In an era when luxury hospitality is increasingly judged not just by service, but by story, setting and a sense of place, two Vietnamese properties from Adrian Zecha’s Azerai portfolio have entered 2026 with unusual momentum.

Azerai Ke Ga Bay and Azerai La Residence, Hue, collected a string of high-profile honors across 2025, drawing recognition from some of the travel world’s most influential names. Together, the awards suggest something larger than a good year for two hotels. They point to Vietnam’s growing confidence as a luxury destination that can compete not only on beauty, but on design, character and cultural depth.

A strong year for Azerai Ke Ga Bay

Set along Vietnam’s southern coastline, Azerai Ke Ga Bay emerged as one of the country’s most celebrated boutique resorts in 2025. The all-suites-and-villas retreat was awarded a coveted MICHELIN Key in October, one of the hospitality industry’s clearest signs that a property has achieved something exceptional in the guest experience.

That recognition capped off a standout run. The resort was named one of Southeast Asia’s best boutique hotels by The Times in the UK. It also placed runner-up in the global “Most Instagrammable Hotel in the World” contest organized by U.S.-based Luxury Travel Advisor, while taking the top title for the most Instagrammable hotel in Asia, the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific.

Closer to home, readers of Smart Travel Asia voted the property one of Vietnam’s Top 10 Family Hotels. Epicure magazine then named it Vietnam’s Best Boutique Resort for 2025, reinforcing the idea that Azerai Ke Ga Bay appeals across both international tastemakers and regional travelers.

Its appeal is not difficult to understand. Located about two and a half hours from Ho Chi Minh City via a new highway, the resort sits on 4.5 hectares of gardens between sea, sand dunes and the dramatic silhouette of Hon Ba Island, home to a historic lighthouse. The setting feels carefully composed but not overworked, offering the kind of stillness that luxury travelers increasingly prize.

“Azerai Ke Ga Bay is a lush and serene tropical oasis that draws on the richness of our cultural surroundings to offer the best of Vietnamese luxury,” said General Manager Julian Moore. “We are thrilled to have received these accolades and recognition and reaffirm our commitment to continue providing truly exceptional guest experiences to each individual guest.”

In Hue, heritage remains a powerful draw

If Ke Ga Bay represents Vietnam’s contemporary beachside elegance, Azerai La Residence, Hue speaks to another side of the country’s luxury appeal: history, architecture and atmosphere.

Located in the former imperial capital, the 122-room hotel overlooking the Perfume River also enjoyed an award-rich 2025. Travel + Leisure recognized it as one of Vietnam’s best upcountry hotels, while General Manager Minh Phan Trong was named General Manager of the Year.

The hotel was also included among the country’s best hotels for 2025 by The Times of London and earned a place on Tatler’s Best of Vietnam list. NOW Travel Asia named it Asia-Pacific’s Top Heritage Hotel, while Smart Travel Asia readers voted it one of Vietnam’s top 10 hotels for exceptional service.

MICHELIN, too, singled it out, recognizing Azerai La Residence, Hue as one of its top boutique hotels in northern Vietnam for cultural getaways.

What sets the property apart is not only service, but provenance. The hotel is centered on a colonial mansion built in 1930 as part of the residence of the French Resident Superieur. Its long horizontal lines and nautical details are signatures of streamline moderne, a refined branch of art deco architecture that gives the hotel a sense of time and place many luxury properties spend years trying to manufacture.

“At Azerai, we constantly strive to ensure that our hotel and experiences transform a traveler’s sense of place,” said Minh Phan Trong. “As we like to say: The destination is just the beginning. These recent honors tell us that we’re on the right track and we look forward to helping more guests feel right at home when they stay with us.”

Why this matters for Vietnam

Luxury awards can sometimes feel like polished trophies in an industry built on polished surfaces. But in this case, the recognition matters because it reflects a shift in how Vietnam is being seen.

For years, the country’s tourism story was often told through affordability, adventure and rapid growth. Increasingly, however, Vietnam is also becoming a place where high-end travelers expect sophistication with substance: architecture that means something, service that feels intuitive rather than theatrical, and destinations that are rooted in local culture rather than floating above it.

That is where Azerai seems to have found its lane.

Founded by veteran hotelier Adrian Zecha, the brand has built its identity around elegance, refined design and discreet, attentive service in places of natural beauty and cultural interest. Even the name carries that sensibility. “Azerai” is derived from Zecha’s initials and the latter part of caravanserai, the Persian-rooted term for the storied roadside inns that once welcomed travelers across the Middle East.

It is a fitting reference. At their best, hotels do more than host people. They orient them. They make arrival feel meaningful.

In 2025, Azerai’s two Vietnamese properties did exactly that and the travel world noticed.