AHEAD MEA is judged by an independent panel of experts, comprising leading hospitality architects, designers, owners, operators, developers and industry commentators.
The judges for AHEAD MEA are acknowledged industry leaders, who represent a wide spectrum of the disciplines involved in delivering new hotel projects across the region.
Marc Dardenne joined Jumeirah in September 2016 as Group Chief Operating Officer and oversees group operations across its international portfolio. He has a long and established career as a hotelier, having worked internationally for more than 30 years.
He has been instrumental in the development of a number of brands and curated guest experiences across a range of diverse hospitality assets including hotels, branded residences, serviced apartments, resorts and clubs.
Dardenne’s appointment hailed his return to Dubai after 5 years in Singapore. His experience has enhanced the Jumeirah management team as well as Jumeirah’s continued evolution as a leading hospitality brand. A Belgium national, Dardenne has lived and worked in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East and is fluent in French, English and German.
The creative powerhouse behind Bishop Design LLC, the international multi award winning boutique firm, is owner and founder, Paul Bishop. Paul is widely regarded as one of the UAE’s leading commercial and hospitality designers in the UAE and is noted for his ability in creating such diverse and unique concepts such as La Serre Bistro & Boulangerie, UAE brand Caramel Restaurant and Lounge which is soon to open its first European location in London as well as working with world renowned chefs Massimo Bottura and Jean Edern Hurstel for new F&B venues Torno Subito on the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai and Restaurant Edern soon to open in Paris, France.
Paul’s ability to further incorporate international concepts into the UAE F&B industry such as BOA, KOI and Toro + KO from the USA, Scalini’s in London and Ketchup Burger Restaurant & Bar from Russia is a further testament to his extensive knowledge and experience within the Interior Design industry. Following such success, Paul has recently integrated his skillset further into the hospitality industry as well as his portfolio with multiple hotel’s currently under design with operators such as Rotana and Hilton including boutique hotel brands soon to be revealed in the Middle East.
With over twenty years of creative experience spanning hotel, retail, residential and commercial projects, Marcos Cain has spearheaded hospitality concepts and projects across Asia, Australia and the Middle East - from award winning boutique hotels, to iconic newbuilds such as The Cook, The Meet, The Brew at the Kerry Hotel, Pudong, and Hotel Jen in Beijing. His most recent projects include the Waldorf Astoria in the Maldives, The Ritz Carlton Amman and Katara Sharq Village.
A passionate spokesperson for hospitality and F&B design, cain is a regular guest speaker at events on innovation and sustainability. His accodales to date include; the Asia Hotel Design award, Middle East Interior Design award and the International House and Property award, and he has been recognized across a large range of categories, from best hotel and restaurant to luxury urban escape.
Design Director Claire Craig established WA International’s Dubai office in 1996, which subsequently became one of the region’s most well known design consultancies. She leads a team of international design professionals, and has contributed to the interiors of properties in Dubai, across the UAE and abroad.
Craig brings to the team an enthusiastic approach to design, and keen leadership guided by a wealth of knowledge and experience. Having worked previously in Canada, USA, Saudi Arabia, London and Egypt, she embodies the spirit of an international and culturally diverse designer.
Craig has witnessed the evolution and growth of the region, and her contributions to projects including the Address Downtown, One & Only the Palm, and The Westin, Al Habtoor City have helped make the UAE a renowned hospitality and travel destination.
With a background in architecture, it is her love and passion for all things design that has led her to this profession, and aided her in creating original and distinctive properties.
Pallavi Dean is the founder and creative force behind Pallavi Dean Interiors, a boutique design consultancy. The company’s mission is to create experiences through design, and has an international portfolio spanning three continents, flagship projects include the new Delano in Dubai, Paramount Hotels and Resorts in Doha and the Edelman HQ in Abu Dhabi.
A trained architect and sustainability specialist, Dean has won awards for her work across sectors including the commercial, hospitality and residential markets. She was born in India, raised in Dubai and spent years working in London, and her designs reflect these eclectic influences. A former professor of interior design at the American University of Sharjah, she strives to implement the latest theoretical and practical research into the firm’s designs.
Dean debuted her furniture line Tension in 2016, a line that documents her design journey to date.
Carol Finnie of dwp creates bespoke interior designs suited to clients’ individual needs. With over 26 years experience, she has successfully completed a diverse range of projects, and spent part of her career in the US as project director for the renovation of The Pierre Hotel in New York.
Taking inspiration from her many interests, and combining functionality and creative design with commercial realities, she is adept at communicating how excellence in design maximises value for the client.
