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- [00:00]
A
You know, we've managed to create this ability to have part of the DNA of Marrakesh going into Kaza and Tammu de Bay. It's a tri luxury. You know, we are not just saying we are going to look after you, but we really do looking after you and do more than looking after you and to make your stay extremely unforgettable and memorable.
- [00:21]
B
Hi, I'm Dan Rubenstein and this is the Grand Tourist. I've been a design journalist for more than 20 years and this is my personalized guided tour through the worlds of fashion, art, architecture, food and travel. All the elements of a welded life. And welcome to another edition of the Grand Tourist Reports dispatches from our latest print issue for our latest spring volume out now in bookstores and available online. We have an incredible report from the streets of Casablanca in Morocco. Photographed by Clement Chapillon. 1/2 of Paris unforeseen studio. This ancient city is known to most of us as the backdrop of the famed black and white film. It probably wouldn't surprise you that most of it wasn't shut shot in Morocco at all. And today this coastal city is transforming from a gritty business capital of the kingdom into a true cultural hub. Most visitors when traveling to the North African country, myself included, never make it past Marrakech. But now there's a hotel collection owned by the country's king Mohammed vi which began with one legendary five star location in Marrakesh, the Royal Mansoor, which has now expanded to an entire line of hotels. One of its new sister properties is the Royal Mansoor Casablanca, which hosted Clement on his little photographic journey. Today I'm speaking with Jean Claude Misson, the managing director of the Royal Mansoor Collection, to chat about his incredible career that led him to these ancient lands. His mission, to use top notch hospitality to generate interest, careers and economies in the kingdom. How the city of Casablanca is evolving. A perfect weekend exploring this North African metropolis and much more. You have a highly celebrated career in the hotel industry. But before we speak a little bit about the collection and the Royal Mansour, how did you find your way working into hospitality originally?
- [02:14]
A
You know, I love answering that question. As a young kid I wanted to become a chef. So I guess When I was 6, 7, 8, I said to my mom and dad, I want to be a chef and I want to go to Kettering College. And my dad was a mathematician physician and my dad didn't want me to become a chef. My dad wanted me to go to college, go to university and have a great career. But you know, I love cooking. And I was cooking for my parents. I was cooking for my parents reception, you know, when they were doing cocktail parties or dinner. And so when I was 16, instead of, you know, going to a properly, say, proper college, I went to the Ecole Tollier de Paris, which is, you know, one of the best catering school in France. And I stayed there for five years, learning to be not just a chef, but, you know, learning about the wine, learning about the job in general, hotel life. And that's it. That was the start of my career. You know, I've never became a chef. I love cooking, but I never became a chef. And very quickly I said, no, I want to be hotel manager. I want to be at the top. I want to be in luxury, a luxury hotel, and I want to be a GM. And I became a GM at a very young age. I became a GM at the age of 33 or 33 and a half.
- [03:42]
B
And why do you think, if I were to go back in time and ask someone who just hired you to be a GM at 33, why would you say that? Why do you think that they would hire you a 30gm?
- [03:51]
A
I think the guy was crazy. He wanted a young guy. He took a gamble.
- [03:59]
B
Which hotel was this?
- [04:00]
A
It was in London. I worked for a guy called Cyril Steen and we opened up the St. Gentle's Club in London. He bought the club from a chap called Peter de Savare, and we shut it down. Big renovation, repositioning and reopen. So that was my first job and again, or to start with, but that's going to be for the rest of my life, opening up, shutting down, refurbishment, repositioning. You know, that's the story of my life.
- [04:29]
B
And so you've been with the royal man, sword Al, for 11 years and is that correct?
- [04:35]
A
11 years and still counting.
- [04:38]
B
And how did this job come up? Where were you immediately before?
- [04:43]
A
I was, at the time, I was working in Monaco, Monte Carlo at the Hotel Metropole. Metropole was the same story. I was hired to shut it down, prepare the renovation and do the work and reopen and reposition the hotel, which was a very sad hotel in Monaco at the time to become leading hotel of the world, best hotel in the world. I spent 10 years in Monaco doing what I love doing, which is, you know, starting at the bottom and taking up, taking right to the top, a property. And Marrakesh was the same. You know, when they called me, I declined. And they called me again a couple of years later or three years later to say, we'd love to see you. Would you love coming to Marrakech? And I said, yes, why not? And I arrived in Marrakesh. Arrived. I don't know if you've been to the one in Marrakech.
