The 50 Best Hotels

James McBride wins the SevenRooms Icon Award 2026.

James McBride has spent more than three decades shaping a career across some of luxury hospitality’s biggest names, from Ritz-Carlton and Rosewood to YTL Hotels. But it was a remote surf retreat on the Indonesian island of Sumba that became the defining chapter of his career.

After acquiring Nihiwatu with entrepreneur Christopher Burch in 2012, McBride took a different approach to luxury. Rather than smoothing away what made Sumba unique, he made the island itself the experience, from its wild landscape and surf break to its resident horses, villages and deep sense of remoteness. Reborn as Nihi Sumba, the property became a reflection of its surroundings, rooted in place, culture, emotion and adventure.

At the heart of McBride’s approach is a focus on how experiences make people feel. For an independent hotel without the pull of a global brand or loyalty programme, he understood that the strongest draw is something guests can’t simply find anywhere else – creating the kind of moments, like horses galloping along the beach, that stay with them long after they leave.

@bapakjames @sevenrooms