A view of the lobby at JW Marriott Jeju Resort & Spa
A view of the lobby at JW Marriott Jeju Resort & Spa

JW Marriott Jeju Resort & Spa has taken two top honors at Marriott International's Asia-Pacific regional awards.

The resort claimed the top spot in the luxury brand category in both the "F&B Innovation Leadership General Manager" and "Top F&B Sales Growth" categories at the 2025 General Manager & Hotel Awards, organized by Marriott International for the Asia-Pacific region excluding Greater China.

The awards program evaluates performance across more than 750 Marriott International hotels in 22 countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region. JW Marriott Jeju was selected in two categories simultaneously from among that pool.

Last year, the resort brought the stories of Jeju haenyeo — the island's traditional female divers — and local producers to life as a culinary experience at its restaurant Yeowumul through a luxury dining series called "Forgotten Flavors." The initiative reached a global audience through the Netflix series "Ed & Ryu: Yeoldu Bada," produced by BBC Studios. The resort's restaurant The Flying Hog has also appeared on La Liste's World's Top 1000 Restaurants guide for two consecutive years, last year and this year.

A traditional Jeju charong dosirak [JW Marriott Jeju]
A traditional Jeju charong dosirak [JW Marriott Jeju]

Since opening in 2023, the resort has positioned its food and beverage offerings as a journey through Jeju for its guests. It has drawn on seasonal ingredients, local producers, and Jeju's everyday lifestyle and culture to reinterpret them as luxury dining experiences.

That approach continues this year. Since early July, the resort has been running a premium wellness program called "Journey Through Jeju's Forest" in partnership with the Jeju Tourism Organization, linking the healing forest of Seogwipo with the island's traditional packed-lunch culture known as "charong" to offer guests an immersive experience of Jeju's nature and food heritage. Starting in August, the resort will revamp its breakfast service, introducing a buffet that reflects a wider range of nationalities, guest preferences and seasonal ingredients. The menu and operations are being redesigned to meet evolving customer needs, deepening the brand experience through culinary expertise and authenticity.

General Manager Lee Min-young said the awards were "the fruit of the innovation that all of our staff have built together by reinterpreting Jeju's culture and stories into differentiated culinary experiences," adding that the resort would "continue to present new F&B experiences infused with the island's unique local culture."


terry@heraldcorp.com