- [05:35]
B
I have, yes.
- [05:37]
A
When I discovered the gate, you know, those two huge, big gates, I said, that's my hotel. That's for me. That's what I want to run. That's my next challenge. And hadn't seen nothing. I haven't been inside. I haven't been walking around. Just those two gates made it for me.
- [05:57]
B
Why?
- [05:58]
A
And I don't know, it's just the emotion, you know, the ritual of opening the gates. You enter the property, you discover a new world. You discover something stunning, absolutely beautiful, very emotional. And I said, yes, I take the job.
- [06:19]
B
Was it your first hotel in sort of North Africa and sort of the Arab world?
- [06:22]
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'd never been to Marrakesh before. Never been to Africa. It was the first but interesting, you know, in my life, I never, ever got a call from someone saying, my hotel is doing great. Would you like the job? Every time it's. We're not doing very well. In fact, we're doing quite badly. Would you like the job? Yeah. So how do you take a hotel which is not performing to. To a perfume hotel? I would love to run, you know, one of the greatest, like, I don't know, Plaza Italy in Paris or whatever. But no, never mind.
- [07:03]
B
And, you know, the world has. Has changed a lot in the past decade, especially in regions like, you know, North Africa and the Middle East. And, you know, how is. How has, you know, life in Morocco evolved in the past 10 years? And. And in Marrakech,
- [07:19]
A
maybe I take you back 10 years ago or a few years ago to explain the mission I was given. And that mission goes with the actual development of the kingdom. The mission given to me by the ownership is very simple. I got three missions. Mission number one, it's, in a way, a very political mission, which is to develop a location, a district in a town, a new town, a county, you know, to make sure that we help. We go there to lead, to show the way, and we are front runners to develop something. So Casablanca we've developed, or helping to redevelop an actual district within Casablanca. Tamuda Bay. It's a complete region which works very well in the summer but is completely dead in the winter. The next hotel we are working on it will be to redevelop a new district in the city. And Marrakech was, in a way, to help Promote as a luxury destination, the destination Marrakesh. So that's mission number one, it's a very political mission given by the boss. Mission number two, it's what I would call the ultra lux, the quality. How can we show the world that in the Kingdom or Morocco as a kingdom can be as good as Asia, could be as good as the French, the Italian, the Swiss, in coming up with ultra luxe, high quality, offering exceptional services. And the third mission, it's a people mission. It's helping the new generation to get the ability to develop, to grow, to get good skills and then to earn money to create a family, to have kids. So I've got a very much in my mind, not just employing, I mean employing 2,500 people right now. Soon it would be 5,000 and 10,000 in three years. But the money I gave to those people, to those two and a half thousand people, helps a good 20,000 people because they have families, they have parents, they have sisters and brothers. So we have a mission to make sure that we give them the ability, the skills, we develop them, we grow them into the job, we promote them, we pay them well, you know, we give them a life, we give them a future and we give them a career. So that's three important mission. And they are in a way compared to what you would have in France or in England or in America. All three of them very political, you know, soft power marketing mission. You know, how do we help the Kingdom as a hotel company?
- [10:31]
B
And so do you believe you've been successful in that in the past decade?
- [10:34]
A
Well, you ask my boss.
- [10:37]
B
Okay, well, I don't know.
- [10:38]
A
I mean we, I don't know. Yes, I guess so. If I look at the people mission, we, we've created a school, a hotel school. So we are now able to develop a new generation on the two year, two years course. The majority of the people within my management team or head of departments have been here for 10 years or even more and they've grown within the company. If I look at awards, Royal Monceau at the 50 Best Awards last week got to number 13 in the world. Number 13 in the world. So show that you know, we are within, you know, the best of Asia and the best of the world. If I look at the business in Marrakesh, it's very good, very, very good. If I look at the business in Casablanca, it's getting better. And we can see now we are creating a new niche, a new, a new business niche in terms of luxury and ultra luxury. So yes, I'M I'm very confident in the future and I'm very pleased with what we've done.