As Regional Portfolio Director for the Middle East, Finnie has a detailed, passionate and thorough approach, and contributes critical analysis, planning and design guidance to each project. Her ability to execute experiential spaces, customised to the culture she’s designing for, means that she treats every project in a unique way.
Her expertise in construction methods, subconsultants, coordination and cost analysis, combined with her knowledge of materials, ensures the client's design vision is delivered on time and to a high standard.
Beat Fornaro is Area Director of Portfolio Development for Design Hotels™. He is responsible for the curation of the hand-picked portfolio of one-of-a-kind properties across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. With his multidisciplinary background of 15 years in hospitality and tourism. Beat held positions in the US, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. He is passionate about forward-thinking hotel concepts that engage local culture with international hotel standards to create exceptional guest experiences. In his role, he looks for hoteliers who act as elicitors for the guest’s personal enrichment.
Before joining Design Hotels™, Beat worked many years in Sub-Saharan Africa, where he has been responsible for creating and implementing hospitality related projects in challenging environments. Among others, in partnership with his alma mater, École hôtelière de Lausanne, he has built a hotel school in Angola.
Isabel Pintado’s mandate as Senior Vice President, Design and Innovation at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is to continue to evolve the brand’s design vision and aesthetic across its growing global portfolio of hotels, resorts and residences. In this newly created role, she works in partnership with the Senior Vice President, Architectural Design & Construction, and reports directly to the President, Global Operations.
Working closely with each property’s owners, design consultants and on-site teams, she oversees new builds, conversions and enhancement projects. In addition, she is engaging in multi-disciplinary collaboration with other Four Seasons teams with a focus on enhancing the guest experience in strategic operational areas including guest rooms, food and beverage outlets, spas, the brand’s Kids For All Seasons program, and expanding retail offerings. A particular area of interest is the integration of wellness programming into all areas of hotel operations.
In addition to working with the world’s leading visionaries in the design space, including forging new relationships with designers on behalf of the brand, Isabel seeks inspiration beyond the usual creative resources. Grounded in the belief that great design goes beyond the visual and tactile, she takes a critical eye to the flow and function of spaces, encompassing how they work and, for guests, residents and employees, how they feel.
Prior to joining Four Seasons in early 2021, Isabel lead several top design studios around the world. In 2020, Design Middle Eastmagazine placed Isabel in the #1 position on its annual Creative 30 Power List. Previously, she accumulated more than 25 years of experience working in the design industry, with studies at INSEAD, Stanford University and the University of Wales.
Fluent in both English and Spanish, Isabel is currently based in Dubai, with plans to relocate to the company’s corporate office in Toronto in future.
Sheri Y. Smith joined Marriott International in 1986, and currently serves as Senior Director of Interior Design for Global Design Middle East and Africa. With over thirty years of experience in the design industry, her passion for excellence and forward thinking design has resulted in memorable guest experiences around the globe.
Smith manages interior design decisions throughout the Middle East and Africa, and is responsible for instilling each property with unique character. Her expertise ranges from site market analysis to acquisition, conversion, renovation and new-build projects. She has further contributed to product branding, positioning and strategic brand product implemetations. Her international experience spans the Americas, Asia, Europe, and MEA, with her work present throughout the luxury, lifestyle, full and select service markets.
Over the past 15 years he has successfully produced one of the most diverse portfolios; designing luxury and lifestyle hotels with some of the best international hospitality brands. He has created distinctive and original environments which reflect the Client’s aesthetic vision. He has travelled the world collecting experiences from Shanghai, Paris, the Maldives, Los Angeles, Singapore and recently Dubai. In Dubai, he leads a multicultural team of over 60 designers, inspiring and guiding them on their journey to achieve successful and unique projects, cultivating their skills and creative diversities.
David’s keen sense for design and dedication is shown with his handling of multiple projects while delivering the high standards and quality in projects that can be seen all throughout the world. Speaking English, French and Dutch coupled with his life experience gives David a cultural sensitivity and uniqueness that each of his projects and clients demand.
The judging process for AHEAD MEA has been developed over the past 20 years to ensure a rigorous, robust and balanced procedure is followed to select the final winners in each category.
The criteria for success are based not only on creative excellence, but also on commercial viability.
As well as projects that are aesthetically impressive, the judges will be looking for evidence that winning designs have also met the needs of client and customers alike.
The judges will be looking for submissions showing rigorous and appropriate design, demonstrating a sensible use of budget to contribute to the guest experience as well as the “theatre” of hotel life while satisfying the client brief.
Submitted material should demonstrate clearly why the project is thought to be worth an award in its chosen category and how the design sets the project at an award winning level.
Click here to see our AHEAD Checklist, which guides you through the entry process.
