WASHINGTON–November 7, 2016–Historic Hotels of America® and Historic Hotels Worldwide® are pleased to announce the winners of the 2016 Awards of Excellence. Recipients were honored at a special ceremony and gala at The Royal Hawaiian, A Luxury Collection Resort (1927) in Honolulu, Hawaii on Thursday, November 3. Awards were presented before an audience of more than 290 invited media, industry leaders, Hawaii business leaders, local dignitaries, owners, senior management, and representatives of the finest historic hotels from across America and from around the world. 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, Lifetime Achievement, and others.

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 2016:

Historic Hotels of America New Member of the Year

  • White Stallion Ranch (1900) Tucson, Arizona

Best Social Media of a Historic Hotel

  • The Jefferson, Washington, DC (1923) Washington, DC

Historic Hotels of America Sustainability Champion

  • The Boar’s Head (1834) Charlottesville, Virginia

Best Small Historic Inn/Hotel (Under 75 Guestrooms)

  • Inn at the Presidio (1903) San Francisco, California

Best Historic Hotel (76-200 Guestrooms)

  • La Fonda on the Plaza™ (1922) Santa Fe, New Mexico

Best Historic Hotel (201-400 Guestrooms)

  • Mission Inn Hotel & Spa (1876) Riverside, California

Best Historic Hotel (Over 400 Guestrooms)

  • Palace Hotel, A Luxury Collection Hotel (1875) San Francisco, California

Best City Center Historic Hotel

  • The Mayflower Hotel, Autograph Collection (1925) Washington, DC

Best Historic Resort

  • The Omni Homestead Resort (1766) Hot Springs, Virginia

2016 Historic Hotels of America Hotel Historian of the Year Award

  • Lora Gallagher at the Hilton Hawaiian Village® Waikiki Beach Resort (1955) Honolulu, Hawaii

Best Historic Restaurant in Conjunction with a Historic Hotel

  • Circa 1886 at Wentworth Mansion (1886) Charleston, South Carolina

Legendary Family Historic Hoteliers of the Year

  • The Genzlinger Family at The Settlers Inn at Bingham Park (1927) Hawley, Pennsylvania

Historic Hotels of America Ambassador of the Year (Quarter Century Service)

  • Ken Price at the Palmer House®, A Hilton Hotel (1871) Chicago, Illinois

2016 Historian of the Year Award

  • Jamie Ford, New York Times Best-Selling Author

Best Historic Hotels Worldwide hotel in Europe

  • Hotel Schweizerhof Luzern (1845) Lucerne, Switzerland

Best Historic Hotels Worldwide hotel in Asia/Pacific

  • Hotel New Grand (1927) Yokohama, Japan

Best Historic Hotels Worldwide hotel in the Americas

  • Hacienda Xcanatún (1789) Merida, Mexico

2016 Historic Hotelier of the Year

  • Doug Browne at The Peabody Memphis (1869) Memphis, Tennessee

2016 Lifetime Achievement Award

  • Takamasa Osano and Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts, LP

“We are proud to congratulate the 2016 Historic Hotels 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. Their dedicated stewardship and innovative leadership helps ensure that these legendary historic hotels and their wonderful histories will continued to be enjoyed by 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.