- [11:52]
B
And obviously the, the romance America is, you know, obviously, as we, as you mentioned, quite known for its ultra luxury and it's quite remarkable. And you know, now that the, the hotel is now a collection and it's becoming a whole group of hotels, is that a challenge for you to sort of to take that idea of what the Royal Mansoor is in Marrakesh and now translate it to all these different types of hotels? You know, you've got Casablanca, which is more urban, and Tamuda Bay, which is more resort. You know, like, how do you translate one into a collection or how have you.
- [12:24]
A
It's a good, it's a very good question. That could be the best question of the afternoon so far. So far. So far. Starting from the hotel or changing from a hotel to a brand, it's very complicated. We try to make sure that the DNA we've created in Marrakech, you can find it in both Casablanca and Tamilabe and into the future hotels that we are working on. Location, architecture, tradition, Moroccan hospitality. You know, even if we have a different designer, different style. Casablanca is art deco. Tamudabe is more bohemian chic. Marrakesh, it's the showcase of the kingdom in terms of art and craftsmanship. But whenever you go, as soon as you pass the door or the gates of the hotel, you feel, you sense it's royal monsoon. You know, we've managed to create this ability to have part of the DNA of Marrakech going into Kaza and Tamwida Bay. Not 100% of Marrakech, because I feel each hotel has to have as well its own identity. But even if they have their own identity, you know, the brand is already very strong. You know, as I said, architecture, Moroccan hospitality, attention to details, you know, reassuring to know that when you go to one of the Almansour, it's a tri. Luxury. You know, we are not just saying we are going to look after you, but we really do looking after you and do more than looking after you and to make your stay extremely unforgettable and memorable. So has been so far, has been very good, Very good. And the channel is for the next year to come now.
- [14:28]
B
And so now to the totally uninitiated, how would you describe the Royal Mansour Casablanca? You know, because it's not a large hotel, you know, like by industry standards, but it's, it's, it's larger in terms of keys than the Riyads of Marrakech but so how do you just describe the hotels to someone who's never heard
- [14:45]
A
of it and never been city center, contemporary, ultra luxe, lively, busy, a lot of food and beverage. So it's a complete dining destination. And because it's a dining destination, it brings life and emotion to the hotel. It's not that I don't behave in bed and breakfast, because I do stay often. I was in London in a great hotel, which is in my mind, even if they have one restaurant, it's more bed and breakfast destination. But the food and the drinks will bring what's important to me, which is the life and the emotion. So Casa is perfect for them. Good location, great location. Casablanca is a vibrant city. Casablanca to me is a bit like Marseille in France or Napoli. You know those harbor, get away into a country. Casablanca is very identical. You know, a lot of people come there because that's where they land or that's where the boat will arrive or the ship will arrive, bringing that cosmopolitan ambiance atmosphere. So, no, the hotel goes very well. It's. Do I like Casablanca as a destination? Yeah, of course. I have to say yes, but I'd rather live in Marraket, that's for sure. Do I like going to the hotel? I love it. I love to stay overnight in the hotel. I mean, there is something about the bedrooms and the view in the morning when you wake up and you open the curtains and you see the mosque and the sea and the Corniche. So I love going there as a guest. I love going there.
- [16:34]
B
What are the dining situations like?
- [16:36]
A
As you mentioned, dining is good dining. Moroccan, of course. I mean, we have managed to get, you know, between Marrakesh and Kazakh, I guess, the top two Moroccan restaurant in the Kingdom. We have a great French with a French chef called Eric Frechon. Eric Frechon, Michelin, three star from. Used to be a boy stall in Paris. A great guy, very good, high quality, classic French food. So you understand what you eat and you know what you eat. And when you read the menu, you know what you're going to eat, which is always reassuring. We have a Japanese sushi bar with a master sushi chef from Tokyo. And we have a great Israeli chef called Asav Ghanit who's performing at the rooftop at the hotel, offering food with music, with an ambiance attitude. And the food is very, of course, you know, in that region, Israeli, Lebanese, south of Turkey, a little bit of Syrian food, but with a little twist coming from Asia and from Italy. So you're following the Marco Polo Road, you know, starting from China, finishing in Italy and Assam Granit has been able to create a concept, create a menu, of course with his own origin, but with Chinese touch, Italian touch, you know, depending on the countries Marco Polo visited. So it works very well. So very good food, very, very interesting food. If I go there just for one night, it's always difficult for me to choose where to have dinner because I love the four.