RH Contract provides a business-to-business partnership like no other in the industry. With our multi-category product assortment, unparalleled product design and curation capabilities, uniquely integrated interior design approach, the benefits of RH’s purchasing power, and our global supply chain and logistics scale, RH Contract has proven to be a unique, valuable project partner.
Visit siteThe brand Lasvit, founded in 2007 by Leon Jakimič, sheds new light on Bohemian glass and takes it into the next millennium. Lasvit combines the authenticity of glass craft with innovative technologies and creative craftsmanship. In a few short years, Lasvit has established itself as the authority delivering bespoke lighting sculptures and art installations made from hand-blown glass.
Collaborations with renowned designers and artists produce also unique glass collections. Nendo, Ross Lovegrove, Daniel Libeskind, Maarten Baas, Czech legends René Roubíček and Bořek Šípek are among those who choose Lasvit in order to embody their unconventional artistic vision, endow it with the precision and mastery of our glassmakers, and produce impressive creative oeuvre. This is a manifesto of Lasvit’s uncompromising mission: To transform glass into breathtaking light and design experiences.
Visit siteTOPHOTELPROJECTS is the heart of a global community of suppliers and decision-makers which initiates and supports the communication relating to building, design, furnishing, and operation of hotels.
We are a German research firm covering global hotel constructions, that over a decade branched out into hospitality events, media, and hotel design.
No other company comes close in supporting the hotel industry by efficiently combining different business areas into one integrated solution.
Ever since the hotel industry veteran Rolf W. Schmidt founded the company in 2009, our core activity is building the world’s most comprehensive directory of:
We took the complex, ever-evolving global hospitality industry and introduced it to our German sense of efficiency and sheer hard work.
Our research team of some 25 experienced professionals spends 1,800 hours a month researching hotel projects around the world.
Our database has been 10 years in the making, during which we gathered information on over 24,000 hotel projects and 120,000 related companies. Currently, our database has information on more than 6,500 ongoing hotel projects worldwide – important details included.
TOPHOTELPROJECTS today represents an exhaustive, ever-growing network of professionals from all major sectors of the hospitality industry: owners, developers, investors, brands, operators, architects, designers, and suppliers.
In 2019, TOPHOTELPROJECTS and Sleeper Media signed a strategic partnership with mutual co-investment. This partnership combines digital expertise and in-depth data of TOPHOTELPROJECTS with Sleeper Media’s leading hospitality offerings. It is all about synergy and a win for all sectors of the industry.
Visit siteAkula, a leading manufacturer of marine-grade outdoor furniture has established itself as a trusted partner for the world’s leading hospitality and cruise operators, offering an extensive range of solutions designed to meet the unique needs of these demanding environments.
With a unique dual focus on custom manufacturing and quick-ship capabilities, Akula stands out. This approach allows them to provide personalised solutions that cater to specific design and functionality requirements while running a quick-ship program that ensures timely delivery to meet tight project timelines. This makes Akula a preferred choice for clients who require bespoke designs and efficiency.
Engineered to withstand the rigors of outdoor environments, Akula's products are built to last. Every piece is manufactured to endure extreme conditions, including UV exposure, seawater, chlorinated water, and fluctuating temperatures, with minimal maintenance required. This commitment to durability ensures that Akula’s furniture not only enhances outdoor spaces but also offers long-term value.
Akula's global footprint, with offices in the UK, USA, UAE, and Hong Kong, underscores its worldwide reach and ability to serve clients across the globe. This international presence facilitates a deep understanding of market needs and ensures that Akula is not just a name but a global standard in outdoor furniture.
Akula’s success is rooted in its dedication to quality, innovation, and customer service. By continuously pushing the boundaries of design and technology, Akula remains at the forefront of the outdoor furniture industry, delivering solutions that are as robust as they are elegant.
Visit siteKALDEWEI – your worldwide partner for iconic bathroom solutions shaped from superior steel enamel. KALDEWEI’s extensive range of bathtubs, shower surfaces, and washbasins are ideally suited to the demands of the hospitality industry delivering an increased level of health and wellbeing awareness for your hotel. The smooth, non-porous glass surface not only gives you security against germs and dirt but is also the material of the future. KALDEWEI steel enamel is made of 100% natural materials and is 100% recyclable, so it’s good for your guests and the planet too.
To learn more visit KALDEWEI.com
Visit siteFounded in 1892 in Switzerland, LAUFEN has become one of the world's leading companies for sanitary ceramics. Today LAUFEN Bathrooms provided integrated bathroom concepts with high-quality products, ranging from sanitary ceramics to bathtubs and shower trays, furniture, faucets, and accessories.
