AHEAD Announces Its 2019 Global Hotel Award Winners

Earlier this week, AHEAD announced the winners of the 2019 Global Awards for Hospitality, Experience and Design, rounding up some of the most unique and exemplary hotels in the world. While regional awards are given out every year, the global awards are biannual, so the winners covered some of the most exciting new developments in hospitality over the last two years. Naturally we were excited to see the results.

Some of the highlights are also hotels we can’t wait to visit ourselves. The place you’re most likely to find us is AHEAD’s best Bar, Club or Lounge, awarded to The Whiskey Room at Hotel Roomers in Munich. The space here goes against the norm for hotel bars, trading up old-world warmth for something completely modern and striking. The rouge, simple decor looks like it was made for a futuristic movie than a hotel. New York’s Le Coucou received the Restaurant award, bringing further acclaim to Stephen Starr’s winner at the 11 Howard Hotel (which also won the award for Hotel Renovation & Restoration). The combination of Daniel Rose’s rich French cooking along with design by the inimitable duo Roman & Williams proves to be a continuing success for 11 Howard. As if there aren’t enough reasons to travel to Italy, it’s Zallinger Saltria hotel was awarded in the Guest Rooms category, for the chalet-style rooms. The rooms, designed by noa* feature sleek fixtures alongside wooden furnishings that lend to the feeling of a lodge. On the other end of the spectrum is the Suite award, which was given to the Belmond Venice Simplon-Orient Express. Yes, that would be a train, but only if you’re picturing the most luxurious type of train from a bygone era. The interiors are fit for royalty, and it’s set in one of the most unique travel settings in the world.

If there was a running theme in the awards, it was nature. Many hotels were praised for their connection to nature, or their seamless use of the space they were built around. The Belmond Eagle Island Lodge in Botswana won in the Lodges & Tented Camp category, serving as the “ultimate safari lodge.” The Landscaping & Outdoor Spaces award went to The Mandrake in London, citing its beautiful courtyard, for its merger of light, space, and greenery, including a hanging curtain of Jasmine and Passion flowers scenting the space. AHEAD’s Global Ultimate Winner was the Alila Yangshuo (which also won the Resort award), a resort built on a former sugar factory just outside Guilin, China, along the Li River.

It would be hard to argue the results of AHEAD’s 2019 Global Awards, and their selections are both eclectic and tasteful. If anything, the only reason to avoid the list is that it will give you an itch to travel and experience these gorgeous properties first-hand. So with that warning in mind, be sure to check out the full list of winners: AHEAD 2019 Global Award Winners  

Bar, Club or Lounge – The Whiskey Room at Hotel Roomers, Munich

Restaurant – Le Coucou, New York

Guest Rooms – Zallinger Saltria, Italy

Suite – Belmond Venice Simplon-Orient Express, Various Locations

Lodges & Tented Camps – Belmond Eagle Island Lodge, Botswana

Landscaping & Outdoor Spaces – The Mandrake, London