REVE Travel Magazine August 2026
Land, Sea, and the Space Between
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Editor's Letter HEIDI AND TEAM
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Interview with Mr. Sidney Hardy Regent Shanghai on The Bund - 2026 Overall Hotel Winner
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Cauayan Boutique Private Island El Nido, Palawan, Philippines
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Tribe Hotel, Nairobi Nairobi, Kenya
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Anantya Serengeti Mara, Tanzania
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Design Hotel Levi Levi, Finland
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InterContinental Istanbul Istanbul, Türkiye REVE TRAVEL MAGAZINE
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Garrya Tongsai Bay Samui Koh Samui, Thailand
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Thai Square Putney Bridge London, United Kingdom
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Address Beach Resort Bahrain Diyar Al Muharraq, Kingdom of Bahrain
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Vida Beach Resort Marassi Al Bahrain Marassi, Kingdom of Bahrain
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Elissa Lifestyle Beach Resort Rhodes, Greece
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Discovery Coron Palawan, Philippines
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Four Points by Sheraton Danang Da Nang, Vietnam
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Doors Urla Hotel & Bungalows Urla, İzmir, Türkiye
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REVE TRAVEL MAGAZINE
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Editor's Letter Dear Readers, Some journeys arrive with fanfare. Others slip in quietly, in the low pull of surf against a private jetty in El Nido, in the hush that settles over the Serengeti the moment the light starts to fail, in the way an Arctic dusk presses itself against a floor-to-ceiling window in Levi and simply stays there for hours. This is the travel that Land, Sea, and the Space Between was made for. Our August edition began with a question we return to every year: what does hospitality look like when it takes its cues from the ground beneath it rather than a template built somewhere else. The answer, as you will find in the pages that follow, is that the finest properties in the world rarely borrow an identity. They dig one up from where they stand. Water runs through this edition in more than one register. Cauayan Boutique Private Island and Discovery Coron both occupy protected corners of Palawan, yet one builds its philosophy around barefoot minimalism and the other around a working farm-to-table kitchen. Address Beach Resort Bahrain and Vida Beach Resort Marassi Al Bahrain sit within the same Gulf development, each framing the Arabian Gulf through a different register of scale and mood. Four Points by Sheraton Danang holds My Khe Beach from thirty-six floors up, while Elissa Lifestyle Beach Resort in Rhodes keeps the Aegean at guest height, close enough to hear it change through the day. And then there is land carried as something still working rather than something preserved behind glass. Tribe Hotel Nairobi builds contemporary architecture around East African art and flavour rather than importing either. Doors Urla Hotel & Bungalows sets its bungalows among olive trees that predate the hotel by centuries and asks its guests to slow down to match them. Anantya Serengeti and Design Hotel Levi take opposite ends of the planet's temperature scale, savannah heat and Arctic cold, and arrive at the same conclusion: that wilderness is the amenity, and comfort exists only to make staying in it possible for longer.
