Emmy Stoel, currently General Manager of the InterContinental Athénée Palace Bucharest, is set to take over as General Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Conservatorium in Amsterdam. The news was revealed by Dutch daily De Telegraaf. The appointment marks the Dutch hotelier’s return to a city where she has already led two landmark luxury properties.
Emmy Stoel has held the role of General Manager at the Athénée Palace Bucharest since September 2025. Before Bucharest, she built the bulk of her career in the Netherlands within the luxury segment, with notable spells leading the Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam and the Hotel Okura Amsterdam.
A career built in Dutch luxury hospitality
Emmy Stoel led the Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam from June 2019 to June 2024, during which time she represented the property in several sector-wide initiatives, notably around training the industry’s future leaders. Before that, she spent more than seventeen years at the Hotel Okura Amsterdam, successively holding the positions of Conference & Events Manager, Business Development Manager, Deputy General Manager and then General Manager from 2013, following a year as Acting General Manager in 2012.
Between 2001 and 2008, she also served as Cluster Director of Business Development and Operations at Hilton Hotels & Resorts, with responsibilities spanning Frankfurt, Vienna, Brussels and Schiphol. Her career in the industry began in 1989, as Assistant General Manager at the Hotel de Arendshoeve.
Her academic background includes a Master of Business Administration focused on change management (NCOI Opleidingen, 2020-2023), a General Managers Programme completed at Cornell University in 2015, and initial training in hotel management and finance at the Hotel Management School Maastricht. In 2023, she was named European Hotel Manager of the Year by the European Hotel Managers Association.
An Amsterdam hotel in the midst of a brand repositioning
The Mandarin Oriental Conservatorium has undergone a significant transformation in recent months. The Mandarin Oriental group announced in December 2024 that it would take over management of the property, until then known as the Conservatorium Hotel. The property officially took on the Mandarin Oriental flag following refurbishment works.
The transition to the new brand was overseen by Susanne Hatje, appointed General Manager of the property on 2 June 2025, bringing more than twenty-eight years of experience in international hospitality, including eighteen years with the Mandarin Oriental group. The arrival of Emmy Stoel once again places an experienced Dutch hotelier at the helm of this luxury property, in a city where competition between major international brands remains fierce.
At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
Emmy Stoel appointed General Manager of Mandarin Oriental Conservatorium, Amsterdam
Current role: General Manager, InterContinental Athénée Palace Bucharest (since September 2025)
Previous roles: General Manager, Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam (2019-2024); General Manager, Hotel Okura Amsterdam (2013-2018)
Background: 7 years as Cluster Director of Business Development and Operations, Hilton Hotels & Resorts
Recognition: European Hotel Manager of the Year 2023 (EHMA)
Context: Mandarin Oriental Conservatorium completed its rebrand from Conservatorium Hotel under GM Susanne Hatje
