Keeper of the Keys

One of the world’s most prestigious hospitality brands, aman resorts invites superlatives from all who know it. Chief executive Olivier Jolivet opens up about the brand’s enigmatic workings, his life, and how he became the guardian.

- Adeline Loh

Eleven years ago, a most unusual proposal reached the office of Olivier Jolivet. Chinese businessman Ma Dadong conveyed to Aman Resorts’ chief executive his desire to save a precious piece of Chinese history. With the construction of a reservoir, an area within his hometown of Jiangxi province that housed ancient villages and camphor trees was doomed for almost certain destruction.

What ensued was an audacious rescue effort spanning more than a decade, involving Aman, Ma, a team of botanists, engineers, architects and craftsmen. Fifty Ming and Qing dynasty houses were disassembled, transported over 800km to Shanghai and then put together again by craftsmen, the few remaining in China with knowledge of ancient building techniques.

When it opens next year, this upcoming resort – Aman’s fourth property in China – will be the luxury hotel group’s “most ambitious” project to date. Jolivet says: “It would be an achievement when we open this property – and I don’t say this for all our projects. It has been the benchmark for difficulty.

“The magnitude and cost of this project is beyond everything we have done so far. We’re rescuing not only the 10th century houses and trees; it’s the stone of the streets, it’s everything. People are telling us, you guys are crazy. Why don’t you do something simpler like a tower? You build it in three years and make a lot of returns. But that’s not our business model. That’s not the brand of Aman.”