The AHEAD Americas 2026 awards were handed out at Gotham Hall in New York, marking ten years of the hospitality design programme. The awards celebrate hotel design across the Americas, and the regional winners will now go head-to-head with victors from other regions at the next AHEAD Global event.
The standout performer was Rosewood Mandarina in Riviera Nayarit, Mexico, which picked up three trophies: Resort, Guestrooms and Suite. A collaboration between RLH Properties, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts and a design team including MCEstudio and Idea Associados, it is clearly one to watch for travellers chasing a design-led Pacific-coast resort.
Miami Beach's Delano had a strong night too. Its renovation by Cain International, Ennismore and Elastic won both Hotel Renovation and Lobby, while the hotel's Rose Bar took Bar, Club or Lounge — three wins for one property. If you have been waiting for an excuse to revisit the Delano post-makeover, the industry has just given you one.
Elsewhere in the US, New York picked up two wins: the Waldorf Astoria took Event Spaces after its overhaul by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Pierre-Yves Rochon, and Spa Nalai at the Park Hyatt won Spa & Wellness. Seattle's Populus, run by Aparium Hotel Group, won Hotel Conversion, while One&Only Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, Montana, took Hotel Newbuild — good news for skiers and mountain-lodge fans, as this is one of the more anticipated openings in the American Rockies.
Mexico continued its strong showing beyond Nayarit. Mira Earth Studios in Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California, won the Sustainability category — a notable nod for wine-country travellers who care about low-impact stays in Mexico's emerging wine region. Argentina got on the board with Casa Gallareta in Villa La Angostura, Patagonia, winning Lodges, Cabins & Tented Camps, and Colorado's legendary Broadmoor Hotel saw its Penrose Room named best Restaurant.
For holiday planners, this list works as a curated shortlist. If design matters to where you stay, the winners span mountain resorts, city spas, Patagonian lodges and beach iconography — and several, like Big Sky's One&Only and Riviera Nayarit's Rosewood, are exactly the kind of properties worth booking before their awards-driven buzz translates into higher rates.
