Exclusive: Gold Key Awards Honor The World’s Best Hotel Designers

One of the key ingredients with new hotel launches is the inspiration from some of the most influential designers in the world. When I enter a hotel lobby or suite, and it has a specific wow factor, it is attributed to these talented geniuses.

And now the finalists have been announced for Hospitality Media Group’s 38^th annual Gold Key Awards for Excellence in Hospitality Design sponsored by Boutique Design magazine.

This year’s nominees are diverse in nature and span the globe from Costa Rica and Los Cabos to Switzerland and China. From celebrity designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard to tennis superstar Venus Williams, the nominees all possess a unique vision creating some of my favorite properties that I had personally visited last year.

Here is a selection of my favorite categories honoring luxury properties from around the world.

The Phoenician, Scottsdale, Arizona

Designed by Parker-Torres Design Inc., Sudbury, Massachusetts and Wimberly Interiors, New York spent three years and $90 million to make The Phoenician look like a new resort with; a new lobby and Thirsty Camel bar, a new three-level spa with 24 treatment rooms, a rooftop pool, a new two-story Phoenician Athletic Club including a 4,600-square-foot fitness center, revamped pool area with a longer slide and new children’s water playground, new restaurant and separate seating areas for families, and by the end of the year a redesigned 18-hole golf course.

Rosewood Baha Mar, Nassau, The Bahamas

Designed by Wimberly Interiors in New York City and Alexander Waterworth Interiors in London, the new hotel is set on the white sand of Nassau’s Cable Beach and includes 237 guestrooms, suites and beachfront villas offering up Bahamian luxury, featuring architecture and interior styling reminiscent of a relaxed island estate.

Rosewood Baha Mar, Nassau, Bahamas

Designed by Wimberly Interiors in New York

St. Regis Astana, Kazakhstan

Designed by Wimberly Interiors in London, this new hotel features 120 guestrooms, including 23 suites with private terraces presenting views of the Astana Park and Ishim River. The hotel’s design takes inspiration from the horsemanship and nomadic culture of Kazakhstan, with a connection to the country’s ancient past. The entry courtyard is inspired by an indigenous yurt and the avant-garde interior includes modern and neo-classical elements with over 400 pieces of contemporary art.

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