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 on Thursday, October 8.
Awards were presented before an audience of more than 200 owners, senior management, invited media, industry leaders, and representatives from the finest historic hotels across America.
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 innovation.
From more than 200 nominees, the following Historic Hotels of America hotels and hoteliers were honored:
Property Awards
Historic Hotels of America New Member of the Year
- Hilton Chicago (1927) Chicago, Illinois (234,000 square feet of event space).
Best Small Historic Inn/Hotel (Under 75 Guestrooms)
- Green Park Inn (1891) Blowing Rock, North Carolina (event space not listed on website).
Best Historic Hotel (75-200 Guest rooms)
- The Jefferson, Washington, DC (1923) Washington, DC (A handful of meeting and event rooms, with the largest two allowing for up to 80 attendees).
Best Historic Hotel (201-400 Guest rooms)
- Loews Don CeSar Hotel (1928) St. Pete Beach, Florida (22,000 square feet of indoor function space).
Best City Center Historic Hotel
- Hawthorne Hotel (1925) Salem, Massachusetts (Ballroom can fit up to 350 attendees).
Best Historic Hotel (Over 400 Guest rooms)
- The Peabody Memphis (1869) Memphis, Tennessee (80,000 square feet of meeting space).
Best Historic Resort
- Grand Hotel (1887) Mackinac Island, Michigan (The Woodfill Conference Center Theatre offers 7,080 square feet of space for groups of up to 1,000 theatre-style).
Additional Awards
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
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.”
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.
