#newluxury: Zannier Hotels

The luxury of understatement

Surprising guests and exceeding their expectations - this is how Arnaud Zannier's hotel concept could be summarized. Travelers appreciate the way the 47-year-old redefines luxury, because since the first Zannier Hotel, Le Chalet, opened in France in 2011, four more hotels have followed. The most recent of these, Bãi San Hô, opened in Vietnam in December 2020.


Quiet instead of loud

Zannier was not born with the hotelier gene. As the son of a children's fashion designer, this was also the direction he initially took. After spending five years in London designing shoes for the Kickers brand, his search for a shoe that fully met his requirements led to him founding his luxury shoe company at the age of 28. He designed what he wanted to wear himself. The fact that his desire to open a hotel became more and more intense was also due to his own aspirations. "I had the vision of starting an alternative luxury offering in the hospitality industry," said Zannier in an interview. It is the authentic stories that he wants to tell. "Faster, higher, further" are superlatives that have no meaning for the Frenchman. His motto is: "Quiet instead of loud and authentic instead of elaborate".
Zannier's version of luxury is not about flaunting your wealth. "Nowadays, people are looking for experiences instead of brands. Priorities have shifted, we like to go back to basics - provided these origins are authentic," says the hotelier to Indagare magazine. He persistently pursues his strategy of offering luxury at five-star level while remaining modest. The appeal of his hotels lies in their close connection to their surroundings and their timeless design. Consequently, he does not actively look for specific destinations for his hotels. These arise organically as the entrepreneur asks himself how he feels as a guest in a particular place. This is how his first hotel, Le Chalet in Megève, France, came about. Zannier discovered the property during a family vacation and immediately saw its potential.

Long before the concept for one of his hotels is finalized, he and his Zannier design team intensively study the respective country, its history and cultural characteristics. This is the only way to capture the typical flair of a region. Natural materials, warm color concepts and decorative elements from local flea markets underline the cultural spirit of a region. The aim is to interfere with nature as little as possible and leave only positive traces. This also means that almost exclusively local workers are employed, who also receive around 30 percent higher wages than is usual in the respective region.


Living instead of vacationing

After Le Chalet in France, the two lodges Omaanda and Sonop in Namibia and Phum Baitang in Cambodia, all eyes are now on Bãi San Hô on the east coast of the country. It is located in a 93-hectare area with a view of the kilometer-long sandy beach and surrounded by lush vegetation. One of the regional specialties here is a Vietnamese restaurant serving authentic dishes based on grandmother's recipes. The ingredients are sourced from the resort's own rice fields.

For the first time in the history of Zannier Hotels, guests can not only choose from 71 villas - 46 of which have a private pool - as an accommodation option, but can also simply stay forever if they wish. There are also 45 private residences available. The size of the private villas varies between 304 and 410 square meters on two floors. Residence owners enjoy all the amenities of the five-star hotel while benefiting from maximum privacy. The residences have spacious outdoor areas such as loggias, terraces and decks as well as infinity plunge pools facing the sea.