Hotel Bethlehem named nation's best historic hotel for 6th time - Pennsylvania News Beep

The win streak just keeps going — Hotel Bethlehem has once again been named the best historic hotel in the United States.

For the sixth consecutive time, the Bethlehem landmark won the top spot in USA Today’s 10Best Historic Hotel/Resort contest, with the latest victory announced Wednesday during a gathering of guests and staff in the hotel’s ballroom.

Hotel staffer Nina Colanse pulled the winner’s name from an envelope for the reveal, earning cheers from and champagne for the audience, confetti and the message “6X NATIONAL CHAMPIONS” on a projection screen.

“In today’s travel landscape, filled with shiny new resorts and ultra-modern skyscraper hotels, a bit of yesteryear is often welcome,” the 10Best webpage said. “Each of these 10 classic accommodations — nominated by a panel of experts and voted as the best by readers — has witnessed a great deal of history, and each has held true to its historic roots and unique sense of place.”

Hotel Bethlehem staff, local officials and business owners celebrate Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, after the hotel was named the best historic hotel for the sixth year in a row in USA Today’s 10 Best Historic Hotel competition. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)

Nina Colanse, a restaurant server, opens the results with Bruce Haines, managing partner at Hotel Bethlehem, on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, after the hotel was named the best historic hotel for the sixth consecutive year in USA Today’s 10Best Historic Hotel competition. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)

Bruce Haines, managing partner at Hotel Bethlehem, speaks Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, after the hotel was named the best historic hotel for the sixth year in a row in USA Today’s 10 Best Historic Hotel competition. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)

LoriAnn Wukitsch, president and CEO of Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, speaks Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, after the Hotel Bethlehem was named the best historic hotel for the sixth consecutive year in USA Today’s 10 Best Historic Hotel competition. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)

Donna Sabol, Senior Vice-President & Chief Quality, St Luke’s University Health Network, speaks Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, after the Hotel Bethlehem was named the best historic hotel for the sixth consecutive year in USA Today’s 10 Best Historic Hotel competition. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)

Kurt Landes, president and general manager of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, speaks Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, after the Hotel Bethlehem was named the best historic hotel for the sixth consecutive year in USA Today’s 10 Best Historic Hotel competition. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)

Show Caption

1 of 15

Expand

Leading up to the announcement, hotel managing partner Bruce Haines referenced the late Ralph Schwarz, who helped with restoration efforts of the early Moravian settlers’ landmarks. Schwarz had the vision, Haines said, that historic Bethlehem would become the next Colonial Williamsburg.

“He was all about preservation,” Haines said. “He was all about that we have something really special here. We just need to market it and clean it up, get ready and create a great tour guide program to make it happen. And in my mind, we’re there. We’re there now.”

“A congratulations to everyone on the team at the hotel and the community because without you, we wouldn’t be No. 1,” LoriAnn Wukitsch, president and CEO of Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, said. “And the reason that we differentiate ourselves from the other spectacular historic hotels and communities in our country is this community and our sense of place.”

No other hotel has won the honors more than Hotel Bethlehem, which first took the top spot in 2021 after finishing second in 2020 and third in 2019.

USA Today added the historic hotel category to its 10Best contest in 2015. A panel of industry experts and editors at the news organization chooses the nominees and then readers vote for their favorite.

The Lehigh Valley has done well in USA Today’s 10Best contests. Other winners and nominees include:

• Musikfest, which was recently named the top music festival for a fourth time.

• Coca-Cola Park, home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, named the top minor league ballpark in March.

• Shankweiler’s Drive-In Theatre, which won Best Drive-In Theater in May.

• Easton Public Market, named the best public market in 2023 and again in July.

• Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, which has won or been nominated in different categories such as iHalloween-themed attraction, best lazy river and best wave pool.

• Christkindlmarkt, nominated several times as best holiday market, most recently in 2025.

• Allentown’s West End World of Food Festival, which received runner-up honors in 2025.

• Easton Garlic Festival, nominated in 2024, finishing eighth.

• The Outlets at Wind Creek Bethlehem, named eighth-best outlet mall in 2025.

•The Peeps Chick drop, voted the sixth-best New Year’s Eve drop in 2025.

Hotel Bethlehem named nation’s best historic hotel for 6th time

Tags: