The speed and severity of the coronavirus pandemic has hit the hospitality industry with a major blow, from which the forecast for recovery is difficult to decipher. While owners and operators scramble to make contingency plans, there has been a moment of pleasant distraction by way of the announcement of the AHEAD Asia 2020 winners.

The AHEAD program, too, has been affected by the current conditions, with the scheduled live award ceremony (which was to be held in Singapore) transferred to a digital presentation. The webcast was unveiled on the AHEAD website on 12 March. It will be followed by a celebratory event on Monday 7 September at Andaz Singapore, at which the Outstanding Contribution Award and AHEAD Asia Hotel of the Year winners will be announced. Tickets held for the original ceremony will be valid.

So who were the big winners? Rosewood Hotels & Resorts scooped five awards for its Rosewood Hong Kong and Rosewood Bangkok properties. Studio Bensley took home two prizes for projects Capella Sanya and Hôtel de le Coupole. Grand Hyatt Xi’an, designed by Singapore-based LTW Designworks, won the Guestrooms and Lobby & Public Spaces categories.

Here’s the full list of winners:

Bar, Club or Lounge

Lennon’s at Rosewood Bangkok, Thailand
Rende Development Company / Rosewood Hotel Group / Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates / AvroKO

Event Spaces

Grand Ballroom and Junior Ballroom at Rosewood Hong Kong, China
New World Development / Rosewood Hotel Group / Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates / Tonychi Studio

Guestrooms

Grand Hyatt Xi’an, China
Maike Group / Hyatt Hotels Corporation / CallisonRTKL / LTW Designworks

Hotel Conversion

Sunyata Hotel Meili, China
Lai Guoping / Zhao Yang Architects / Ke Xie

Hotel Newbuild

Rosewood Hong Kong, China
New World Development / Rosewood Hotel Group / Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates / Tonychi Studio / BAR Studio / Parts and Labor Design

Hotel Renovation & Restoration

Raffles Singapore
Katara Hospitality / AccorHotels / Aedas / Studio Lapis / Champalimaud Design / Aedas Interiors / Jouin Manku

Landscaping & Outdoor Spaces

Capella Sanya, China
Capella Hotel Group / Denniston / Bensley

Lobby & Public Spaces

Grand Hyatt Xi’an, China
Maike Group / Hyatt Hotels Corporation / Callison RTKL / LTW Designworks

Lodges, Cabins & Tented Camps

The Lindis, Ahuriri Valley, North Otago, New Zealand
The Lindis Group / Architecture Workshop

Resort

Six Senses Bhutan
Bhutan Ventures & Hospitality / Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas / Habita Architects

Restaurant

Nan Bei at Rosewood Bangkok, Thailand
Rende Development Company / Rosewood Hotel Group / Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates / Tandem Architects / AvroKO

Spa & Wellness

Hôtel de la Coupole, Vietnam
Sun Group / AccorHotels / Bensley

Suite

Grand Harbour Corner Suite at Rosewood Hong Kong, China
New World Development / Rosewood Hotel Group / Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates / Tonychi Studio

Transport

The Oracle
Blue Karma / Alexa Genoyer

Visual Identity

Moss Hotel Australia
The Behrakis Group / Circa Morris-Nunn Chua Architects / Fabio Ongataro Studio

New Concept

Hanare Tokyo

Congratulations to all winners!

Indesign Media is a media partner for AHEAD Asia 2020.