The Broadmoor of Colorado Springs, The Dunhill Hotel of Charlotte, Mayflower Park Hotel of Seattle, West Baden Springs Hotel of Indiana, Amway Grand Plaza of Grand Rapids were among the winners of Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence for 2017 by Historic Hotels of America® and Historic Hotels Worldwide®. The winners were announced at a special ceremony and gala at The Omni Homestead Resort (1766) in Hot Springs, Virginia. 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 Lifetime Achievement.
Each year, these Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence honor, encourage, and recognize the most exemplary historic hotels, hoteliers, and leadership practices. The Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence are presented to historic hotels and hoteliers demonstrating innovative leadership, stewardship, and contribution to furthering the recognition, preservation, and celebration of these preeminent historic hotels and their histories.
From more than 200 nominees, the following Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide hotels and hoteliers were honored with these prestigious annual awards for 2017:
Best Small Historic Inn/Hotel (Under 75 Guestrooms): The Dunhill Hotel (1929) Charlotte, North Carolina
Best Historic Hotel (76-200 Guestrooms): Mayflower Park Hotel (1927) Seattle, Washington
Best Historic Hotel (201-400 Guestrooms): West Baden Springs Hotel (1902) West Baden Springs, Indiana
Best Historic Hotel (Over 400 Guestrooms): Amway Grand Plaza (1913) Grand Rapids, Michigan
Lifetime Achievement Award: Duane and Kelly Roberts at The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa (1876) Riverside, California
“The winners of the 2017 Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence represent more than 231 years of history and include the finest iconic and legendary historic hotels from across the United States of America and from around the world,” said Lawrence Horwitz, Executive Director of Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide. “We applaud these magnificent historic hotels and their hoteliers for their dedication, passion, stewardship and success in preserving these treasures and their stories for future generations of travelers.”
Award recipients are selected from nominees received from historic hotels, historic preservation supporters, prior award recipients, and leadership from Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide. As official programs of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide provide the recognition to travelers, civic leaders, and the global cultural, heritage, and historic travel market that member hotels are among the finest historic hotels across America and around the world. The Historic Hotels Annual Awards of Excellence program recognizes the pinnacle of this distinct group of nominees in a range of categories.
Historic Hotels of America® is the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing and celebrating the finest Historic Hotels. Historic Hotels of America has more than 300 member historic hotels which have all faithfully maintained their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity in the United States, including 46 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 historic hotels. 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; has 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.
Historic Hotels Worldwide® is a prestigious collection of historic treasures, including historic hotels, castles, chateaus, palaces, academies, haciendas, villas, monasteries, and other historic lodging spanning ten centuries. Historic Hotels Worldwide represents the finest global collection of more than 260 historic hotels in more than 36 countries. Historic Hotels Worldwide is dedicated to promoting heritage and cultural travel to prestigious historic treasures. Hotels inducted into Historic Hotels Worldwide are authentic historic treasures, demonstrate historic preservation, and celebrate historic significance. Embracing luxury hotel brands, chains, collections, and the finest independent historic hotels, participation is limited to those distinctive historic hotels that adhere to the following criteria: minimum age for the building is 75 years or older; historically relevant as a significant location with a historic district, historically significant landmark, place of a historic event, former home of a famous person, or historic city center; hotel celebrates its history by showcasing memorabilia, artwork, photography, and other examples of its historic significance; recognized by national preservation or heritage buildings organization or located within UNESCO World Heritage Site; presently used as historic hotel. To learn more visit www.HistoricHotelsWorldwide.com
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.
Historic Hotels of America has just announced the nominees for its 2014 Awards of Excellence, recognizing and celebrating the finest historic hotels and hoteliers. The 2014 Annual Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner will take place at The Hotel Hershey® (1933) in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Thursday, October 2 at 7 pm where the final award winners will be announced.
Award recipients were selected from nominees received from across America from historic hotels, historic preservation supporters, and leadership from Historic Hotels of America. 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 member hotels are among the finest historic hotels across America. Historic Hotels of America Awards of Excellence recognize the pinnacle of this distinct group of nominees in a number of categories.
