MICHELIN doesn't just rate restaurants. Its Keys — the hotel equivalent of stars — were handed out again in the 2026 selection, unveiled on 18 September, and Thailand-based group Minor Hotels came away with 22 Keys across 18 properties in 13 countries. That's nine more Keys than last year, spread across three of its brands: Anantara, Avani and Tivoli.
Four properties made the top tier of Two Keys, meaning 'an exceptional stay': Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort in Thailand, Anantara Palais Hansen Vienna in Austria, Anantara Stanley & Livingstone Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, and the Tivoli Doelen in Amsterdam. The other 14 earned One Key for 'a very special stay'. Nine of the 18 are first-timers this year.
The new additions read like a tempting shortlist. Jaipur gets India's first Anantara at the Jewel Bagh, a Rajasthani craft-filled retreat on the city's quiet edge. In the UAE, Anantara Mina Ras Al Khaimah sits on a private peninsula with that emirate's first overwater villas, while Anantara Sir Bani Yas Island Al Sahel puts 30 pool villas inside a wildlife reserve where Arabian oryx and gazelles wander free. Africa's first Key-bearing Anantara is the Stanley & Livingstone at Victoria Falls — 16 suites inside a private game reserve with black rhino, and the falls themselves 15 minutes away. In Europe, Vienna's Neo-Renaissance Palais Hansen (with its one-star EDVARD restaurant) and Rome's Palazzo Naiadi on Piazza della Repubblica both won nods, as did Portugal's Tivoli Kopke Porto Gaia, built inside the restored cellars of Kopke, the world's oldest Port house. São Paulo's Tivoli Mofarrej became the group's first Key winner in the Americas.
The repeat winners are worth noting too, because consistency is what the Keys reward. Anantara Hua Hin, Lawana Koh Samui, Rasananda Koh Phangan and Villa Padierna Palace in Marbella have now held Keys three years running, alongside Qasr Al Sarab in Abu Dhabi's desert, Anantara New York Palace Budapest and FCC Angkor by Avani in Siem Reap. The Seychelles' Anantara Maia, on the hillside above Anse Louis on Mahé, rounds out the newcomers.
Why does this matter for your next trip? MICHELIN Keys are assessed by anonymous inspectors using the same rigour as the restaurant stars — architecture, service, personality, value. If you're torn between resorts in the UAE, Thailand or Portugal, this list is a genuinely independent quality filter. It also flags some fresher options than the usual big-name suspects, like a former palace on Vienna's Ringstrasse or a wine-cellar hotel across the Douro from Porto. Expect Key properties to book up faster and price higher once the announcements land, so if one of these is on your wishlist, lock in dates early — especially for the Two Key standouts.
Via Breaking Travel News
