MICHELIN Guide Awards 2026 Keys to Nine Philippine Hotels
Last Updated on September 23, 2026 by Over Here Toronto
The MICHELIN Guide has awarded 2026 Keys to nine hotels in the Philippines, up from five properties in the country’s 2025 list. The new selection includes hotels and resorts in Metro Manila, Palawan, Cebu, Negros Occidental, and Siargao.
For the first time, two Philippine properties earned Two MICHELIN Keys: El Nido Resorts Lagen Island in Palawan and Raffles Makati. Seven more properties received One Key. Michelin released the global 2026 hotel list on September 18, 2026.
Travelers can view the full Philippine selection through the MICHELIN Guide’s official Philippine Key list.
Two Philippine Hotels Earn Two MICHELIN Keys
El Nido Resorts Lagen Island joins the Key list for the first time and goes straight into the Two-Key level.
The Palawan resort sits in a forested cove in Bacuit Bay. Its rooms include water cottages, beachfront cottages, forest rooms, and forest suites. Michelin also noted its use of Filipino materials and its work on environmental practices.
Raffles Makati moved up from One Key in 2025 to Two Keys this year. Michelin pointed to its all-suite setup, dark wood and marble interiors, original art, private butler service, Writers Bar, and private pool.
The two properties are the first Philippine hotels to reach the Two-Key level.
Seven Hotels Hold One MICHELIN Key
Seven Philippine hotels appear in the One-Key group for 2026.
The full Philippine list is:
- Two MICHELIN Keys: El Nido Resorts Lagen Island, Palawan
- Two MICHELIN Keys: Raffles Makati, Metro Manila
- One MICHELIN Key: NUSTAR Hotel Cebu, Cebu City
- One MICHELIN Key: Fairmont Makati, Metro Manila
- One MICHELIN Key: Hotel Okura Manila at Newport World Resorts, Pasay City
- One MICHELIN Key: Manami Resort, Sipalay City, Negros Occidental
- One MICHELIN Key: Amanpulo, Pamalican Island, Palawan
- One MICHELIN Key: El Nido Resorts Pangulasian Island, Palawan
- One MICHELIN Key: Nay Palad Hideaway Siargao, Siargao
Four One-Key properties are new this year: NUSTAR Hotel Cebu, Hotel Okura Manila, Manami Resort, and El Nido Resorts Pangulasian Island. Lagen Island is also new to the Key list, but it entered at the Two-Key level.
Fairmont Makati, Amanpulo, and Nay Palad Hideaway keep their One-Key status from 2025. Raffles Makati also stays on the list but moves to the higher Two-Key level.
Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu Resort, which received One Key in 2025, does not appear in the 2026 Key selection.
What a MICHELIN Key Means
MICHELIN Keys work as the hotel side of the guide’s rating system. Michelin uses Stars for restaurants and Keys for hotels.
Inspectors visit hotels without announcing who they are. They then look at five main areas: the building and interior design, service quality, the hotel’s character, value for the price, and its link to the local area.
The system has three levels. One Key marks a hotel that stands out in Michelin’s selection. Two Keys mark a higher level. Three Keys sit at the top of the system.
No hotel in the Philippines received Three Keys in 2026.
Readers who want to learn more about the rating process can check Michelin’s official guide to the MICHELIN Key system.
Palawan Has Three Hotels on the List
Palawan has the largest number of Philippine Key properties this year.
El Nido Resorts Lagen Island holds Two Keys. Amanpulo and El Nido Resorts Pangulasian Island each hold One Key.
Pangulasian Island is one of the new additions. The resort has 42 villas set near a white-sand beach and forested hillside in El Nido.
Amanpulo returns to the list with One Key. It sits on private Pamalican Island and uses design ideas linked to the Filipino bahay kubo.
Metro Manila also has three Key hotels: Raffles Makati, Fairmont Makati, and Hotel Okura Manila at Newport World Resorts.
Cebu, Negros Occidental, and Siargao Also Make the List
Outside Metro Manila and Palawan, three more properties received Keys.
NUSTAR Hotel Cebu joins the list with One Key. Manami Resort in Sipalay City also gets its first Key. Nay Palad Hideaway keeps its One-Key status in Siargao.
Michelin describes Manami Resort as a small property built into a wooded hillside above the Sulu Sea. It has 18 villas.
The spread of hotels across several regions shows that the Philippine list now includes both city stays and island resorts.
The Global MICHELIN Key List Also Grew in 2026
The Philippine results form part of a much larger global update.
Michelin says 470 hotels joined the 2026 Key selection across 79 destinations. The full list now has 2,832 Key hotels, including 155 Three-Key hotels, 657 Two-Key hotels, and 2,020 One-Key hotels.
The Philippines has nine of those properties. Michelin’s global list also shows nine Key hotels in Malaysia, 11 in Singapore, 21 in Vietnam, 47 in Indonesia, and more than 70 in Thailand.
Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the MICHELIN Guide, said the new global list reflects more investment and new ideas in the hotel sector.
“With 470 newly distinguished establishments, we are witnessing a continuous upscaling of the offering, driven by even more creative and ambitious projects.”
The Department of Tourism welcomed the Philippine results after Michelin released the list. The agency highlighted the country’s first Two-Key properties and the four new One-Key hotels.
Travelers can also browse Michelin’s wider Philippine hotel selection through the official MICHELIN Guide hotel page for the Philippines.
For 2026, the main change is clear: the Philippine Key list has grown from five hotels to nine, and the country now has two properties at the Two-Key level. Michelin has not named any Philippine Three-Key hotel this year.
