Egyptian Resort Wins Africa’s Leading Luxury Title for the First Time in Fifteen Years

Serry Beach Resort has won both Africa’s Leading Luxury Resort 2026 and Egypt’s Leading Luxury Resort 2026 at the World Travel Awards, announced at the Africa Gala Ceremony held at Diamonds Bijoux, Zanzibar, on 28 August 2026. The two titles are contested separately and decided by separate votes, and measure different things.

One placed Serry alongside some of Africa’s most established luxury resorts, while the national category included leading international hotel brands operating in Egypt. World Travel Awards winners are selected through an online vote involving travel professionals and consumer travel buyers, not by panel appointment.

Serry Beach Resort was competing in the African category for the first time, against a shortlist that included every property to have won the title since 2019. The 2026 nominees included One&Only Cape Town; Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech; and The Oberoi, Marrakech. Other nominees included Four Seasons Resort Marrakech, One&Only Gorilla’s Nest in Rwanda, The Oberoi Beach Resort Sahl Hasheesh and Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh.

Since 2017, the award has gone to properties in Morocco or South Africa in every edition in which it was presented, while Egypt has not held the title since 2011. Serry Beach Resort is only the second Egyptian property to win the award.

Serry Beach Resort also won Egypt’s Leading Luxury Resort 2026, a category introduced in 2023. Its previous winners were The St. Regis Hotel, Cairo, followed by Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh. The 2026 shortlist again featured predominantly international hotel brands, including Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay, Steigenberger Ras Soma, Steigenberger Resort Alaya and The Chedi El Gouna. Serry was the only independently owned and operated Egyptian brand among the nominees and was the only independent in the field. This win came on Serry’s third nomination, following nominations in 2024 and 2025.

Highlighting the significance of the milestone, Dr. Islam Mahdy, Chairman and Chief Executive of Credence Hospitality Developments, shared:

“Winning this award on our first appearance in the category is a significant achievement for an Egyptian hospitality brand. The shortlist included properties that have shaped the African luxury hospitality landscape over many years, so being selected alongside them and ultimately receiving the award is an important recognition for our team and for what can be built and operated in Egypt.”

Dr. Mahdy added: “Egypt has never lacked exceptional hotels. What it has lacked is Egyptian luxury brands judged on the same terms as the international groups, and winning. We built Serry on the conviction that Egyptian culture, Egyptian hospitality and Egyptian talent are the competitive advantage, not something to be dressed in someone else’s flag.”

Credence Hospitality Developments was founded on a single mission: to celebrate Egypt’s rich culture, nature, hospitality and beauty. There is no external creative partner behind Serry. The design, the guest journey, the menu development, the music curation, the entertainment and the brand itself were all created and executed in-house by Credence’s own team in Egypt, working with Egyptian artisans and craftsmen. No part of it was handed to an international operator or an overseas design house. Each restaurant draws on a place, a period or a tradition from Egypt’s own story rather than an imported reference, from Sofra’s roots in Cairo’s commercial and social heart to Naz’s 1940s Cairo Cabaret Culture.

Serry Beach Resort, the property behind the 2026 wins, opened in 2023 on 365 metres of beautiful sandy Red Sea beachfront, ten minutes from Hurghada International Airport, and is a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts. That same Serry Beach Resort will this winter become part of a destination of three hotels, rather than one.

Both new properties were envisioned, created, and delivered by the same in-house Credence team, working with the same Egyptian artisans and craftsmen.

Serry Beach House will be an adults-only property for guests aged 16 and above, covering 19,380 square metres and featuring an 840-square-metre main pool, a private beach and Nomad, the collection’s adults-only wellness destination.

Serry Beach Villas will comprise 11 villas with a total of 33 bedrooms, ranging from one to five bedrooms, with each villa featuring a private pool.

Together with the Souk, a 6,335-square-metre retail village that includes 1,980 square metres of conference facilities, the three properties will form a connected destination on Egypt’s Red Sea coast.