KE GA BAY, Vietnam, 11 September 2025: Adrian Zecha, one of the world’s most respected hoteliers and the founder of Azerai Resorts, recently visited the boutique hotel brand’s two properties in Vietnam ahead of the fifth anniversary of Azerai Ke Ga Bay’s grand opening.
Now 92, Zecha said people routinely ask him when he plans to retire. “I can’t sit there and do nothing,” he said. “I mean, come on, it’s crazy,” he added with a laugh.
“I feel that my new journey is just beginning. There’s so much to do,” Zecha said. “God gives you life, you should use it.”
Strolling through the ginger forest at Azerai Ke Ga Bay, a 56-key all-suites-and-villas beachfront resort in southern Vietnam, Zecha gazed out over its 5km beach and commented that embracing nature and local culture were the two hallmarks of the Azerai brand. “Nature brings me tranquillity and peace, supporting my quest to explore new destinations,” he said.
Zecha founded the luxury hotel brand Aman Resorts in 1988
Longtime Australian-American business partner, Jonathan Breene, joined Zecha for the visit to Azerai Ke Ga Bay. The two co-founded Mahaman, which owns Azerai Resorts and develops other ultra-luxury residential and boutique hotel properties around Asia and beyond.
Breene, who first met Zecha in 1998, said he has long admired Zecha’s ability to identify elements of luxury hospitality or a site’s location that will most strongly resonate with guests. There’s no “set formula” for what defines an Azerai property, Breene noted.
Azerai Ke Ga Bay, an elegant and secluded oceanfront escape, opened in 2020 as a counterpoint to the brand’s other property, the historic 122-room Azerai La Residence, Hue, set in the bustling former imperial capital of Vietnam.
“I found it nice, the difference between the two properties. I liked both. I thought: Why not do two?” Zecha said when asked about the genesis of Azerai Ke Ga Bay.
Earlier this year, Azerai Ke Ga Bay was voted the world’s second “Most Instagrammable Hotel” overall and the winner of the “Most Instagrammable Hotel in Asia, the Indian Ocean and South Pacific.” The contest was sponsored by the US travel trade publication Luxury Travel Advisor. In April, The Times of London also named Azerai Ke Ga Bay one of Southeast Asia’s best boutique hotels.
Located some 900 km up the coast, Azerai La Residence, Hue is centred on a 1920s-built mansion that was once part of the residence of the colonial French governor. The hotel was featured on Time Magazine’s list of the “World’s 100 Greatest Places” in 2019, and The Times of London named Azerai La Residence, Hue, one of Vietnam’s best 16 hotels this year.
The hotel’s unique riverfront location, facing the city’s historic Citadel, allows guests to connect with Hue’s traditional lifestyle and slow-paced charms. Leisurely river cruises offered by Azerai take in Hue’s ancient pagodas, a revered mausoleum, and colourful temples and other sites.
Breene said Azerai La Residence, Hue is renowned for its stylish Art Deco design flourishes, along with its beautiful old French colonial design, right down to the furniture and floorboards, noting, “You really feel like you’ve stepped into another time.”
Zecha has long been praised as a visionary in international luxury hospitality, spotting trends early and executing his vision with passion. For his part, however, Zecha credits the people around him over the years, including those at Azerai, for helping to enable his success.
“I lead fantastic people who will continue these legacies, and I’m delighted to be working with them,” Zecha said.
For more information on Azerai Ke Ga Bay, visit https://azerai.com/azerai-ke-ga-bay/.
For Azerai La Residence, Hue, visit azerai.com/azerai-la-residence-hue/.