Warmly, Heidi and Team
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REVE Luxury Awards 2026 — Overall Winner Feature Regent Shanghai on The Bund
Mr. Sidney Hardy General manager
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REVE Luxury Awards 2026 — Winner Feature
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Overall Hotel Winner, Ultra-Luxury Hotel: Global Winner Regent Shanghai on The Bund Shanghai, China
On Shanghai's North Bund, where the Huangpu River separates the city's colonial-era heritage from the futuristic skyline of Pudong, Regent Shanghai on The Bund has built its identity around a single, deceptively simple idea: that a hotel's greatest asset is often the view it refuses to compete with. Opened in 2024 following the revitalisation of the historic former Seagull Hotel, the property has quickly established itself as one of Shanghai's most celebrated addresses, and it now carries the distinction of REVE Luxury Awards' Overall Hotel Winner for 2026, the highest honour our awards programme confers. We spoke with General Manager Mr. Sidney Hardy about the hotel's approach to its extraordinary setting, the balance between global brand standards and local character, and where he sees ultra-luxury hospitality heading next. A Location That Shapes Everything For Regent Shanghai on The Bund, geography is not a backdrop. It is the starting point for nearly every design and service decision the hotel makes. "Our location is central to the guest experience," Hardy told us. "From arrival, guests are immersed in one of the world's most iconic cityscapes, where Shanghai's heritage and future meet across the Huangpu River." That relationship with the skyline was built into the hotel from the outset rather than treated as a fortunate byproduct of its address. The property has been designed, in Hardy's words, "to maximise this connection, creating moments of discovery throughout the journey," with the shifting character of the view at sunrise, sunset and after dark offering guests a constantly renewing sense of place. Few hotels in the world can claim a vantage point onto two centuries of a single city's transformation, and Regent Shanghai has built its entire arrival sequence around making sure guests feel that transformation the moment they step through the door. What the Award Means For a hotel that opened barely two years ago, being named REVE's global Overall Hotel Winner carries particular weight. "Receiving the REVE Overall Hotel Award is an immense honour for our team and a proud moment for the Regent brand," Hardy said. "As a relatively new hotel, it validates the culture, passion and commitment that our colleagues bring every day." He was clear that the recognition reflects something broader than any single feature or amenity. "It recognises our shared focus on delivering thoughtful luxury, genuine hospitality and memorable experiences for every guest," he told us, a framing that puts the hotel's people, rather than its architecture alone, at the centre of what the award represents. Global Standards, Local Character Regent, IHG's top-tier luxury brand, brings a set of international expectations to every property that carries its name. For Hardy, the task in Shanghai has never been to choose between those standards and the character of the city itself, but to let each strengthen the other. "Luxury today is about a strong sense of place rather than a standardised experience," he explained. "Regent provides the framework of exceptional service and refined luxury, while Shanghai provides the character and energy." That balance plays out in the details guests encounter throughout a stay, from the hotel's culinary programme to its design language and curated local experiences. "We bring these together through our culinary offerings, design details and curated experiences," Hardy said, "ensuring guests enjoy the confidence of a global luxury brand while feeling genuinely connected to the destination." It is a philosophy that gives the hotel room to be unmistakably Regent and unmistakably Shanghai at the same time, rather than asking guests to choose between the two. Meeting a More Discerning Traveller Hardy is candid about how much the ultra-luxury guest has changed in recent years, and how directly that shift has shaped the hotel's priorities. "Today's luxury travellers seek authenticity, personalisation and meaningful experiences," he told us. In response, the hotel has built its guest journeys around anticipation rather than reaction, training teams to read preferences early and adjust accordingly, while deepening its culinary, wellness and local experience offerings to give guests a more personal relationship with both the property and the city around it. Asked about the single most significant investment the hotel has made since opening, Hardy pointed not to a physical amenity but to culture. "Our greatest investment has been in creating a service culture that empowers colleagues to personalise every stay," he said. "Luxury is ultimately delivered by people, not buildings." That investment, he noted, has been made through engagement, training and pushing decision-making down to the guest-facing level, a strategy he credits with measurable gains in satisfaction and loyalty. Looking Ahead Asked where ultra-luxury hospitality is heading over the next five years, Hardy pointed to three forces: personalisation, wellbeing and meaning. "Technology will support the journey," he said, "but the human connection will remain the true differentiator." For Regent Shanghai on The Bund, that means continued investment in personalised service and distinctive Shanghai-specific experiences, built on the same culture of thoughtful hospitality that helped earn the hotel its place at the top of this year's REVE Luxury Awards. For hoteliers and hospitality groups watching Shanghai's ultra-luxury segment closely, Regent Shanghai's rapid rise from a two-year-old opening to a global award winner offers a clear signal: in a market saturated with international brands, the properties that distinguish themselves are the ones that treat place as a partner rather than a backdrop. Learn more: reveluxuryawards.com/nominee/regent-shanghai-on-the-bund REVE Luxury Awards | reveluxuryawards.com | 2026
