The 2026 Historic Hotels Worldwide® Annual Awards of Excellence Nominee Finalists are Announced

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Historic Hotels Worldwide^® today announced its Nominee Finalists for the 2026 Historic Hotels Annual Awards of Excellence, recognizing the year’s best historic hotels and hospitality leaders from its global collection of historic inns, hotels, and resorts across 46 countries.

A prestigious program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation (USA), Historic Hotels Worldwide celebrates the world’s finest historic lodgings and honors the people and practices that preserve these places for future generations. The Historic Hotels Annual Awards of Excellence recognize exemplary achievement in categories including Historic Hotels Worldwide Best Historic Resort, Historic Hotels Worldwide Sustainability Champion, and Historic Hotels Worldwide Best Historic Hotel by region. (Photos)

A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link.

Selected from over 230 nominations submitted by preservation supporters, prior award recipients, historic hotel teams, community leaders, and Historic Hotels Worldwide leadership, the 2026 Nominee Finalists demonstrate exceptional stewardship, innovative leadership, and meaningful contributions to preservation and hospitality. Led by preservationists, historians, and hospitality veterans, Historic Hotels Worldwide affirms to travelers, civic leaders, and the global cultural, heritage, and historic travel market that its member hotels are among the finest historic hotels in the world.

Winners will be revealed on Thursday, October 15, 2026, during the 2026 Historic Hotels Annual Awards of Excellence Ceremony & Gala, the culminating event of the 2026 Historic Hotels Annual Conference. The conference is being hosted this year by the Williamsburg Lodge, Autograph Collection (1939) in Williamsburg, Virginia (USA). Part of Colonial Williamsburg Resorts, the historic hotel is adjacent to Colonial Williamsburg, the world’s largest American history museum. The gala will gather owners, general managers, senior decision-makers, and guests from many of the world’s most celebrated historic hotels for this occasion.

The awards committee selected the following Historic Hotels Worldwide members as Nominee Finalists for the 2026 Historic Hotels Annual Awards of Excellence:

Nominee Finalists for Historic Hotels Worldwide New Member of the Year

Donati Luxury Tower Suites (1000) Florence, Italy

Orient Express Venezia (1436) Venice, Italy

Orient Express Minerva (1620) Rome, Italy

Domus Blanc (1870) Chania, Greece

The Porter House Hotel Sydney – MGallery Collection (1876) Sydney, Australia

THE FUJIYA HOTEL (1878) Hakone, Japan

Waldorf Astoria Versailles – Trianon Palace (1910) Versailles, France

SOWAKA, Kyoto (1910s) Kyoto, Japan

The Tokyo Station Hotel (1915) Tokyo, Japan

Sofitel Montevideo Casino Carrasco and Spa (1921) Montevideo, Uruguay

Hotel Palácio do Estoril, Golf & Wellness (1930) Estoril, Portugal

Nominee Finalists for Historic Hotels Worldwide Best Social Media

Hotel Hacienda de Abajo (1493) Tazacorte, Spain

Carton House, a Fairmont Managed Hotel (1739) Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland

Hacienda Xcanatún (1789) Merida, Mexico

Britannia Hotel (1870) Trondheim, Norway

The Fullerton Hotel Sydney (1874) Sydney, Australia

Fairmont Banff Springs (1888) Banff, Alberta, Canada

Omni King Edward (1903) Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Fairmont Empress (1908) Victoria, Canada

Fairmont Le Château Montebello (1930) Montebello, Canada

Nominee Finalists for Historic Hotels Worldwide Sustainability Champion

Castlemartyr Resort (1210) Cork, County Cork, Ireland

Nermo Hotell & Apartments (1442) Øyer, Norway

Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam (1578) Amsterdam, Netherlands

Hotel Maximilian’s (1722) Augsburg, Germany

Flemings Mayfair (1851) London, England, United Kingdom

The Fullerton Hotel Sydney (1874) Sydney, Australia

Fairmont Banff Springs (1888) Banff, Alberta, Canada

Villa Copenhagen (1912) Copenhagen, Denmark

Fairmont Le Château Montebello (1930) Montebello, Canada

El Fuerte Marbella (1954) Marbella, Spain

Nominee Finalists for Historic Hotels Worldwide Best City Center Historic Hotel

Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam (1578) Amsterdam, Netherlands

Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam (1660s) Amsterdam, Netherlands

Flemings Mayfair (1851) London, England, United Kingdom

The Fullerton Hotel Sydney (1874) Sydney, Australia

Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten (1897) Hamburg, Germany

Hotel Regina Louvre (1900) Paris, France

The Waldorf Hilton, London (1908) London, England, United Kingdom

Villa Copenhagen (1912) Copenhagen, Denmark

Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (1939) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

The Murray Hong Kong (1969) Hong Kong, China

Nominee Finalists for Historic Hotels Worldwide Best Historic Resort

Castello Dal Pozzo Resort Lago Maggiore (1000s) Oleggio Castello, Italy

Kilkea Castle (1180) Castledermot, Ireland

Hacienda Xcanatún (1789) Merida, Mexico

The K Club (1832) Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland

Hamilton Princess & Beach Club - A Fairmont Managed Hotel (1885) Hamilton, Bermuda

Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin (1885) Noordwijk aan Zee, Netherlands

