Asia Best Hospitality Project of 2020 | AHEAD Awards

Article originally published on February 12, 2020

AHEAD is the new global celebration of hospitality experience and design.

Awards are dedicated to the relentless pursuit of the exceptional, recognizing design in all its forms, and the guest experiences created in hospitality projects worldwide.

The AHEAD Asia shortlist is now live! See who is in the running!

All submissions were first sorted into 15 categories, which acknowledge everything from a project’s guestrooms, Spa & Wellness, Hotel Renovation & Restoration to its lobby and public spaces. A shortlist has then been compiled by a judging panel of industry experts. This year it includes figures such as founder partner of AvroKO, William Harris, managing director of Swire Hotels, Toby Smith, and curatorial director of BAR Studio, Rowena Hockin.

One of the projects to be shortlisted is Shishi-Iwa House, a boutique hotel designed by Pritzker prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban. It has just 10 rooms, which are nestled amongst the forested woodlands of Karuizawa in Japan. The Hotel concept is a kind of spiritual and physical retreat based on the relationship between human beings, nature and architecture.

Also on the shortlist is the Taj Rishikesh Resort & Spa, a high-end hideaway in India which lies at the foot of the Himalayas, and The Datai Langkawi, a contemporary hotel that’s set against the dense rainforests of Malaysia.

Another project of AHEAD 2020 in the running is Tokyo’s one-room hotel Trunk House – it takes over a 70-year-old building that once served as living quarters for geishas, and even includes a miniature nightclub for guests.

“We wanted to make a contemporary version of this concept which would accommodate modern creatives in and out of Japan.”

Asia is one of four regions covered by the AHEAD awards, which also considers projects from the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa. Prize-takers from each region will go on to compete in a global biennale, where worldwide titles can be won.

The winners will be announced at the AHEAD Asia ceremony, taking place at Andaz Singapore on Thursday 12 March. Tickets here.