West Baden Springs, Indiana –Historic Hotels of America 2015 Awards of Excellence winners were announced at West Baden Springs Hotel (1902) at French Lick Resort in West Baden Springs, Indiana. Honors were given in multiple categories ranging from Hotelier of the Year and Hotel Historian of the Year to Best Historic Resort, Historic Hotelier of the Year, and others.
Each year, these awards honor, encourage, and recognize the most exemplary historic hotels, hoteliers, and leadership practices. The Awards of Excellence are presented to historic hotels demonstrating the highest contribution to furthering the celebration of history and demonstrating leadership and innovation.
From more than 200 nominees, the following Historic Hotels of America hotels and hoteliers were honored with these prestigious awards:
Historic Hotels of America New Member of the Year
• Hilton Chicago (1927) Chicago, Illinois
Best Small Historic Inn/Hotel (Under 75 Guestrooms)
• Green Park Inn (1891) Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Best Historic Hotel (75-200 Guestrooms)
• The Jefferson, Washington, DC (1923) Washington, DC
Best Historic Hotel (201-400 Guestrooms)
• Loews Don CeSar Hotel (1928) St. Pete Beach, Florida
Best City Center Historic Hotel
• Hawthorne Hotel (1925) Salem, Massachusetts
Best Historic Hotel (Over 400 Guestrooms)
• The Peabody Memphis (1869) Memphis, Tennessee
Best Historic Resort
• Grand Hotel (1887) Mackinac Island, Michigan
Hotel Historian of the Year
• Michaelene Lusk Norton, The Lancaster Hotel (1926) Houston, Texas
Legendary Family Historic Hoteliers of the Year
• The Lusk Family, The Lancaster Hotel (1926) Houston, Texas
Best Historic Restaurant in Conjunction with a Historic Hotel
• Plume, The Jefferson, Washington, DC (1923) Washington, DC
Best Social Media of a Historic Hotel
• French Lick Resort (1845) French Lick, Indiana
Historic Hotels of America Sustainability Champion
• Xanterra Parks & Resorts
Historic Hotels of America Ambassador of the Year (Quarter Century Service)
• Bill Ott, 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa (1886) Eureka Springs, Arkansas
2015 Historic Hotelier of the Year
• Dean Lane, Palmer House®, A Hilton Hotel (1871) Chicago, Illinois
2015 Lifetime Achievement Award
• Gayle Cook
2015 Historic Hotels of America Historian of the Year Award
• Stanley Turkel, Author and Consultant
2016 Historic Hotels of America Journalist of the Year Award
• Peter Greenberg, Travel Editor for CBS News
“Historic Hotels of America is proud to congratulate the 2015 Awards of Excellence winners,” said Lawrence Horwitz, Executive Director of Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide. “These historic hotels and hoteliers represent the pinnacle in historic hotels and their achievements from Portland, Oregon to St. Pete Beach, Florida.”
The hotels were nominated by fellow members, past award recipients, and honorees. A panel of experts judged and weighed the nominees in each category in order to determine a winner. As the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic Hotels of America provides the recognition to travelers, civic leaders, and the global cultural, heritage and historic travel market that the members’ hotels are among the finest historic hotels across America.
Historic Hotels of America, founded in 1989 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to recognize and celebrate the finest Historic Hotels, has more than 275 members. These historic hotels have all faithfully maintained their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity in the United States of America, including 44 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Historic Hotels of America is comprised of mostly independently owned and operated properties. More than 30 of the world’s finest hospitality brands, chains, and collections are represented in Historic Hotels of America. To be nominated and selected for membership into this prestigious program, a hotel must be at least 50 years old; have been designated by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark or listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places; and recognized as having historic significance. For more information, visit HistoricHotels.org.
Click here to see the About Historic Hotels of America video. To view the Historic Hotels of America 2015 Annual Directory ebook or download the free app on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and the Windows Store.
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