Q&A: Constance Hotels & Resorts chief executive Jean-Jacques Vallet

Constance Hotels & Resorts has built an 11-strong portfolio of properties across the Indian Ocean. As the brand celebrates its 50th anniversary, Aspire sits down with chief executive Jean-Jacques Vallet to reflect on the group’s growth, find out about plans for future expansion and hear about how the brand is strengthening its relationships with the UK trade.

Q. How has the brand grown since its inception?

I joined the company in 1994 as group chief finance officer, then became chief operating officer in 2000 and chief executive in 2012. Back then, only Constance Belle Mare Plage in Mauritius existed. The group’s real start came when we opened Constance Prince Maurice in Mauritius and Constance Lemuria in the Seychelles in 1999. We later expanded to the Maldives and Madagascar and, from there, we started to concentrate on building our brand, elevating quality and standard, and creating a family spirit in terms of managing our people. Many of our employees have been with us for more than 20 years. This human-centred approach is what differentiates us compared to big international hotel groups. We now have 11 properties across the Indian Ocean, including our latest openings, Constance Sakoa Boutik, following a full refurbishment, and Constance Tekoma Rodrigues. 

Q. You opened Constance Tekoma on the island of Rodrigues in January 2024. Why did you choose this destination?

The Mauritian island of Rodrigues is a very small, unique destination. It is natural and untouched, with no big hotel developments and it will continue to be very limited in terms of the number of rooms and capacity. We got the opportunity to take over an existing hotel to build Constance Tekoma – and another property under our lifestyle sister brand C Resorts – so we took it to further cement our status as a true Indian Ocean specialist.

Q. What are your plans for future expansion?

Zanzibar is part of our natural objectives and southeast Asia could also be a potential destination, but our main focus is on the Indian Ocean. However, we’re not desperate to grow. We need to find the right product and partners to ensure the property reflects our brand. For the next 50 years, the Constance spirit will remain authentic, refined, rooted in nature and carried by passionate teams. 

Q. Are there any other developments in store for the brand?

We are working on our new Constance residential properties which will launch very soon at Constance Prince Maurice and Constance Lemuria. There will be five to 10 villas, each with up to five bedrooms. We are always refreshing our properties; we will soon unveil refurbished overwater villas at Constance Halaveli in the Maldives and next year we are going to renovate the beach villas.

Q. What makes Constance stand out compared to other luxury brands in the Indian Ocean?

The culinary offering across our hotels is amazing. It is part of our culture. We have hosted our annual Culinary Festival at Constance Belle Mare Plage and Constance Prince Maurice in Mauritius for 20 years, featuring Michelin-starred dinners, masterclasses and wine tastings. We also run chef competitions at the event, which pushes our culinary standards higher every year. 

In addition, we have an exceptional team of sommeliers who have been with us for more than 20 years and more than 85% of our wine is directly sourced from the vineyards. We were nominated for nine awards at the World’s Fine Wine Awards 2025, with Blue Penny Cellar at Constance Belle Mare Plage placing first for Best Long Wine List and Alizee Restaurant at Constance Moofushi in the Maldives taking the title for Best All-Inclusive Wine List. 

Q. How are you strengthening relationships with the UK travel trade?

We launched our loyalty programme Echo Privilege Club last year, which rewards agents with exclusive benefits and personalised experiences for their clients. We are also hosting two events in the UK this November to commemorate 50 years. There will be one in the north and another in the south with 30 to 40 trade partners at each event, where we will showcase the Constance portfolio and our plans for growth.

The UK and Ireland remain strategic markets for Constance Hotels & Resorts, consistently contributing a significant share of business. Approximately 80% of bookings in these regions originate from trusted trade partners.