- [18:27]
B
And you know, I've never been, I've been to Marrakesh, but I've never been to Casablanca. You know, tell me a little bit about the city because it is sort of, it is the, the largest city in the country and it's also, it's, you know, the business center and it's
- [18:42]
A
the big, in a way, it's the economical, economic capital of the kingdom. It's, it's a hub for the African tourists and business people coming into Europe. So stopping over in Casablanca or changing flights in Casablanca, staying overnight. Casablanca, it's a big business destination, not just for the kingdom, but for Africa, for the continent. A lot of big Moroccan company are now working in West Africa, in Nigeria, in Eastern Africa. So it's a big business destination. It's by the sea. So it's a big fishing, big fishing harbor. We do cruises now and it's a big commercial harbor. So Casablanca over the past 10 years, 15 years, is transforming itself from a good quality town to an extraordinary, vibrant, cosmopolitan and arty destination. Because now obviously comes the shopping, come the arts, come designers. You know, you have the business coming, we have the banking coming and you have all of that coming. And following that, obviously you have a new generation of designers, artists. So in a way, you know, Casablanca becomes a bit like Milan, Paris or New York or London. You know, not just business but an all around destination where you find everything.
- [20:34]
B
And obviously, you know, you mentioned the kind of the, the equivalent of say Casablanca to say like the Milan of Italy or things like that. How would you describe the sort of the cultural differences between Marrakech specifically and Casablanca or someplace like Fez in relation to other parts of the country?
- [20:55]
A
I think Casablanca will become in due course the capital of fashion and art, that's for sure. I think most of the designer will be based in Casablanca. We are looking at creating an event in Casablanca to celebrate the Moroccan fashion designers, but not just Moroccan fashion designers, but the African fashion designers, Marrakesh. It's in a way the south of the kingdom. You have a lot of things in Marrakesh. Casablanca, I think will take the lead in terms of fashion, in terms of more contemporary art, that's for sure. I'm fairly sure of that. Fez to some extent, but not as much as Casablanca. You have a great music festival as well in Casablanca called Giasablanca. So Casablanca is reinventing itself. And that's a big mission. That's a big ambition from his Majesty is to make sure Casablanca is not just a harbor, but it's a proper capital, Economic capital, art capital, fashion capital of the kingdom.
- [22:26]
B
And a huge portion of the population in Casablanca is young, sort of under 20 years old. And there's a lot of street art and music and things like that. And I believe you have some local experts that kind of can help people navigate street art scene if they want to take a little tour. How does that add some flavor to the. To the town?
- [22:47]
A
I think it's. It's good. We. I think it's important when we have guests. Visitors. Guests or small group of guests, you know, asking for what could we do? It's always nice to propose one of those. Tour straighter. We do that as well, you know. You know what a sidecar is? You know, when you have this motorbike with a little.
- [23:13]
B
Yes, I was thinking sidecar. The cocktail, but yes, sidecar, the motorcycle. Motorcycle. Sidecar.
- [23:18]
A
Yes, the motorcycle. Sidecar. And we organize little tours in Casablanca. The guests love it. It's a perfect way to discover the capital, discover the city.
- [23:33]
B
What kind of feedback do you get from people that do those tours?
- [23:36]
A
Oh, they love. It's so different. And it's Gaza. It's a bit different from New York. It's a place where you can stop, you can walk, you can. You can smell, you can touch. You know, there's a lot of sensuality in that.
- [23:53]
B
And you know, if someone had a free weekend in Casablanca and they were staying at the Royal Mansoor, what kind of itinerary would you Casablanca?