The 2014 award nominees are:
Historic Hotels of America New Member of the Year
o Abraham Lincoln Reading Hotel (1930) Reading, Pennsylvania
o Airlie (1892) Warrenton, Virginia
o Benbow Inn (1926) Garberville, California
o The Edgewater (1948) Madison, Wisconsin
o Lake McDonald Lodge (1914) Glacier National Park, Montana
o Many Glacier Hotel (1915) Glacier National Park, Montana
o The Buccaneer (1653) St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
o Castle Hotel & Spa (1910) Tarrytown, New York
o Grand Hotel (1887) Mackinac Island, Michigan
o Hotel El Convento (1651) San Juan, Puerto Rico
o Jekyll Island Club Hotel (1886) Jekyll Island, Georgia
o Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa (1901) Waikiki Beach, Hawaii
o Ojai Valley Inn & Spa (1923) Ojai, California
o The Omni Homestead Resort (1766) Hot Springs, Virginia
o Omni Bedford Springs Resort & Spa (1806) Bedford, Pennsylvania
o The Royal Hawaiian, A Luxury Collection Resort (1927) Waikiki Beach, Hawaii
Hotel Historian of the Year
o Danielle Deschamps, The Mast Farm Inn (1792) Banner Elk, North Carolina
o Ken Price, Palmer House Hilton Hotel (1871) Chicago, Illinois
o Les Sossaman, The Wigwam (1918) Litchfield Park, Arizona
o Steven LaCasse, Lord Jeffery Inn (1926) Amherst, Massachusetts
o Thelma Kehaulani Kam, The Royal Hawaiian, A Luxury Collection Resort (1927) Waikiki Beach, Hawaii and Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa (1901) Waikiki Beach, Hawaii
o William Defibaugh, Omni Bedford Springs Resort & Spa (1806) Bedford, Pennsylvania
Historic Hotels of America Sustainability Champion
o Airlie (1892) Warrenton, Virginia
o Boone Tavern Hotel of Berea College (1909) Berea, Kentucky
o Cavallo Point (1901) Sausalito, California, Golden Gate National Park
o The Fairmont Hotel San Francisco (1907) San Francisco, California
o Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club & Spa (1847) Point Clear, Alabama
o The Heathman Hotel (1927) Portland, Oregon
o Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza (1931) Cincinnati, Ohio
o Inn at the Presidio (1776) San Francisco, California, Golden Gate National Park
o Jekyll Island Club Hotel (1886) Jekyll Island, Georgia
o The Lenox (1900) Boston, Massachusetts
o Lord Jeffery Inn (1926) Amherst, Massachusetts
o Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa (1901) Waikiki Beach, Hawaii
o Paso Robles Inn (1891) Paso Robles, California
o The Strater Hotel (1887) Durango, Colorado
Historic Hotels of America Ambassador of the Year (Quarter Century Service)
o Bob Louis, Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza (1931) Cincinnati, Ohio
o Brian LaFountain, The Omni Homestead Resort (1766) Hot Springs, Virginia
o Charles Schumacher, The Strater Hotel (1887) Durango, Colorado
o Crystal Brandt, The Hotel Hershey® (1933) Hershey, Pennsylvania
o Mike Childs, Paso Robles Inn (1891) Paso Robles, California
o Patty Henning, Jekyll Island Club Hotel (1886) Jekyll Island, Georgia
o Stephani Bann, Lancaster Arts Hotel (1881) Lancaster, Pennsylvania
“Historic Hotels of America congratulates all the 2014 award nominees,” said Lawrence Horwitz, Executive Director, Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide. “The nominees exemplify the finest historic hotels and their hoteliers from across America. The Historic Hotels of America Awards of Excellence Committee is delighted to announce the 2014 nominees and looks forward to awarding winners at the historic and beautiful Hotel Hershey® on October 2. From San Juan, Puerto Rico to Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, all the nominees represent inspiring, captivating, and distinctive hotels.”
Tickets for The Historic Hotels of America 2014 Annual Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner are available. The dinner will take place at The Hotel Hershey® on Thursday, October 2 at 7 pm. Tickets for the dinner are $160 for one seat and $1,250 per table (for 8 seats). Contact the Historic Hotels of America +1 202 772 8000 or [email protected] to reserve tickets.
The 2013 Annual Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner was held at the historic Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Please click here to view award winners.
Historic Hotels of America® is the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing and celebrating the finest Historic Hotels. Founded in 1989 with 32 charter members, Historic Hotels of America now has more than 250 members. These historic hotels have all faithfully maintained their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity in the United States of America, including 46 states, 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 major 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; 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 www.HistoricHotels.org, where you can also make reservations.
