Faena New York was named Best New Hotel at the 2026 Virtuoso Global Awards, less than a year after opening in Manhattan. The recognition marks a new chapter in Faena’s history and in the international expansion of a vision that began more than two decades ago in Buenos Aires.
The award was presented during the Virtuoso Awards Gala at Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas. One of the luxury travel industry’s most important annual gatherings, Virtuoso Travel Week brings together approximately 4,000 of the world’s leading luxury travel advisors, agency leaders and travel partners from more than 100 countries.
Selected by industry peers, Virtuoso travel advisors and network leaders, the Global Awards recognize the hotels, travel companies and individuals setting the standard for excellence across the international luxury travel industry.
Faena New York was selected from a distinguished group of finalists that included Airelles Palladio Venice, Hotel del Coronado, Park Hyatt Tokyo and the iconic Waldorf Astoria New York, placing Faena among some of the most celebrated names in global hospitality.
The distinction takes on particular significance in New York: a new expression of the Faena universe receives this recognition in a city defined by great icons of hospitality and shares the category with the Waldorf Astoria New York, one of the most iconic hotels in Manhattan’s history.
The recognition carries particular significance for a vision that began in Argentina more than two decades ago.
From Buenos Aires to Miami Beach and, more recently, New York, Faena has brought this vision to different places, creating spaces deeply connected to the identity and energy of each city. Each destination finds its own voice, yet all share the same essence: the belief that a space can be much more than a place; it can become a stage for imagination, connection, and transformation.
The opening of Faena New York in 2025 marked a new moment in that journey. In West Chelsea, alongside the High Line, the Faena universe found a new expression in one of the world’s great cultural capitals, engaging with New York’s creative energy through art, gastronomy, music, and wellness.
“Faena New York was created to bring the spirit of our world to New York, while embracing the energy, culture and creative force that define this extraordinary city. To receive this recognition so early in its journey is a great honor.” – Alan Faena
The recognition as Best New Hotel thus takes on a significance that extends beyond Faena New York. It celebrates the continuity of an idea born in the southern part of the world and its ability to evolve, cross borders, and find new forms of expression without losing its essence.
Today, that story enters a new chapter.
Following Buenos Aires, Miami Beach, and New York, Faena continues to expand its universe to Tulum, São Paulo, Dubai, Wadi Safar, and Miami River, tracing a constellation of new destinations united not by a formula, but by a way of seeing the world.
At the end of 2026, Faena Island The Red Sea will mark another milestone in this journey as Faena’s first island destination, opening a new geography for the brand and deepening an expansion that carries its vision from Argentina to some of the world’s most extraordinary destinations.
More than twenty years after its inception, Faena continues to evolve as an idea in motion. A vision that began by transforming a corner of Buenos Aires and that today crosses cities, cultures, and continents, creating worlds where beauty, imagination, and the human experience once again take center stage.
Faena New York’s recognition among the great icons of international hospitality is not merely a celebration of a new hotel. It is the affirmation of a vision that was born in Argentina, found a language of its own, and today continues to write its story around the world.
