{"id":150225,"date":"2026-07-06T22:13:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T02:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=150225"},"modified":"2026-07-06T22:13:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T02:13:37","slug":"usa-today-nominates-defending-champion-historic-hotel-bethlehem-for-sixth-consecutive-best-historic-hotel-resort-contest-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=150225","title":{"rendered":"USA Today nominates defending champion Historic Hotel Bethlehem for sixth consecutive Best Historic Hotel\/Resort contest win"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the hotel travels the Road to #6 in \u201826, it\u2019s counting on community support<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bethlehem, PA (July 6, 2026) – Today, Historic Hotel Bethlehem earned a record eighth consecutive nomination in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Historic Hotel\/Resort competition. \u201cThanks to continuous energetic community support, I\u2019m confident we\u2019ll be able to defend our championship title. We\u2019re inviting the community to join us on the road to number six by voting daily,\u201d said hotel Managing Partner Bruce Haines.<\/p>\n

USA Today made the announcement at noon. \u201cThe USA TODAY 10BEST Readers\u2019 Choice Awards highlight top-notch attractions and businesses, providing readers with trusted recommendations,\u201d USA Today Outreach Coordinator Terrisa Meeks wrote. \u201cThere is no cost to participate in USA TODAY 10BEST\u2019s awards program, and nominations cannot be purchased. Voting is open to the public for four weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

How to vote for Historic Hotel Bethlehem<\/strong><\/p>\n

Community members can vote every day starting today through noon on August 3 at\u00a0votehotelb.com<\/a>. For the first three weeks of the contest, they\u2019ll be able to see the leaderboard. In week four, the board goes dark and we won\u2019t know the rankings until USA Today announces the winners on August 12th. \u201cLet’s defend that title and make history again,\u201d said Haines.<\/p>\n

Community support is the key to success<\/strong>
\nThe hotel has made history repeatedly because of strong community support. Haines noted, \u201cFrom day one, this has been a community hotel. In the 1920s, community members bought $50 shares to create this social hub. It has served as a gathering place for everything from business meetings to weddings. I love that we\u2019ve seen people get engaged here, then married here, then host their baby showers with us. It\u2019s beautiful. You just don\u2019t see this type of deep community engagement in those big box hotels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nomination highlights hotel\u2019s partnerships with other #1 entities\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

During the 10Best announcement news conference, Haines recognized \u201cthe power of partnerships.\u201d He thanked several community partners two of which rank #1 in their field: St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Haines emphasized how working together makes the community stronger. \u201cAs the saying goes,\u201d Haines noted, \u201cyou are judged by the company you keep. We are proud to be connected with these National Championship partners who continually strive to be the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haines said, \u201cHistoric Bethlehem Museums & Sites (HBMS)\u00a0 is our day-in day-out most valued community partner as the backbone of our Heritage Tourism initiative. HBMS helps us immerse our guests beyond the history of this iconic property further into the surrounding authentic colonial experience including the UNESCO World Heritage properties adjacent to the hotel.\u201d He added, \u201cThe hotel kicked off its national marketing campaign as a \u201cLuxury Historic Destination Hotel\u201d last fall after Bethlehem\u2019s Historic District attained America\u2019s #1 Best Main Street by USA Today. Haines said, \u201cThat initiative has exceeded our fondest wishes by increasing our leisure tourist bookings for the balance of this year by 30% over the same time last year. This will benefit HBMS as well as our local downtown merchants.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hotel has further expanded its engagement with HBMS by moving replica buildings of the Colonial Industrial Quarter, created by Jim Wilden, from the museum to the hotel lobby for summer and fall. \u201cThis cooperative effort provides for greater exposure for HBMS for our visitors and local customers where viewing from the Mezzanine is particularly compelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another hotel partner recently earned a major number one ranking. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently ranked St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network #1 in quality, safety, and patient experience. It outperformed well known institutions like the Mayo Clinic and Houston Methodist. The hospital system regularly partners with the hotel on meetings and special events as well as hosting visiting doctors and dignitaries. The National Champion hospital and hotel independently support future prospective Lehigh University National Wrestling Champions. Two-Time All American and World Champion Luke Stanich serves as a Historic Hotel Bethlehem Ambassador and also participates with St. Lukes.<\/p>\n

For the third consecutive year, Historic Hotel Bethlehem is partnering with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs to encourage voting. The IronPigs home, Coca-Cola Park, recently earned the USA Today #1 Best Minor League Ballpark in America. In addition, they have the distinction of being the Minor League Baseball attendance champions. On July 8, Historic Hotel Bethlehem representatives will throw out the first pitch as the IronPigs face the Columbus Clippers. The hotel will announce fun collaborations when the IronPigs celebrate their 20th anniversary in the fall.<\/p>\n

USA Today 10Best history<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the eighth consecutive year USA Today has included the iconic local landmark on its 10Best nomination list. Historic Hotel Bethlehem came in third place in 2019, moved up to second in 2020, and won first place in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. It knocked out historic destination heavyweights like the Peabody in Memphis and Hotel Du Pont in Delaware to take the lead. Historic Hotel Bethlehem is the only property in the Best Historic Hotel\/Resort category to ever win five consecutive times.<\/p>\n

Meeks noted that across all USA Today 10Best Readers Choice categories, only 18 winners have placed number one\u00a0 in an award for six or more consecutive years and only 28 have placed number one for 5 or more. In the hotel\/resort-related categories, only Mohegan Sun Connecticut has won more times than Historic Hotel Bethlehem. It won the Best Casino Hotel award seven times, every year from 2018-2024.<\/p>\n

About Historic Hotel Bethlehem<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Historic Hotel Bethlehem, located adjacent to the newest US UNESCO World Heritage Site in the heart of Historic Moravian Bethlehem, is celebrating over 100 years as a community hotel. Guests enjoy the luxury historic destination hotel\u2019s original 1922 elegance in its 125 guest rooms, along with the grandeur of the lobby, two distinct restaurants, two elegant ballrooms and seven meeting rooms. The hotel also offers nine new Extended Stay Suites, an Executive Conference Center, Ladies Boutique Shoppe, Steel Magnolia Spa & Salon, Grandpa Joe\u2019s Candy Shop, and the Hotel B Ice Cream Parlor serving Penn State Creamery ice cream. The hotel is affiliated with Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. USA Today named Historic Hotel Bethlehem the \u201c#1 Best Historic Hotel in the Nation” for five straight years 2021-2025. For more information visit\u00a0<\/a>hotelbethlehem.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the hotel travels the Road to #6 in \u201826, it\u2019s counting on community support Bethlehem, PA (July 6, 2026) – Today, Historic Hotel Bethlehem earned a record eighth consecutive nomination in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Historic Hotel\/Resort competition. \u201cThanks to continuous energetic community support, I\u2019m confident we\u2019ll be able to defend our championship title. We\u2019re … Continue reading USA Today nominates defending champion Historic Hotel Bethlehem for sixth consecutive Best Historic Hotel\/Resort contest win<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150226,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\r\n\r\n{excerpt}\r\n\r\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-150225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/grandslam-partners.jpg?fit=672%2C372&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=150225"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150227,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150225\/revisions\/150227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/150226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=150225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=150225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=150225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}