PARADISE, FOUND

In a rare interview, visionary hotelier Adrian Zecha talks about his latest resort brand, Azerai, and its raison d’être

In the course of an hour chatting with Adrian Zecha, the legendary Indonesian hotelier mentioned “luck” a dozen times. “It’s not because I’m clever, it’s because I’ve been very lucky. I’m dead serious,” he says firmly at one point in explaining his success in the hospitality industry. “Of course, I work hard. You have to do that,” he adds.

We’re talking in his Singapore office, a minimalist space swathed in white and dotted with wooden accents and books, a look similar to the streamlined “tropical luxe” interiors his hotels have propagated over the past four decades. Most people only associate the Zecha name with hotels, but he first had a career in journalism—he worked for Time magazine and then ran his own publishing company—and it was only at the age of 40 that he turned to hospitality in earnest.

Over the years since, Zecha has spearheaded the development of numerous hotel brands, from Regent International to Orient Express. He is best known, however, for founding Aman Resorts in 1988. The groundbreaking brand, a hit right from the beginning that continues to be an influential player today, is largely credited with drawing the blueprint for luxury hotels—how they look, feel and connect with the most discerning consumers. Now, at the age of 86 years, he’s at it again with Azerai, a brand for which he laid the foundations a decade ago.

“A long time ago I asked Hans Jenni, my co-founder at GHM Hotels [which owns the Chedi brand], whether it was possible to create hotels with the same sensibility as Aman but at a different price point,” says Zecha. “He answered, ‘Sure, but why would you want to do that?’ I said it’s because I have friends who have great taste but without the means to stay at an Aman. He agreed to try it out and hence The Serai in Bali was born.” The Serai ran successfully for more than five years before it was bought and became the first Alila property. “When I decided to do something myself again, I called it Azerai—i put my initials, AZ, to the Serai name to differentiate it.”

At a time when most of his peers have already retired or are at least slowing down, the octogenarian travels non-stop to establish the Azerai brand and address the demand for stylish accommodation “in places of great beauty and cultural richness,” focusing in particular on his home ground of Southeast Asia. To date, Azerai has two properties, in Can Tho and Hue in Vietnam, both of which are characterised by the refined design and superior service expected of a Zecha-driven project.

But how does a tastemaker like Zecha begin creating a hotel? “It always starts from the site,” he says. “It has to be beautiful and unspoilt, because nothing is sadder than a beautiful site that is developed badly. When I see a site, one visit is enough to tell me whether it’s a yes or a no. It’s not something intellectual. It’s a feeling. Secondly, I ask a question: Can we do something special here?”

His “build it and they will come” approach is largely informed by his strong passion for design and architecture. “I have been very lucky to have the right architects. One way to envision the collaboration is to think of a great novel. How does it come into being? Obviously, the writer creates it, but there’s also the editor who helps it come to life. The latter is my role, but the credit goes to the writer, rightly. The writer is the architect.”

I wonder why he is embarking on such an arduous task in such a heavily disrupted industry. He responds that he gets a natural high and deep fulfilment when a new hotel opens its doors. Right now, he and his team are working on the third Azerai, also in Vietnam—a beach resort on a sweeping bay north of Ho Chi Minh City set to open at the end of 2019. He also hints at properties in Indonesia and the Philippines but is sparse with the details, as he prefers not to talk about unfinished projects. “As an ex-journalist, you stick to the facts. Not to speculation,” he quips.

One topic Zecha is comfortable talking about, however, is the formula for success in hospitality. “Like in everything today, there’s hardware and software. People ask me which is more important—i say that to clap your hands you need both.” But even with more than 40 years of experience, he still does not claim to know what people want. “I only know what I think would please me. Whatever you do, you can’t say 100 per cent of the guests would like it. We need just enough people to like it in order to make it viable. Fortunately, you see more and more people especially in Southeast Asia, which means there are a lot of potential customers,” he says with a laugh.

Although he has a long list of achievements, enough to fill several lifetimes, Zecha is averse to glorying in anything. “Life is life—it’s gritty, it doesn’t look good all the time. I’m lucky that I get to do what I love and truly enjoy it.”

There it is again, the word luck. I wonder if Zecha realises that the ones who are actually lucky are all of us, for he has given us the chance to escape to worlds he has created to experience the sweet life even just for a night.