Dining Experiences • Restaurant Sector Awards
Resort Restaurant Awards
A World Apart
Where Destination Dining Becomes an Experience
A resort restaurant is never simply a place to eat. It is the heart of a holiday, the table where a honeymoon is sealed, the terrace where families return year after year for the same dish at the same golden hour. Whether perched above a turquoise lagoon, tucked into an alpine valley, or hidden among the dunes of a desert escape, the finest resort restaurants understand that they are creating memory as much as cuisine — and the very best make both unforgettable.
The Resort Restaurant Awards were created to honour these singular establishments: the all-day grills and barefoot beach clubs, the over-water fine-dining pavilions, the spa-side bistros and the cellar restaurants that anchor the world’s most celebrated retreats. These are kitchens that must perform flawlessly far from major supply chains, delight guests who arrive with the highest expectations, and sustain that standard across breakfast, lunch, sundowners and a tasting menu — sometimes all on the same day. 🏖️
This recognition matters because resort dining is one of the most demanding disciplines in hospitality. To win is to be acknowledged not only for what reaches the plate, but for the seamless choreography of warmth, setting and consistency that turns a meal into the reason a guest comes back. Explore the full landscape of categories across our restaurant sectors and award categories.
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The Honours
What We Recognise
Six distinct accolades celebrate the breadth of excellence within resort dining — from flagship signature venues to the rising talent reshaping how guests eat on holiday.
Resort Restaurant of the Year
Our highest distinction, awarded to the resort restaurant that most completely unites exceptional cuisine, captivating setting and faultless hospitality into a single, repeatable experience guests travel for.
Best New Resort Restaurant
For a venue opened within the past two years that has already established a confident identity, a distinctive menu and the kind of buzz that draws guests beyond the resort gates.
Resort Dining Excellence Award
Recognising sustained, year-on-year quality — the establishment whose standards never waver across seasons, occupancy peaks and the full sweep of its all-day operation.
Rising Star Resort Restaurant
Celebrating a young chef or emerging venue within a resort whose creativity, energy and ambition signal a genuine new voice in destination dining.
Best Resort Menu
For the most thoughtful, balanced and sense-of-place menu — one that champions local produce, tells a story of its destination and reads as beautifully as it tastes.
Best Resort Guest Experience
Honouring the venue where service, atmosphere and personal touches combine to make every guest feel anticipated, remembered and quietly spoiled from arrival to farewell.
Eligibility
Who Should Enter
If your kitchen lives within a resort, retreat or destination property, there is a place for you in these awards.
Beach & Island Resort Restaurants
Barefoot beach clubs, over-water pavilions and lagoon-side grills where the ocean is part of the menu.
Mountain & Ski Resort Dining
Alpine chalets, slope-side terraces and fireside restaurants serving guests at altitude.
Desert & Wilderness Lodges
Remote camps and dune retreats delivering refined cuisine far from the nearest supply route.
Signature Fine-Dining Venues
The flagship tasting-menu restaurant within a luxury resort, often chef-led and reservation-only.
All-Day & Buffet Restaurants
The hardest-working kitchens in any resort, serving breakfast through dinner without dropping a beat.
Spa & Wellness Restaurants
Health-forward menus, plant-led kitchens and nourishing dining tied to wellness programmes.
Resort Cellar & Sommelier Venues
Wine-led restaurants and private cellars where pairings and service take centre stage.
Resort Culinary Teams
Executive chefs and brigades whose leadership defines the dining identity of an entire property.
The Reward
Benefits of Winning
Global Visibility Among Travellers
A win places your restaurant in front of an international audience of discerning guests, travel planners and luxury press actively seeking their next destination meal.
A Powerful Booking Driver
Independent recognition reassures guests choosing where to stay and dine, lifting covers, walk-ins from neighbouring properties and high-value repeat reservations.
Prestige That Endures
The award seal, certificate and trophy give your venue a credible, lasting mark of distinction to carry across menus, websites and the wider resort brand.
Team Pride & Talent Retention
Recognition honours the chefs, servers and hosts who deliver excellence daily — a meaningful boost to morale that helps attract and keep the best people.
How We Judge
Judging Criteria
Every nomination is assessed against six pillars that together define a truly outstanding resort restaurant.
- Cuisine — the quality, flavour, technique and sense of place in every dish, from breakfast staples to the signature tasting menu.
- Service — warmth, attentiveness and professionalism that anticipates needs and makes every guest feel personally cared for.
- Ambience — how setting, design, lighting and atmosphere combine with the destination to create a memorable backdrop for dining.
- Consistency — the ability to hold standards across seasons, occupancy peaks and the full span of an all-day operation.
- Innovation — creativity in menu, presentation, local sourcing and the guest experience that sets the venue apart.
- Guest Experience — the complete journey, from reservation to farewell, and the small touches that turn a meal into a lasting memory.
Beyond the Resort
Part of a Wider Celebration of Dining
Resort restaurants rarely sit in isolation. Many share a chef, a wine list or a philosophy with the world’s great hotel and independent venues. If your property spans several styles of dining, you may also wish to explore our companion honours.
Consider the Fine Dining Awards for your signature tasting venue, the Hotel Restaurant Awards for city and resort hotel kitchens, the Casual Dining Awards for relaxed all-day concepts, and the Cafe Awards for lobby lounges and poolside bars. You can also return to the awards home or celebrate destination excellence in the Maldives and beyond.
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Questions