Fireside Chat with Es Saadi General Manager Jean-Alexandre Bauchet-Bouhlal

In this first of a two-part series, we sat down with Es Saadi Resort General Manager Jean-Alexandre Bauchet-Bouhlal to talk about his very personal connection with the area and what goes into making it as special as possible.

It was his grandparents who moved to Morocco from France in 1952. Bauchet-Bouhlal’s grandfather, was the owner of the Moulin Rouge and director of the Casino de Paris, and he established the business here, first with the casino and later with the theatre.

Bauchet-Bouhlal says that his family’s passion for innovation and creativity, as well as the city of Marrakech itself, makes him proud to be a part of it.

“It’s a great pride indeed,” he said, “In a world where everything changes so fast, with competition from big hotel groups and corporations, it’s important that we find our own way and be creative and be quick. It’s important to keep trying it find new things because life is about movement and if you don’t move then you fall. We don’t like to rely on what we already have.”

As you might expect from a family-owned business, Bauchet-Bouhlal was brought up here, and has overseen many changes since he first started working with the propery in 2001.

“We’ve done so many things; we built the Palace with 90 suites and villas, as well as refurbishing the casino and relaunching that.

“We created the Theatro nightclub inside the former casino theatre. We created the spas. It’s great to be able to manage and steer so many things. It’s really a privilege. It’s also very exciting because we go from hotel, to food and beverage, to well-being, to gambling, to night-life. You never get bored. On the other hand, it’s a big challenge.”

Bauchet-Bouhlal says that despite the challenge, it is important to him to keep on top of everything, and that everything the resort offers is like pieces of the same puzzle.

“You cannot say that this one thing is more important than the other. Some customers will come for food, or spa or for gambling. But some will also come because they can find everything here.

“Particularly now in this world of luxury, it’s very competitive. You have to have everything! In all aspects we try to reach a high level of quality, and also in all aspects we try to put our little special touch in to make it feel different and to feel it more authentic, more Moroccan more Es Saadi!”

That is where the casino’s strong relationships with frequent customers comes in. According to Bauchet-Bouhlal, around 30% of its customers are repeat-visitors, meaning that there is something about Es Saadi which means they keep coming back for more.

“To me it’s one of the unique selling points of being a family-managed business that people feel like they’re not a room number, that they’re somebody.

“We’re not some big corporation with a headquarters somewhere else in the world, we are here and we are from Marrakech and we welcome people from all over the world home.”

This idea of guests being more than a room number to the hotel extends to its staff as well. With Bauchet-Bouhlal being the third generation of his own family to manage the hotel, there are also third-generation staff working in the resort.

“We try to retain staff, so that the staff is the same. They know people and they know their habits and they recognise people when they come back. Recognition is really important; this is why you feel at home. That’s really important for us.

“Morocco is all about welcoming people and making them feel at home, so we are really Moroccan. Everything here is all about authentic and everything has a meaning, that’s important. I can tell stories about everything.”

A few feet away from Bauchet-Bouhlal is a grand piano. It’s sleek and black and in the evening you often here someone playing some lounge music. But, as he says, everything has a story.

“This piano was bought because when we opened the Palace, my mother wanted to host a classical concert with a famous violinist. He had a Stradivarius; very expensive. The violinist was Jewish-Moroccan and had descendants buried here in the city, so there’s always that link.

“Anyway, with the standards of these people you can’t have any type of piano. So the violinist brought his own pianist, and we bought this piano for them to play. This is the story of this piano.”

There’s a small pause before Bauchet-Bouhlal directs our eyes upwards to an ornate wooden carved ceiling, with what appears to be a traditional Moroccan pattern. He explains that, like many things in this hotel, it was an antique bought by his parents.

“If you look carefully there are two types of wood. A smaller central piece, and other pieces at the side. What happened was my parents went and found the grandson of the carpenter who carved the centre one. He had been taught by his father, and his father before him, and he carved the two sides so we could have one single wooden ceiling.”

You get the impression that Bauchet-Bouhlal delights in talking about this property. Our suggestion that it feels almost like a museum with such memories is instantly amended.

“It’s not just a museum – it’s a living museum. I feel proud to have so many memories in this place. But I feel happy; everything is living.

It’s something which has life in it. Objects are made to be used; places are to be lived in and life is so important.

“We relate everything to life and try to run a business with meaning. Everything has a really deep layer of history and authenticity. That is what makes us different.”

Stay tuned to our coverage from the Casino de Marrakech for the second part of our conversation with Jean-Alexandre Bauchet-Bouhlal.