El Nido, Palawan, Philippines
Cauayan Boutique Private Island
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Cauayan Boutique Private Island There are places that ask nothing of the traveller beyond presence, and Cauayan Boutique Private Island is one of them. Set within a protected marine reserve in El Nido, this intimate island sanctuary occupies a stretch of Bacuit Bay where the water runs clear over coral gardens and the horizon seems to stretch further than it should. We find that the resort's defining trait is restraint. Nothing here competes with the seascape. Everything is built to frame it, from the low profile of the villas to the deliberate absence of anything that might be described as ornamental. That restraint is not accidental. It is the product of a clear philosophy, one the team calls the art of laid-back luxury, a phrase that captures something real about the property rather than functioning as a slogan. Indulgence here is expressed through simplicity rather than spectacle, and every design decision seems to have been tested against a single question: does this help a guest feel more present, or less? Traditional Filipino architecture has been reinterpreted with a contemporary eye, and the minimalist villas sit lightly on the land, built to disappear into the tree line rather than dominate it. Beyond the villas, the island curates experiences designed to deepen a guest's relationship with the destination rather than distract from it. Private island-hopping excursions move through the limestone karsts that define this part of Palawan, weaving between lagoons and hidden coves that remain largely inaccessible to day-trippers from the mainland. World-class diving opportunities open onto some of the most biodiverse reef systems in Southeast Asia, drawing guests who arrive as complete beginners as readily as those chasing advanced certifications. Destination dining is staged against the seascape itself, turning a meal into something closer to theatre, with tables set on sandbars or floating platforms as the tide and light allow. For event planners and wedding coordinators, the resort's infinity pool and beachfront settings offer a natural, unforced backdrop that requires little in the way of additional styling to feel complete. Couples drawn to destination weddings will find a setting that does much of the emotional work on its own, while the property's focus on marine conservation gives corporate and incentive groups a genuine sustainability story to bring home, one grounded in the protected status of the surrounding reserve rather than in general claims about environmental responsibility. Cauayan Boutique Private Island earned its place among this year's nominees for the way it holds two things in balance that are often treated as opposites: total seclusion and genuine warmth. It is proof that a resort can be remote without being remote from its guests, and that the most memorable form of luxury may simply be the freedom to slow down completely.
Nairobi
Tribe Hotel
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Tribe Hotel Tribe Hotel Kenya occupies a distinctive position in Nairobi's hospitality landscape: contemporary in its architecture, unmistakably African in its inspiration. The hotel's rooms and suites are furnished with curated art and thoughtfully composed spaces, striking a tone that reads as refined without ever feeling formal, a balance that serves both the business traveller passing through for a single night and the leisure guest who has come to stay a while. The building's clean lines and considered use of light give it a distinctly modern silhouette, yet the artwork throughout, sourced from Kenyan and East African creators, keeps the property firmly rooted in its place. Food and drink carry much of the hotel's personality, and nowhere is that clearer than at Jiko, the inhouse restaurant. Regional flavours take centre stage here, built around bold combinations and locally sourced ingredients that place the kitchen firmly within its geography rather than borrowing from elsewhere. The menu shifts with the seasons and with what is available from nearby producers, giving returning guests genuine reason to expect something different with each visit. The bar and lounge spaces extend that same sense of connection into the evening, designed as places where conversation and unwinding happen naturally rather than being forced by design. For quieter registers, Kaya Spa offers a tranquil counterpoint, with treatments built around balance and renewal rather than spectacle, drawing where possible on ingredients and techniques with roots in the region. The hotel's meeting and event spaces make it a genuine dual-purpose property, and this is arguably where Tribe distinguishes itself most clearly from competitors. Corporate groups and conference organisers will find versatile rooms and a service team accustomed to executing complex programmes, from small executive briefings to larger multi-day conferences, while individual travellers benefit from the same attentiveness applied to a single, personalised stay. Reliable connectivity, flexible catering options and a events team well versed in local logistics make the property a dependable choice for organisations doing business across East Africa. It is this range, rather than any one feature, that defines Tribe Hotel's appeal: a property equally comfortable hosting a boardroom negotiation and a long, unhurried dinner, without either experience feeling like a compromise. Guests moving between the two worlds, a morning of meetings followed by an evening at Jiko, often remark on how seamlessly the hotel manages the transition. What earns Tribe Hotel its place on this year's list is the coherence of the whole. Design, cuisine, wellness and service are not separate departments competing for attention but parts of a single, considered identity, one that puts contemporary East African hospitality confidently on the world stage and gives both business and leisure travellers real reason to return.