- [24:01]
A
I would. First of all, I would walk. I think it's one of those city where you can walk. You would walk from the hotel to the Corniche and the Hassan II mosque, which is one of the largest mosque in Africa, or the largest mosque in Africa. And again, not far from the hotel, within 10 minutes, I would walk to what we call Le Petit Paris. And Le Petit Paris, it's like an historical center of Casablanca. And it's full of beautiful art deco building, Some in great condition, some not in so great condition, but walking around, you have those beautiful facades. You know, you have in Florida, in Miami, you have some of those beautiful buildings too. So It'd be place to walk around. You have the central market there. And then when you finish that, you then go to what we call the Quartier des Habous, which would be one of the original, not the medina, but Haboos would be one of the original district of Casablanca within 10, 15 minutes walk of here. And you walk around, you've passed the central market. You have lots of street food, beautiful little buildings. You have the life and the birth of the city. So that's if you want to walk. But then you have a couple of nice destination to go and visit. La Villa des Arts, for example, which is a Beautiful Museum about 20 minutes, 20 minutes from here, 1930, Art Deco, which you would love, beautiful design. And the other one I would suggest would be the. It's what we call the foundation, the Abdelkhaman Slaoui Foundation. The guy is dead now. He died 2000 or 2001. He was a business guy, but he was a great art lover and he was able to create a beautiful collection of Moroccan art, jewelries, paintings. So that would be very interesting to see because it's a beautiful building, quite stylish. So if you want food, street food, habos, Marche central, go to the Petit Paris. If you want more arty destination, Villa des Art or the foundation, slowly. I mean, that I would do. That's what I would do on the weekend.
- [27:03]
B
And we spoke a little bit about the time of year to visit. What's the best time of year to visit Casablanca? Is there, you know, what is the. Would you say is your ideal time to visit?
- [27:12]
A
I guess all year round, but let's say March. March to November. Yeah, maybe I would avoid late November to early March.
- [27:26]
B
Too cold.
- [27:28]
A
Not cold, but it's not as sunny as such as Marrakech, so it's always a little bit cooler. But yeah, I mean, they get fog in the winter that we don't. Yeah, March. I will say March to November. Good, good. Time to go.
- [27:51]
B
And what's next for the Royal Mansource collection? I believe you mentioned that there's another hotel after Tamuda Bay coming at some point.
- [28:00]
A
Did I say that?
- [28:01]
B
You did.
- [28:03]
A
I don't remember mentioning.
- [28:06]
B
But there are others on the horizon is. I mean, the collection will not.
- [28:10]
A
We've now started work and if you go on Google Maps, you will see what we're doing. So. No, we are now working on Rabat, the main capital. Rabat is about 45 minutes, one hour away from Casablanca. It's where His Majesty has his principal palace. So I guess after the first three, Rabat was the next one, the, the important one to do with the same ambition, you know, develop the destination, develop the people, you know, develop quality. Ultra lux. So robot will be spectacular.
- [28:53]
B
And before we say goodbye, is there anything that maybe, perhaps I haven't mentioned about Casablanca or the hotel there that you might have wanted to mention or speak about?
- [29:06]
A
What else could I say Casa is. I forgot to say that, you know, if you love sports, Kaza is a great surfing destination. So Casablanca is the California side of the mock the kingdom. And there is an actual district in Kazakh called California. Okay.
- [29:34]
B
On the water, I guess, where the surfing is.
- [29:36]
A
No, no, I mean it's. Yeah. I mean if you walk on the Cornish, it's very much like, you know, we're walking around in, in, in la, south la, you know, the guy doing jogging, the fitness and people cycling and walking the dog. And it's a very, very similar, obvious, very similar atmosphere. Casablanca. If I say maybe to finish, you know, the movie, you've seen the movie maybe once, twice, three times, you know that maybe 95% of the movie was filmed in Hollywood and not in Casablanca. So a lot of people identify themselves with that movie. But Casablanca has changed. You know, that movie must be, I don't know, 60 or 70 years old now. Casablanca has changed. Casablanca is now, sure. I mean, we have our feet still in the past, but we are looking at the future. We have a mission for what we call 2030, which is the soccer World cup coming into the Kingdom. So a lot of things happening, a lot of development in terms of the various cities and stadium, hospital, motorways, high speed train. So we are doing whatever we can to modernize this country, the kingdom, away from that old image of the movie. But a lot of people know Kaza because of the movie, so we accept it. But even if it was not filmed in Kazablanca, but people love it.
- [31:35]
B
Thank you to everyone at Alice Marshall PR and to Megan Dawe for making this episode happen. The editor of the Grand Tourist is Stan Hall. Don't forget this podcast is part of our hardcover spring print issue, available for purchase online now@thegrandtourist.net and sign up for our newsletter, the Grand Tourist curator on our site as well. And follow me on InstagramRubenstein and follow the Grand Tourist on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you like to listen. And leave us a rating or comment. Every little bit helps. Till next time.