Hotel Royal Hoi An – The Legacy By The River](https://hotelroyalhoian.vn/) has been named Vietnam's Leading Riverfront Hotel 2026 at the World Travel Awards, a distinction that highlights the property's blend of cultural storytelling, riverside setting, and food-and-beverage programming along the Thu Bon River in Hoi An.
Food & Beverage at the Core
The hotel's dining portfolio is central to its guest experience and, by extension, its award profile. Wakaku Restaurant anchors the property's Japanese culinary identity, an intentional design choice rooted in the historic relationship between Vietnam and Japan — specifically the enduring love story of Vietnamese Princess Ngoc Hoa and Japanese merchant Sotaro Araki. That cultural narrative threads through the hotel's architecture, art, and menus. Royal Café serves as a casual all-day stop for coffee and lighter fare, while The River Lounge and The Maison frame an Art Nouveau-inspired pool with lounge dining and relaxed service. For hospitality operators tracking experiential F&B trends, the Wakaku concept illustrates how heritage-driven storytelling can differentiate a restaurant within a hotel setting.
The Deck's Competitive Edge
The hotel's highest-profile venue may be The Deck, billed as the highest rooftop bar in Hoi An, offering panoramic views across the Thu Bon River and the UNESCO-listed historic town. Rooftop bar concepts have become a measurable driver of ancillary revenue and social visibility across Southeast Asian hospitality markets, and The Deck positions Hotel Royal Hoi An competitively against both domestic and internationally branded properties in the region. The venue also functions as an event space for weddings, private celebrations, and corporate occasions — a revenue diversification strategy increasingly common among boutique luxury hotels aiming to reduce dependence on room-night income alone.
Recognition and Market Context
The World Travel Awards, which recognize excellence across the global travel and tourism industry, carry meaningful weight for properties competing in Vietnam's fast-growing inbound tourism market. Central Vietnam — anchored by Hoi An and Da Nang — has emerged as one of Southeast Asia's most visited cultural corridors, drawing travelers who increasingly expect food, beverage, and cultural programming to be as carefully considered as room design. For operators and restaurant professionals following hospitality-sector expansion in Asia-Pacific, Hotel Royal Hoi An's win signals that heritage-integrated F&B concepts and destination-specific dining can meaningfully shape a property's competitive positioning and industry standing. Food & Beverage Magazine has similarly tracked how culinary identity is becoming inseparable from hotel brand differentiation across the Asia-Pacific region.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
