{"id":674,"date":"2010-11-18T11:26:49","date_gmt":"2010-11-18T19:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/?p=674"},"modified":"2011-02-02T11:31:36","modified_gmt":"2011-02-02T19:31:36","slug":"richard-gere-gets-starring-role-as-2011-relais-chateaux-ambassador","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/richard-gere-gets-starring-role-as-2011-relais-chateaux-ambassador\/","title":{"rendered":"RICHARD GERE GETS STARRING ROLE AS 2011 RELAIS & CHATEAUX AMBASSADOR"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u2014 Celebrity Innkeeper\u2019s Bedford Post Becomes One of 36 New Members and Six New Destinations \u2014<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014 Christopher Kostow of Meadowood Napa Valley Earns Title of Grand Chef Relais & Ch\u00e2teaux \u2014<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

New York, NY (November 16, 2010) \/PRNewswire\/ \u2014 <\/em><\/strong>Richard Gere, acclaimed actor and passionate innkeeper of the Bedford Post, has a new leading role as the 2011 Ambassador of Relais & Ch\u00e2teaux, an association of the world\u2019s finest small hotels and gourmet restaurants. The Bedford Post, located an hour north of New York City, also was named a new member of the prestigious hospitality Association.<\/p>\n

Gere, known for such movies as Pretty Woman<\/em> and Chicago<\/em>, along with his wife, Carey Lowell, and their business partner, Russell Hernandez, undertook the restoration project of the property as an act of preservation in order to provide a gathering place for his local community and lovingly transformed it into a picturesque inn with two restaurants and a yoga loft.<\/p>\n

The Bedford Post is one of 36 new members that were approved after a rigorous selection process, bringing the membership of the organization to more than 500 hotels and restaurants in nearly 60 countries. The 2011 Guide includes six new destinations: Vanuatu, Estonia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Chile and Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

Each establishment, whether historic or contemporary, located in the city or the countryside, is individually owned and reflects its local culture in architecture, cuisine and interiors. The properties, with an average of 30 rooms, are often family enterprises, and each convey the innkeeper\u2019s character and personality.<\/p>\n

Gere embodies the hospitality, passion and personal generosity of the Relais & Ch\u00e2teaux family of innkeepers. In his forward to the eagerly anticipated 2011 Relais & Ch\u00e2teaux Guide, he notes: \u201cIn my long career, I\u2019ve played many challenging and demanding characters, but believe me, none more so than my real life role as innkeeper. We share a kindred spirit with the other Relais & Ch\u00e2teaux innkeepers: a genuine commitment to serve, a rather insane attention to detail, a passion for beauty in all its forms and a personal aspiration to make our world a little better for us having been here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commenting on Gere\u2019s role as Ambassador, Jaume T\u00e0pies, International President of Relais & Ch\u00e2teaux, declared, \u201cIt is an absolute honor to welcome Mr. Gere as the new 2011 Relais & Ch\u00e2teaux Ambassador. Not only is he one of Hollywood\u2019s most admired actors, he is the quintessential innkeeper whose personal journey to revive and maintain a historic property is an exceptional example of the passion that binds Relais & Ch\u00e2teaux together.\u201d<\/p>\n