On September 15, 2025, Four Seasons Resort Nevis announced the appointment of Avi Phookan as its new General Manager. He arrives with more than two decades in international hospitality and a record of environmental work, and he takes charge of a property that sits at the centre of life on Nevis, as host to its guests and as one of the island’s largest employers.
- Year Mr. Phookan became General Manager at Four Seasons Resort Lanai
- 2023
- Rooms and suites at Four Seasons Resort Nevis, per the resort fact sheet
- 189
A career built across continents
Mr. Phookan was born in Assam, India, where he first came to love hospitality while travelling with his father, who worked in the tea industry. He trained at the Institut Hôtelier César Ritz in Switzerland and has since worked in some of the world’s busiest hotel cities.
According to the resort’s announcement, his earlier leadership roles took him to Dubai, Doha, New Orleans, Charleston and Belize, and included several high-profile pre-opening projects. He has Caribbean experience too, with positions at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman and the St. Kitts Marriott Beach Resort, so the neighbouring island is familiar ground.
From Lanai to Nevis
Mr. Phookan joined Four Seasons as Resort Manager at Four Seasons Resort Lanai in Hawaii, and was promoted to General Manager there in 2023. Most recently he led that resort’s evolution in guest experience.
He also drove its environmental, social and governance programme. Under his leadership Lanai earned the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council Gold Award for Reef Safe Landscaping and EarthCheck Certification, both firsts for that resort. The press announcement presents this record as central to his appointment.
“I’m incredibly honoured to join the team at Four Seasons Resort Nevis”
What the role covers
As General Manager, Mr. Phookan oversees every part of the resort’s operations: guest services, accommodations, culinary programming, spa and wellness, and sustainability. The announcement describes his leadership as instrumental in shaping the resort’s future as a beacon of luxury in the Caribbean.
In his own words, authentic service, thoughtful leadership and a strong connection to the local environment are universal keys to success, and he intends to apply that approach in Nevis by honouring its heritage and supporting the community.
A resort with a lot to run
The property he now manages opened in February 1991 on a former sugar and coconut plantation dating to the late 1790s. According to the resort’s fact sheet it has 189 rooms, made up of 165 guest rooms and 24 suites, together with a championship golf course, eight tennis courts, four pickleball courts, three pools, a spa and five restaurants and bars.
The same fact sheet lists 80 residential units and 20 villa and residence rentals within the grounds. Four Seasons Resort Estates appears on the list of approved developments published by the St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment Unit.
What it means for owners and visitors
For owners, a General Manager sets the tone of the resort they live beside: how the grounds are kept, how the staff are led and how seriously the island is treated. A manager with a documented record in reef-safe landscaping and certified environmental practice suggests continuity with the resort’s long-standing conservation work on Nevis, including its sea turtle partnership.
For visitors, the change at the top is an invitation to see how a hotelier shaped by many cultures reads one of the Caribbean’s most storied destinations.
