Playa Vallarta, an All-Inclusive Resort has announced the appointment of Alex Andrade as area general manager. He takes charge of a team of 714 associates, with a remit to steer the property through the next phase of its conversion to the all-inclusive model.
Formerly operated as The Westin Resort & Spa, Puerto Vallarta, the Banderas Bay resort was unveiled by Marriott International in May 2026 as the first all-inclusive resort under the Westin brand in Mexico. The transformation covered 281 redesigned rooms and suites, including 30 suites with private plunge pools and 16 adults-only swim-up rooms.
The culinary offer has also been expanded, notably with Agave Studio, a space dedicated to agave culture where guests take part in tastings of small-batch mezcal. Alex Andrade will focus on the guest experience and team culture, the resort’s conversion having weighed in his decision to join the property.
Four decades across Mexico, the Caribbean and the United States
Alex Andrade was most recently managing director in Cancún for Hilton, overseeing the Hilton Riviera Maya All-Inclusive Resort, the Waldorf Astoria Riviera Maya, the Hilton Tulum All-Inclusive Resort, the Conrad Tulum Riviera Maya and the Hilton Vallarta Riviera All-Inclusive Resort, at the heart of an all-inclusive portfolio that Hilton is expanding in Mexico and the Caribbean. Before that, he led the Viceroy Los Cabos from 2023 to 2025.
From 2022 to 2023, he served as vice president of field operations for Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection, based in Cancún. That role followed four years at Playa Hotels & Resorts, where he was vice president of operations for Mexico as well as director of projects and asset management, within a group since acquired by Hyatt.
At AMResorts, between 2008 and 2018, he ran several resorts, including Dreams Tulum Resort & Spa, Now Sapphire Riviera Cancun and Secrets Capri Riviera Cancun, followed by Secrets Vallarta Bay and Now Amber in Puerto Vallarta from 2015 to 2018. In 2016, he received a Travvy Award for Best All-Inclusive General Manager.
Earlier in his career, he managed the Sheraton Old San Juan in Puerto Rico for Tishman Hotels & Resorts, before becoming managing director of Yacht Haven Grande in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, for Island Global Yachting. He was named Puerto Rico’s Hotelier of the Year in 2005.
A return to Westin
The appointment also marks a return to Westin, where Alex Andrade served as director of food and beverage from 1989 to 1996, successively at the Westin Century Plaza in Los Angeles, the Westin Resort Vail and the Westin Chicago. He then joined Fiesta Americana (Grupo Posadas), notably at the Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach, before running the Hyatt Cancun Caribe from 2000 to 2003.
A Chicago native now based in Puerto Vallarta, Alex Andrade holds a degree in business administration and marketing from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He began his career in 1984 on Hyatt’s management training programme.
Analysis | All-inclusive: a talent pool in high demand
This hire illustrates how sought-after executives trained in all-inclusive operations have become among the major groups. Marriott is building up this segment, until now concentrated in the Caribbean and Latin America, as shown by the signing of The Ritz-Carlton, Kemer, All-Inclusive in Turkey. For its first Westin all-inclusive property in Mexico, the group is relying on an executive whose career runs through AMResorts, Playa, Hyatt and Hilton, several of the segment’s benchmark players in the country.
At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
Alex Andrade appointed Area General Manager of The Westin Playa Vallarta
Leads 714 associates at Westin’s first all-inclusive resort in Mexico
Resort conversion added 281 redesigned rooms, incl. 30 plunge pool suites and 16 adults-only swim-up rooms
Previously Managing Director in Cancún overseeing Hilton’s Riviera Maya, Tulum and Vallarta portfolio
Former VP Operations at Hyatt Inclusive Collection and Playa Hotels & Resorts
Returns to Westin, where he served as Director of F&B from 1989 to 1996
