2 Middle East Hotels shortlisted for Michelin’s first-ever design award

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Atlantis The Royal, Dubai

For the first time, the Michelin Guide has introduced an award recognising excellence in hotel architecture and design, and two Middle East properties have made the five‑strong global shortlist.

The inaugural Michelin Architecture & Design Award focuses on properties where form and function work together to enhance the guest experience, with innovation and sustainability taking centre stage.

Atlantis Dubai’s Atlantis The Royal and Saudi Arabia’s Shebara Resort were selected for their distinctive concepts, forward‑thinking design and ability to deliver immersive stays.

They join Rosewood São Paulo in Brazil, Benesse House in Japan and Villa Nai 3.3 in Croatia on the inaugural shortlist.

The winner will be announced on 8 October at Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs during the unveiling of the 2025 Michelin Keys list of the world’s top hotels.

Michelin to reveal hotel award winners in October

Michelin to launch in Saudi Arabia

Atlantis The Royal, Dubai

Set apart by its fusion of avant‑garde architecture and large‑scale luxury, Atlantis The Royal in Dubai is described by Michelin inspectors as “less like a hotel than its own indoor/outdoor, garden‑strewn neighbourhood.”

Opened in 2023 and designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, The Royal’s six interconnected towers use cantilevered and terraced blocks to create far more than striking aesthetics, with the design bringing practical innovations such as naturally ventilated terraces, shaded gardens and a network of outdoor pools.

Atlantis The Royal, Dubai

The property houses 795 rooms and suites, fittingly dubbed Skyscapes and Seascapes, and features water-themed interiors as a tribute to the region’s history and culture, plus access to lush terraces.

Water is central throughout, highlighted by an 11.5-metre stainless steel ’Droplets’ sculpture in the lobby, private fountains in suites and three LED-lit aquariums housing more than 7,200 marine animals.

Michelin highlights the 90-metre infinity pool on the 22nd floor – one of the world’s highest – which offers panoramic views of the Palm and Arabian Gulf and the dramatic skybridge that connects the upper towers.

Among other design highlights, intricate glass windows and immersive light systems reveal geometric patterns, while impressive lighting technology provides ambient visuals behind the hotel’s three aquariums, providing a spectacle for visitors.

Infinity pool at Atlantis The Royal

Shebara on Sheybara Island in Saudi Arabia

For Michelin, Shebara stands out for its commitment to regenerative tourism, paired with immersive, contemporary luxury, a combination inspectors said balances architectural ambition with environmental responsibility.

The Red Sea resort, which this year has already featured on Time’s World’s Greatest Places list for 2025 and in Prix Versailles’ World’s Most Beautiful lineup, consists of 73 stainless‑steel villas, 38 set over water on narrow supports designed to protect mangroves, coral reefs and turtle nesting sites.

Owned and operated by Red Sea Global, with architecture by UAE‑based Killa Design (the brains behind Museum of the Future and Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab), Shebara operates entirely off‑grid, powered by solar energy and earning LEED Platinum certification.

Shebara on Sheybara Island in Saudi Arabia

Michelin highlights the resort’s two villa styles — overwater and on land — each complete with private infinity pools, double daybeds and sunken lounges, plus five sea‑view dining concepts.

Guest experiences range from guided snorkelling and diving to bio-luminescent reef tours, with spa, yoga and tennis facilities adding to its sustainable‑luxury appeal.

Atlantis The Royal or Shebara could take the title when the first‑ever worldwide Michelin Key Selection is unveiled in Paris in October, with the winner of the Architecture & Design Award set to be announced at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

The event will also see the launch of Michelin’s new three‑tier Key system — One, Two and Three Keys — recognising hotels that excel across five criteria, alongside three more special property awards, from wellness to ‘opening of the year’.

More than 300 hoteliers are expected at the ceremony, marking Michelin’s biggest move yet into hospitality — and comes as the brand prepares to debut its first restaurant guide in Saudi Arabia.

For more information, visit www.michelin.com