Mara, Tanzania
Anantya Serengeti
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Anantya Serengeti Few landscapes on earth carry the mythic weight of the Serengeti, and Anantya Serengeti Camp has built its entire identity around honouring that weight rather than diluting it. Set within the world-famous national park, the camp offers an intimate and authentic safari experience, one where the savannah is not viewed from a distance but lived in, day and night, for the duration of a stay. The camp's small footprint is deliberate, keeping guest numbers low enough that the sense of exclusivity never feels manufactured. Wildlife viewing here is exceptional year-round, with sightings of lions, elephants and giraffes among the many species that move through this ecosystem in numbers that can feel almost unreal to first-time visitors. The Mara-Serengeti corridor is one of the last places on the planet where large-mammal migrations still play out at genuine scale, and the camp's location places guests close to the heart of that movement, particularly during the seasonal river crossings that draw wildlife enthusiasts from around the world. The camp's luxury tents are designed to hold their own against that setting rather than shrink from it: spacious, thoughtfully furnished, each with an en-suite bathroom and a private veranda positioned to catch the full sweep of the plains. Modern comfort and wilderness immersion are rarely reconciled this convincingly, and the tents strike a careful balance between canvas-and-timber authenticity and the practical comforts, proper beds, reliable hot water, dependable power, that today's traveller expects even in the most remote settings. Days at Anantya are structured around expertly guided game drives, led by safari guides whose knowledge of the terrain and its wildlife goes well beyond the practical, extending into a genuine storytelling ability that turns each outing into something closer to a guided narrative than a simple sighting checklist. Guides read the landscape with an intuition built over years, positioning vehicles ahead of movement rather than simply reacting to it. Evenings shift register entirely, becoming a time for good food and quiet reflection under a sky largely untouched by artificial light, where the scale of the Milky Way becomes visible in a way few guests will have experienced before. Anantya Serengeti's nomination reflects its success at the hardest task in safari hospitality: delivering genuine comfort without ever letting comfort become the point. The wilderness remains the star, and the camp knows it, structuring every service decision around that single, disciplined priority.
Levi, Finlands
Design Hotel Levi
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Design Hotel Levi Lapland has a way of shaping the imagination of anyone who spends time within it, and Design Hotel Levi was conceived directly from that inspiration. Positioned beneath the slopes of one of the Nordic region's most popular ski resorts, the property places guests within easy reach of everything the destination offers while giving them a striking, art-forward base to return to at the end of each day. The setting alone, framed by boreal forest and the long Arctic light that defines the seasons here, gives the hotel a sense of atmosphere that few urban design hotels can replicate. The hotel shares its facilities with the wider Levi Hotel Spa Resort, including the indoor water park Water World Levi and a selection of restaurants, extending the property's reach well beyond its own 77 rooms and suites. This shared infrastructure gives guests genuine flexibility, particularly families balancing a parent's interest in design and quiet with children eager for the water park's slides and pools, without requiring anyone to leave the immediate resort area to find it. Those rooms, spread across four floors and ranging from Deluxe Doubles to Deluxe Suites, are defined by large windows that draw the Arctic landscape indoors, blurring the line between interior and exterior in a way that feels intentional rather than incidental. In winter, guests wake to snow-laden pines pressed close against the glass. In the lighter months, the same windows frame long dusks that seem to hold on for hours. Every room has been designed with this shifting light in mind, rather than treating it as a seasonal inconvenience to work around. Inside, contemporary Nordic art and design run through every shared space, drawing on architecture, sculpture, visual art and light installations to create an atmosphere the hotel itself describes as unique and magical, a claim the surroundings do a great deal to support. Local and regional artists feature prominently throughout the public areas, giving the property a sense of place that goes beyond generic Nordic minimalism into something more specific and considered. For groups and event organisers, the connection to Levi's broader resort infrastructure, including its water park and dining options, makes the property a practical choice for incentive travel and destination gatherings as much as for individual ski holidays, with the added draw of a genuinely unusual setting for corporate retreats. Design Hotel Levi's nomination recognises a hotel that treats design not as decoration but as a genuine response to place, translating the raw creative force of the Lappish wilderness into a built environment worth experiencing in its own right, one that rewards guests who take the time to notice the details rather than rushing straight to the slopes.
