Nammos Hotels & Resorts CEO Carolyn Turnbull spoke to Travel Weekly about her settling into her new role.
Career & leadership journey
What inspired your move from Australia to Dubai to take on the CEO role at Nammos Hotels, and how did the opportunity come about?
After more than a decade working alongside my mentor Adrian Zecha at Aman, and later as CEO of Azerai Hotels, I returned to Australia to lead Tourism Western Australia. While that role was incredibly rewarding, I felt ready to return to a global hospitality leadership role. Adrian recommended me to entrepreneur Petros Stathis to lead Nammos Hotels & Resorts, which felt like a natural next step given my background in developing lifestyle-driven luxury hospitality brands. The opportunity to build a hospitality platform from such an iconic brand, based in a region that is redefining luxury travel globally, made the move to Dubai both exciting and very natural.
How has your experience in the Australian tourism sector shaped your leadership approach in the Middle East luxury market?
Australia’s tourism industry is grounded in authenticity, storytelling, and connection to place. That perspective shapes how I think about luxury hospitality today. Whether in Australia or the Middle East, guests are seeking meaningful experiences delivered with warmth, confidence, and a strong sense of identity.
Vision for Nammos Hotels
Nammos has an iconic reputation in lifestyle luxury and it’s a growing brand. How many properties are in market and what is upcoming?
Nammos Hotels & Resorts currently operates Nammos Hotel Mykonos, which is now entering its third season. The next chapter is already underway, with Nammos Resort AMAALA in Saudi Arabia opening in 2026, followed by Nammos Resort Maldives in 2027. Beyond this, we have a growing pipeline across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia as we thoughtfully expand the brand into incredible destinations.
What projects are you working on that excite you?
AMAALA is particularly exciting as it represents the first fully realized Nammos resort experience, bringing together hospitality, wellness, residences, and our signature social lifestyle within a spectacular nature-led destination on the Red Sea. Maldives is also a very special project, allowing us to interpret the brand in an island setting, where nature, wellbeing, and the spirit of celebration that defines Nammos come together in a unique way.
What does luxury mean to you?
Luxury to me is about freedom of choice and emotional connection. It is having access to extraordinary places, experiences, and craftsmanship that feel rare and meaningful, combined with the quiet confidence that everything has been thoughtfully taken care of.
What defines true luxury hospitality for you today, especially as traveller expectations continue to evolve globally?
True luxury hospitality is increasingly about emotional connection. Guests want energy, culture, wellbeing, and experiences that feel authentic to the destination. At Nammos, we think of luxury as boundary-free hospitality that is social, confident, and deeply connected to lifestyle.
