Dezeen promotion: the winners of this year's AHEAD Asia awards include a Four Seasons spa in Seoul, a hotel lobby that acts as a learning hub for mixologists, and a modern interpretation of a traditional Japanese guest house.
The awards celebrate all forms of hospitality design, with entries assessed on aesthetics, guest experience and commercial viability by a panel of judges comprising leading hoteliers, architects and interior designers.
COO Singapore took the prize for Visual Identity of the Year for its branding and online guest service by Ministry of Design, which was aimed at an audience millennial travellers.
Stone Design's Keemala hotel in Phuket was awarded for its integrated jungle landscape, while K H Tan Architect and Blu Water Studio's renovation of The Edison George Town in Penang also picked up an award.
Akyra Manor Hotel's guestrooms, designed by Hyphen Architects and Varit Charoenveingvechkit, won an award for the combined indoor and outdoor experience offered to guests.
Akademi of Katamama hotel in Bali by Andra Matin and Takenouchi Webb was awarded for reinventing the traditional lobby bar as a place for learning and meeting for mixologists, as well as a drinking spot for guests.
The Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul by Heerim Architects and LTW Designworks won two accolades for its spa facilities and lobby respectively, impressing the panel with the "tranquil and rejuvenating" environments crafted by the design team.
The most successful entry was Azuma Architects' Hoshinoya, a newly-built 17-storey hotel in Tokyo, which offers guests a modern take on the classic Japanese ryokan.
Winning three awards, including New Concept of the Year and AHEAD Asia Hotel of the Year 2017, Hoshinoya Tokyo was praised by the judges for the use of local materials and traditions to create a "beautiful urban space".
Hotel designer Kerry Hill was recognised with an Outstanding Contribution award for his 40-year career in the industry, during which he has pioneered a range of resorts in Asia and beyond.
Other winners included Tony Chi and DP Architects' restaurant Colony at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia in Singapore, the Ambassador suite by BAR Studio at Hong Kong's Grand Hyatt hotel and the Alila Anji resort in China, designed by Beijing CCI Architectural Design and HG-Design Studio.
"The judges had a tough job on their hands choosing winners of the inaugural AHEAD Asia awards as the standard was exceptionally high across the board. The winners were selected for their exceptional design and its contribution to the guest experience in these outstanding hotel properties," said AHEAD Director Matt Turner.
The event is the first of eight regional award ceremonies taking place around the world in 2017 and 2018, celebrating the best new hotels in Asia, the Americas, the Middle East & Africa, and Europe.
These heats will culminate in a Global Biennale in 2019, which will see the regional winners compete head-to-head to decide a worldwide winner in each category.