Istanbul, Türkiye
InterContinental Istanbul
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InterContinental Istanbul Few addresses in Istanbul carry the weight of prestige and accessibility in equal measure quite like InterContinental Istanbul's position in Taksim. Sitting at the cultural and commercial heart of the city, the hotel bridges two audiences with genuine ease: the corporate traveller arriving for high-level engagements, and the leisure guest drawn to one of the world's most storied cities, a metropolis that sits at the literal crossroads of two continents. Its location does much of the work. Walking distance from the Istanbul Congress Center and the Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Center makes the hotel a natural choice for international conferences, corporate summits and incentive groups, supported by versatile meeting facilities and an events team experienced in executing programmes at scale, from intimate diplomatic gatherings to conferences numbering in the thousands. The hotel's proximity to these venues removes much of the friction that typically complicates large-scale event logistics in a major city. At the same time, the hotel opens directly onto the city's cultural core, with views over the Bosphorus taking in the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Istanbul's historic peninsula from many of its guest rooms. Few cities offer a view that compresses so many centuries of history into a single sightline, and the hotel has been positioned to take full advantage of it, with rooms and suites arranged to maximise the outlook wherever the building's footprint allows. Guests staying for leisure find themselves within easy reach of Taksim Square, İstiklal Street, Dolmabahçe Palace and the Nişantaşı district, giving the hotel a rare dual identity: business-ready by day, a genuine gateway to the city's history and culture by evening. A short walk in almost any direction opens onto centuries of layered history, Ottoman, Byzantine and thoroughly contemporary influences sitting side by side, and the hotel's concierge team is well versed in helping guests navigate that density efficiently. The property's fitness centre, spa and pools round out a stay that can flex from packed conference schedules to unhurried cultural exploration without friction, giving business travellers a genuine opportunity to decompress between meetings. InterContinental Istanbul's nomination reflects a hotel that has fully understood its geography and built a guest experience around it, proving that business efficiency and cultural immersion can share the same address without compromise on either side, and that a hotel's greatest asset is sometimes simply knowing exactly where it stands.
Koh Samui, Thailand
Garrya Tongsai Bay Samui
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Garrya Tongsai Bay Samui Garrya Tongsai Bay Samui arrives as something genuinely new on the island: the debut property for the Garrya brand in Thailand, and a marker of a fresh chapter for sustainable hospitality in the region. Purpose-built to deliver serenity, equilibrium and relaxation, the five-star retreat centres on a private beach that meets its surroundings without abrupt edges, a natural transition rather than a constructed one, achieved through careful landscaping that works with the site's existing topography rather than against it. As the newest addition to the Banyan Group family, the property carries the design sensibility and operational polish that reputation implies, but its identity is distinctly its own. The description the resort gives itself, a gorgeously crafted oasis, understates just how deliberately every element has been considered, from the layout of its outdoor spaces to the way sea views are framed from its restaurant and event areas. Even small architectural choices, the angle of a walkway, the placement of a shade structure, appear to have been made with the guest's eventual sightline in mind. Sustainability sits at the centre of the property's story rather than at its margins, a positioning that resonates strongly with today's conscious traveller and with corporate clients seeking credible environmental commitments for meetings and incentive events alike. This is not sustainability as an afterthought bolted onto an existing operation but a design principle built into the property from its earliest planning stages, visible in everything from material sourcing to energy management. Wedding planners and event organisers will find a venue built for occasions that need both visual drama and genuine intimacy, with spaces that can flex from small private ceremonies to larger celebratory gatherings without losing the sense of exclusivity that draws couples to Koh Samui in the first place. Individual guests, meanwhile, benefit from a spa, ocean-facing dining and a beauty offering designed for slower, more restorative stays, with treatment menus that draw on regional wellness traditions alongside more contemporary spa techniques. Garrya Tongsai Bay Samui's nomination marks the arrival of a brand with real ambition for the region, and a property that has used its debut to set a high bar for what sustainable luxury on Koh Samui can look like, one likely to influence how future developments on the island approach the balance between guest experience and environmental stewardship.
