Published August 18. 2026 11:47AM<\/p>\n
For the 6th consecutive year the Historic Hotel Bethlehem achieved the #1 ranking in USA Today\u2019s America\u2019s Best Historic Hotel\/Resorts. On Aug. 12 the hotel\u2019s ballroom was filled with strategic partners, hotel staff and management, as well as members of a very supportive community.<\/p>\n
Runners up to the Hotel Bethlehem were the Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa in Fairhope, Alabama (2nd) and The Peabody Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee (3rd). A second Pennsylvania establishment, the Omni Bedford Springs Resort, finished 10th.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur staff, community supporters, and partners make the difference between the Historic Hotel Bethlehem and others,\u201d says managing partner Bruce Haines.<\/p>\n
Joining Haines and general manager Kelly Ronalds were LoriAnn Wukitsch, president and CEO of Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites, Donna Sabol, senior VP and chief quality officer at St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network, and Kurt Landes, president and GM of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Each organization has become a key partner in this and other initiatives to increase tourism in the Lehigh Valley area.<\/p>\n
Haines was quick to point out that HBMS gives visitors the experience of Bethlehem, St. Luke\u2019s is a #1 rated hospital system in the USA and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs are the #1 rated minor league ballpark and led the minor leagues in attendance the last three years. \u201cYou are judged by the company you keep,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Wukitsch noted that the local \u201ccommunity and sense of place\u201d make a difference. \u201cBruce, Kelly, and your team, you rock it!\u201d<\/p>\n
At HBMS \u201cwe are aiming for a first class visitor experience\u201d said Wukitsch who mentioned HBMS\u2019s recent engagement of PlaceEconomic to plan for decades into the future.<\/p>\n
St. Luke\u2019s Hospital provided a link for people to vote and Sabol says the Hotel Bethlehem actually helps the hospital with recruiting when potential hospital staff stay at the #1 Historic Hotel.<\/p>\n
Landes noted that both the IronPigs and Hotel Bethlehem \u201cneed the passion and desire of employees\u201d to be successful.<\/p>\n
At the strike of noon Ronalds brought hotel clientele and residents to the front so they could push a button revealing the top ten countdown. With only numbers one and two remaining hotel staff member Nina Colanse came to the podium to open the sealed FedEx envelope containing the top two names. Colanse shot her fist into the air as she revealed the Historic Hotel Bethlehem\u2019s 6th number one ranking in a row, cheers went up and confetti dropped down in celebration.<\/p>\n
Afterward, everyone enjoyed lunch on the house, as promised by Haines if the hotel achieved the top ranking.<\/p>\n
Press photos by Dana GrubbHotel Bethlehem employees Emrick & Jesus predicted the hotel\u2019s first place finish before the official unveiling.<\/p>\n
The Historic Hotel Bethlehem\u2019s USA Today Best Historic Hotel\/Resort ranking was announced in the hotel\u2019s ballroom Aug. 12.<\/p>\n
Hotel Bethlehem managing partner Bruce Haines recognizes strategic partners LoriAnn Wukitsch, president & CEO of Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, Donna Sabol, senior VP & chief quality officer of St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network, and Kurt Landes, president & GM of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.<\/p>\n
Hotel Bethlehem employee Nina Colanse signals the #1 rating after opening a FedEx envelope containing the results.<\/p>\n
Bethlehem resident Stephen Antalics leads a champagne toast to the hotel\u2019s victory.<\/p>\n
As promised if the Historic Hotel Bethlehem placed #1, Bethlehem area residents enjoy a free lunch courtesy of the hotel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published August 18. 2026 11:47AM For the 6th consecutive year the Historic Hotel Bethlehem achieved the #1 ranking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267593,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-267592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}