An Eye For The Exotic

Where most see risks and disadvantages, Gary Xie sees potential in destinations less travelled – and proves his point with the success of Cenizaro Hotels & Resorts’ Far-flunghHotels.

- Koh Yuen Lin

Off the centuries-old cobbled streets of the medina in Marrakech is an oasis thick with the aura of yesteryear and stories from an era past. Owned by an Italian prince, the riad hotel was converted from Marrakech’s very first foreign restaurant in the medina. Here, legends such as Charles de Gaulle, Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Taylor, Rita Hayworth and even Ernest Hemingway supped on fine Moroccan delicacies. But La Maison Arabe is a destination that offers its patrons more than just a luxurious place of rest: It serves up a delicious slice of Marrakech’s culture, heritage and history. And just as it drew Prince Fabrizio Ruspoli to buy it over in 1996, it beckoned to Gary Xie.

The executive director of SGX-listed Bonvests Holdings – which operates hospitality arm Cenizaro Hotels & Resorts and includes Sheraton Towers Singapore in its portfolio – is an intrepid traveller whose holiday experiences include trekking through misty bamboo forests at Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda to seek out Silverback Gorillas. Beyond the thrill of an adventure, the 41-year-old seeks to satiate an innate curiosity about the world through travel: to feel the pulse of a city, to taste the flavours of a culture, to stand in places were the walls speak volumes.

He says of La Maison Arabe: “It was a perfect opportunity to own a piece of history in the medina of Marrakech.” The estate’s long link to the culinary culture of Marrakech – and the fact that La Maison Arabe offers world-famous refined Moroccan cooking classes and features a cooking school that is an institution in its own right – further piqued the interest of Xie, who is also interested in the culinary cultures of the world.

YOUR HOTEL, YOUR WINDOW TO THE WORLD