Visit siteMaison&Objet (SAFI, a joint subsidiary of Ateliers d'Art de France and RX France) has been leading and bringing together the international decoration, design, and lifestyle community since 1994.
Its trademark is its ability to elicit productive international meetings, to drive the visibility of the brands that join its exhibitions and its digital platform, but also its singular instinct for highlighting the trends that will set the heart of the interior design planet racing. Maison&Objet's mission is to reveal talent, to offer opportunities for discussion and inspiration both online and offline, and to facilitate the development of businesses.
With two annual exhibitions and Paris Design Week in September, Maison&Objet serves as an indispensable barometer for the entire sector. Online since 2016, MOM (Maison&Objet and More) allows buyers and brands to continue their exchanges, launch new collections, and make contacts beyond physical meetings. Weekly launches of new products provide an ongoing boost to the industry. In 2023, Maison&Objet rolled out new digital services, and MOM also became a marketplace.
On social networks, discoveries are made on a daily basis by a community of almost 2 million active professionals on Facebook, Instagram (+1M followers), Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Xing, WeChat, and now TikTok.
Spearheading the Paris Capitale de la Création label, Maison&Objet is a catalyst for positioning Paris as a major magnet for international creative talents.
Visit siteDesigning and manufacturing everything in bathrooms.
Roca began life as a family business manufacturing cast iron radiators at a factory in Gavà, near Barcelona in 1917. Over the years, the portfolio gradually expanded and by 1929, Roca entered the bathroom environment for the first time. With an attentive focus on social changes, Roca has since been pioneering when tackling issues surrounding sustainability, design, and technology, and remains at the forefront of these innovations today. Today, Roca reaches over 170 countries, supplied by 76 production plants with more than 20,000 employees worldwide. After one hundred years, Roca is still proud to call itself a family business.
Visit siteVilleroy & Boch, formed in 1748, is a leading ceramics manufacturer steeped in European culture and history, and one of the biggest international premium brands in the areas of bathrooms and wellness.
Villeroy & Boch offers the finest and most innovative bathroom products and furnishing concepts for both private customers and property developers. The company is a pioneer in the realm of ceramic product design and innovation. Villeroy & Boch beautiful, high-quality products are hallmarks of French design flair and German engineering efficiency.
Visit sitePreciosa Lighting elevates the heritage of Bohemian crystal through contemporary lighting designs since 1724. The company is built on centuries of tradition and the unique art of master glassmakers from Crystal Valley. We honour this heritage and craftsmanship by creating innovative lighting products that stand the test of time.
Our lighting styles range from individual luxury lighting to dynamic and interactive installations. As a global company, Preciosa cooperates with designers worldwide to create exclusive lights that reflect our spirit. Our historic chandeliers and contemporary projects can be found in hotels, resorts, fine restaurants, luxury residences, cultural institutions and on board yachts and cruise ships in locations as varied as New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Moscow or London.
Preciosa Lighting can create unrivaled emotional experiences by combining the traditional art form of chandelier craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. This knowledge is what drives our intention to unveil the symbolic as well as the aesthetic power of decorative lighting. It led us to create Preciosa’s Signature Designs which are highlighted by countless customization possibilities to perfectly fit the owner’s desires.
Signature Designs are authentic, timeless, and celebrate design. We are inspired by the allure of crystal combined with light. Creative craftsmanship is evident through the versatility of each light; customizable for space and its uses. Preciosa’s advanced use of technology is seen in every element of the design. They present contemporary styles with a timeless quality.
Visit siteFor 30 years Gessi has been designing and creating concepts to enhance the use and benefits of water with the commitment to realise the aspirations of style, personalisation, physical and mental wellbeing of individuals in the most private of living spaces. Creating a new sector, the Private Wellness sector, Gessi has transformed places that were previously utilitarian into environments capable of exciting and regenerating those who live in them on a daily basis.
Created in a zero impact green park, the company's creations bring a message of beauty, love of nature, attention and safety for the user into the homes of those who choose them. The serenity and passion with which they are made, engraved in each object, give a positive vibration to whoever uses and enjoys them.
A global reference for lifestyle, innovation, design and sustainability, the Gessi collections furnish the world's most beautiful hotels, public spaces, yachts and private homes.
Visit siteThe Awards were first launched at the House of Lords in 2016 to recognise, celebrate and reward accessibility across hotels, restaurants and other public venues worldwide.
The judges focus on style, thoughtful design, innovation and liberty that delivers exceptional accessibility. The aim is to encourage hospitality industry bosses, architects and designers worldwide to consider ways in which they can address the current and future needs of disabled guests.
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