Diyar Al Muharraq, Kingdom of Bahrain
Address Beach Resort Bahrain
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Address Beach Resort Bahrain Overlooking the Arabian Gulf, Address Beach Resort Bahrain has positioned itself as a destination built for scenic elegance and unhurried time by the water. Its 117 rooms are arranged to make the most of that setting, from interconnecting rooms designed for large families to Deluxe Rooms built for comfort and panoramic sea-view suites intended for guests who want the coastline as a constant backdrop, visible from nearly every vantage point within the property. The resort's connection to Marassi Galleria Mall extends its offering well beyond the property line, giving guests direct access to a curated mix of boutiques, dining and attractions without ever needing to leave the immediate area. This integration between resort and retail destination is increasingly rare and gives the property a distinct advantage for guests who want the option of variety without the inconvenience of arranging separate transport. Inside the resort itself, The Spa at Address has built a strong reputation of its own, drawing repeat guests specifically for its treatment programme rather than simply as an add-on to a broader stay. The Lobby and its dedicated Restaurant round out a food and beverage programme designed to satisfy a wide range of palates, moving comfortably between casual all-day dining and more considered evening service. A temperature-controlled infinity pool, framed by palms, anchors the property's outdoor experience, with The Pool Lounge and The Garden offering more relaxed spaces to unwind over a chilled drink or a light bite. Sustainability runs through the resort's operations as a genuine initiative rather than an afterthought, a detail that matters increasingly to both individual travellers and the corporate and event clients who use the property's venue spaces for meetings, incentive travel and celebrations. Meeting rooms and dedicated events venues give the resort real flexibility for the corporate market, while its limousine service and waterpark broaden its appeal into leisure and family segments that many comparably positioned resorts overlook. The combination of a private beach, kids' club and waterpark also makes the resort a strong fit for multigenerational travel, an audience often underserved by properties built primarily around adult luxury, and one that increasingly drives repeat bookings in the region's competitive beach resort market. Address Beach Resort Bahrain's nomination reflects a property that has managed to be many things at once, a family destination, a wellness retreat and an events venue, without diluting the quality of any single one of them, a balancing act that speaks to the strength of its underlying operational planning.
Marassi, Kingdom of Bahrain
Vida Beach Resort Marassi Al Bahrain
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Vida Beach Resort Marassi Al Bahrain Vida Beach Resort Marassi Al Bahrain marks a genuine milestone for its brand: the first Vida Hotels and Resorts property outside the UAE, and a bold statement of intent for EMAAR Hospitality's regional ambitions. Chic and beachfront by design, the resort was conceived to help guests relax, rejuvenate and reconnect, with direct access to the beach and to Marassi Galleria Mall shaping the pace of a stay from the moment guests arrive and check in. With 157 hotel rooms and 141 serviced apartments, the property serves both the traditional leisure traveller and longer-stay guests who need the flexibility of an apartment-style setup without sacrificing resort-level service, a combination that broadens its appeal considerably beyond a typical beach resort. This dual inventory allows the property to capture everything from a weekend getaway to an extended relocation stay under a single roof. Its food and beverage line-up carries genuine range, from Origins, the resort's award-winning all-day dining restaurant, to The Bistro by Origins, a French Mediterranean specialty concept, and Stage2, a cosy lobby lounge built for slower, more social moments over drinks. Each concept has been given enough distinct identity that guests can move between them across a multi-night stay without any sense of repetition, an important consideration for a resort positioned as a genuine lifestyle destination rather than a short-stopover hotel. The rooftop sits at the centre of the property's identity, home to a temperature-controlled infinity pool and its own dedicated Pool Bar, a setting built as much for sunset cocktails as for daytime relaxation, with views that stretch across the Marassi waterfront development. Bahrain's newest waterfront hotspot status is reinforced by the resort's environmentally conscious operations, including in-house glass bottling and motion-sensor systems, giving sustainability-focused corporate and event clients a credible story to work with when selecting a venue for meetings or incentive programmes. Vida Beach Resort's nomination recognises both the significance of its brand debut and the confidence of its execution, a resort that treats entertainment, hospitality and environmental responsibility as complementary rather than competing priorities, and one that has set a strong benchmark for how the Vida brand might expand further across the region.