Fairmont Banff Springs (1888) Banff, Alberta, Canada

Grand Hotel des Sablettes Plage, Curio Collection by Hilton (1888) La Seyne-sur-Mer, France

Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu (1899) Charlevoix, Québec, Canada

Half Moon (1954) Montego Bay, Jamaica

Nominee Finalists for Best Historic Hotels Worldwide Hotel in Asia-Pacific

The Fullerton Hotel Sydney (1874) Sydney, Australia

Raffles Singapore (1887) Singapore

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi (1901) Hanoi, Vietnam

The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore (1904) Singapore

Beijing Hotel NUO (1917) Beijing, China

The Phoenix Hotel Yogyakarta - Handwritten Collection (1918) Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Raffles Hotel Le Royal (1929) Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Fairmont Peace Hotel (1929) Shanghai, China

Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor (1932) Siem Reap, Cambodia

The Murray Hong Kong (1969) Hong Kong, China

Nominee Finalists for Best Historic Hotels Worldwide Hotel in Europe

Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam (1660s) Amsterdam, Netherlands

The K Club (1832) Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland

Raffles Europejski Warsaw (1857) Warsaw, Poland

Britannia Hotel (1870) Trondheim, Norway

Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin (1885) Noordwijk aan Zee, Netherlands

The Savoy London (1889) London, England, United Kingdom

Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten (1897) Hamburg, Germany

Grand Hotel Tremezzo (1910) Tremezzina, Italy

Amerikalinjen (1919) Oslo, Norway

Aleph Rome Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton (1930) Rome, Italy

Nominee Finalists for Best Historic Hotels Worldwide Hotel in the Americas

Hacienda Jurica by Brisas (1551) Querétaro, Mexico

Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena (1621) Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

Hacienda de los Santos (1710) Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Hacienda Xcanatún (1789) Merida, Mexico

Hamilton Princess & Beach Club - A Fairmont Managed Hotel (1885) Hamilton, Bermuda

Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu (1899) Charlevoix, Canada

Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge (1922) Jasper, Alberta, Canada

Hotel Magnolia (1929) Santiago, Chile

Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (1939) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Half Moon (1954) Montego Bay, Jamaica

Nominee Finalists for Historic Hotels Worldwide Historic Hotelier of the Year

Jeroen Werdmölder at Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam (1660s) Amsterdam, Netherlands

Siv Galligani at Engø Gård (1845) Tjøme, Norway

Henrik Muehle at Flemings Mayfair (1851) London, England, United Kingdom

Sigurd Årskaug at Flatheim Hotel (1870) Flåm, Norway

Arild Sjødin at Britannia Hotel (1870) Trondheim, Norway

Emmanuel More at Hilton Paris Opera (1889) Paris, France

George Koumendakos at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi (1901) Hanoi, Vietnam

András Bíró at The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore (1904) Singapore, Singapore

Dan McGowan at Fairmont Empress (1908) Victoria, Canada

Shernette Crichton at Half Moon (1954) Montego Bay, Jamaica

Historic Hotels Worldwide’s sibling program, Historic Hotels of America^®, also announced today its Nominee Finalists for the 2026 Historic Hotels Annual Awards of Excellence. Read the announcement of Historic Hotels of America’s 2026 Historic Hotels Annual Awards of Excellence Nominee Finalists here.

“It is an honor to congratulate all of the 2026 Historic Hotels Annual Awards of Excellence Nominee Finalists,” said Lawrence Horwitz, Executive Vice President, Historic Hotels Worldwide and Historic Hotels of America. “The Nominee Finalists exemplify the finest historic hotels and hoteliers in the world. The historic hotels nominated include historic inns, boutique hotels, lifestyle hotels, and legendary resorts. These historic hotels represent small towns and large cities, as well as national historic districts. We applaud the dedication and passion of the thousands of individuals working at these iconic and legendary historic hotels that keep the stories from the past alive. They make staying or celebrating special occasions at these historic hotels memorable experiences for guests.”

Tickets for the 2026 Historic Hotels Annual Awards of Excellence Ceremony & Gala are available. The much-anticipated event will take place at the Williamsburg Lodge, Autograph Collection (1939) in Williamsburg, Virginia, on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 7 p.m., to close out the 2026 Historic Hotels Annual Conference.

Learn more about the 2026 Historic Hotels Annual Conference, including how to register to participate in the full week of activities or how to purchase gala-only tickets.

About Historic Hotels Worldwide^®

Historic Hotels Worldwide^® is a prestigious and distinctive collection of historic treasures, including luxury historic hotels built in former castles, chateaus, palaces, academies, haciendas, villas, monasteries, and other historic lodging spanning ten centuries. Historic Hotels Worldwide represents the finest and most distinctive global collection of more than 320 historic hotels in 46 countries. Hotels inducted into Historic Hotels Worldwide are authentic historic treasures, demonstrate historic preservation, and celebrate historic significance. Eligibility for induction into Historic Hotels Worldwide 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 within 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 a national preservation or heritage buildings organization or located within a UNESCO World Heritage Site; and presently used as a historic hotel. For more information, please visit HistoricHotelsWorldwide.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: 
Katherine Orr
Director, Marketing Strategy and Communications
Historic Hotels of America │ Historic Hotels Worldwide
KOrr@historichotels.org