A hotel in Yunnan province walked away with four trophies at the AHEAD Asia 2026 awards, held at Pan Pacific Orchard in Singapore. Shangri-La Kunming, designed with East China Architectural Design & Research Institute and AvroKO, took prizes for its guestrooms, lobby, bar (Suma) and as the best hotel newbuild — making it the standout project of the night and a new benchmark for design-led stays in southwest China.

The ceremony also marked the start of AHEAD's 10th anniversary year. Regional winners now advance to the global round, where overall champions will be decided at the next AHEAD Global event.

Beyond Kunming, the winners list doubles as a solid shortlist for anyone planning a design-focused trip around Asia. The .Here resort in the Maldives' Baa Atoll picked up two awards, one for its landscaping and outdoor spaces and another for its suites, while South Palms Resort & Spa on Panglao Island in the Philippines also scored a double, winning both the spa & wellness and sustainability categories. It's an Accor-affiliated MGallery property, which makes it an easy one to book through the usual loyalty channels.

City hotels featured too. Spago Shanghai at The St Regis on The Bund won the restaurant category, with architecture by Foster & Partners and interiors from AB Concept — a reason in itself to book dinner if you're staying on Shanghai's waterfront. Park Hyatt Tokyo's renovation took the hotel renovation prize, notable for anyone who remembers the property from Lost in Tokyo and wants to see the refreshed version.

Further afield, Soori in Penang won the hotel conversion category, Zoland Emei in Sichuan was named best resort, The Lands by Capella in Sydney won for event spaces, and The Oberoi Vindhyavilas Wildlife Resort near Bandhavgarh National Park in India took the lodges, cabins & tented camps prize — worth flagging if tiger safari is on your list, since Bandhavgarh is one of India's most reliable parks for sightings.

Why does an interiors awards list matter to travellers? Because these are the properties designers and hoteliers themselves consider the region's best work right now — often the ones with the most considered rooms, restaurants and spas, and frequently the newest openings before they get crowded. If you like your hotels to feel designed rather than generic, this list is a ready-made inspiration board spanning China, Japan, Malaysia, India, the Maldives, the Philippines and Australia.

The next milestone comes with AHEAD Global, where these Asian winners go up against champions from other regions for the worldwide titles.