Rhodes, Greece
Elissa Lifestyle Beach Resort
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Elissa Lifestyle Beach Resort Ella Elissa sits just minutes from Rhodes Town, close enough to the island's cultural landmarks to make exploration effortless, yet removed enough to function as a genuine retreat. The resort presents itself as both a haven of tranquility and a gateway to discovery, a dual identity that shapes everything from its architecture to its programming, and one that reflects a thoughtful reading of what today's Mediterranean traveller actually wants: proximity to history without sacrificing genuine rest. Dining at Ella Elissa is treated as a central part of the guest experience rather than a supporting one. Fine-dining offerings draw on the flavours of the Mediterranean, elevated further through exclusive culinary collaborations that turn individual meals into something closer to events than routine dinners. Much of this happens against sweeping sea views, giving even a simple lunch a heightened sense of occasion, with menus that shift seasonally to reflect what is freshest from local waters and nearby producers. Wellness receives the same level of attention. The resort's destination spa and wellness centre is built around the idea of a transformative journey, offering tailored treatments designed to work on both body and spirit rather than delivering a generic menu of services available at any comparable property. The surrounding seaside environment reinforces that intent, encouraging a slower, more deliberate rhythm that stands in deliberate contrast to the pace of everyday life, with treatment rooms positioned to make the most of natural light and sea air. An adults-only setting, private pool options and dedicated events venue also position the resort well for couples' retreats, intimate weddings and boutique corporate gatherings, particularly for clients seeking a Mediterranean setting without the scale and noise of larger island resorts. The resort's eco-friendly credentials add a further layer of appeal for guests and event planners who weigh environmental practice alongside aesthetic considerations when selecting a venue. Elissa Lifestyle Beach Resort earns its nomination through the consistency of its vision: a resort that treats relaxation, elegance and culinary excellence as three expressions of the same underlying philosophy, delivered without excess or unnecessary noise, and built specifically for guests who value depth of experience over sheer scale.
Palawan, Philippines
Discovery Coron
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Discovery Coron On the pristine shores of Dimakya Island, Discovery Coron has built a resort around a simple but powerful idea: that untouched natural beauty and heartfelt Filipino hospitality belong together. This private island sanctuary in Palawan invites guests into turquoise waters, vibrant coral reefs and lush tropical landscapes that feel, even now, largely unchanged by tourism, a rarity increasingly hard to find in Southeast Asia's most sought-after island destinations. Accommodation ranges from beachfront villas to more intimate suites, each designed with comfort and tranquility as the guiding principles. The design language throughout favours natural materials and open layouts, allowing sea breezes to move freely through guest spaces and keeping the built environment in conversation with its surroundings rather than sealed off from them. Mornings here begin with the sound of waves rather than an alarm, and the island's powdery sands invite the kind of unhurried walks that reset a traveller's sense of time almost immediately upon arrival. Beyond the accommodation, Discovery Coron positions itself as an experience rather than a stopover. Snorkelling and diving give guests direct access to the area's thriving marine life, with reef systems close enough to shore that even casual swimmers can encounter them easily, while a hike to Eagle's Point rewards effort with panoramic views across the island chain that few other vantage points in the region can match. Evenings can be spent over a starlit dinner on the beach, an experience the resort curates with real attention to detail, or at Sinag, the resort's newly opened restaurant, where dishes built from fresh, farm-sourced ingredients bring the flavours of the Philippines to the table with real intention and a clear sense of place. A wedding venue, yoga room and dedicated fitness centre round out an offering built for both celebration and quiet renewal, giving the resort genuine range across guest types, from couples marking a milestone to solo travellers seeking a reset. This breadth, combined with the island's relative seclusion, makes Discovery Coron equally suited to intimate destination weddings and longer wellness-focused stays. Discovery Coron's nomination reflects a resort that has understood exactly what makes Palawan special and built every element of the guest experience to protect and share that, rather than compete with it, offering a model of island hospitality that other developments in the region would do well to study.
Da Nang, Vietnam
Four Points by Sheraton Danang
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Four Points by Sheraton Danang Rising along My Khe Beach, Four Points by Sheraton Danang makes an immediate impression with its modern architecture and beachfront position, offering ocean views from the majority of its guest rooms. Every room includes a private balcony, a detail that turns something as simple as a morning coffee into a moment shaped by the sea breeze and the city's skyline stretching out beyond it, a small but meaningful touch that guests consistently mention as one of the property's strongest features. The hotel's rooftop pool, set on the 36th floor, gives the property one of its strongest signature features, a place where panoramic views of the coastline meet genuine relaxation. Few hotels in the city can match the sense of scale offered from this height, with the full sweep of My Khe Beach and the surrounding mountains visible on a clear day. Dining follows a similarly elevated approach. The Eatery, on the third floor, serves a daily breakfast buffet in an ocean-facing setting that sets a strong tone for the day ahead, while Horizon Restaurant and Bar, also on the 36th floor, combines dining with rooftop drinks and one of the city's most extensive beer selections, drawing on more than 100 craft beers from local and international breweries, a genuine point of differentiation in a city increasingly crowded with beachfront hotels. For the corporate and events market, the hotel offers modern meeting rooms and flexible event spaces alongside the international service standards guests expect of the Four Points by Sheraton name, making it a dependable choice for both business travel and leisure stays. The brand's consistency gives corporate travel managers confidence when booking across multiple properties in the region, while the specific character of the Da Nang setting keeps the experience from feeling generic. Sustainability initiatives and family-friendly features, including a kids' swimming pool and kids' club, extend the hotel's appeal across a genuinely broad guest base, from business travellers extending a trip into a weekend to families building a full beach holiday around the property. Four Points by Sheraton Danang's nomination recognises a hotel that pairs dependable international standards with a setting distinctive enough to be memorable in its own right, proving that brand consistency and local character are not mutually exclusive when a property is designed and operated with genuine care.
Urla, İzmir, Türkiye
Doors Urla Hotel & Bungalows
REVE TRAVEL MAGAZINE
Doors Urla Hotel & Bungalows Among centuries-old olive trees in the heart of Urla, Doors Urla Hotel and Bungalows has built an intimate retreat where refined design meets the unhurried rhythm of the Aegean coast. A short drive from İzmir city centre and Adnan Menderes International Airport, the property manages a rare balance: genuine accessibility paired with the feeling of a boutique countryside escape, a combination that has made it increasingly popular with both domestic and international travellers seeking an alternative to Türkiye's more crowded coastal resorts. The architecture reflects that same balance. A contemporary, nature-integrated design approach runs through the property, with rooms and bungalows featuring private terraces, natural textures and warm, understated interiors that favour calm sophistication over spectacle. Materials have clearly been selected with the surrounding landscape in mind, and the buildings themselves seem to defer to the centuries-old olive groves rather than compete with them for attention. A deliberately low-density layout gives every guest space and privacy, qualities that define genuine boutique hospitality far more convincingly than scale ever could, and that set the property apart from larger resorts along the same stretch of coast. Personalised service sits at the centre of the guest experience, expressed through curated wine tastings along the renowned Urla wine route, tailored culinary journeys and private event concepts built around individual guest expectations rather than a fixed programme. The Urla region's emergence as one of Türkiye's most exciting wine destinations gives the property a genuine point of distinction, and the hotel has clearly built strong relationships with local producers to give guests access to experiences not easily arranged independently. Families are well catered for too, with spacious bungalow options offering flexibility without sacrificing the property's overall sense of elegance, giving multigenerational groups the option of togetherness and privacy in equal measure. Secure outdoor areas and a genuinely pet-friendly policy round out a stay designed to accommodate real life rather than an idealised version of it, a practical touch that resonates strongly with returning guests. Doors Urla Hotel and Bungalows earns its nomination through its commitment to intimacy at every scale, proving that a boutique property built around fewer rooms and more attention can rival far larger resorts in the depth of experience it offers, and that the Urla region deserves serious attention from travellers who have not yet discovered it.
2024
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