Articles from Historic Hotels Worldwide

Historic Hotels Worldwide® is pleased to announce the distinguished winners of the 2025 Historic Hotels Worldwide Annual Awards of Excellence. Historic Hotels Worldwide is a prestigious program for celebrating the world’s finest historic inns, hotels, and resorts in more than 40 countries.

Historic Hotels Worldwide® is pleased to announce the Nominee Finalists for the 2025 Historic Hotels Worldwide Annual Awards of Excellence. Historic Hotels Worldwide is a prestigious program for celebrating the world’s finest historic inns, hotels, and resorts in more than 48 countries.

Historic Hotels Worldwide®, a prestigious program that recognizes and celebrates authentic historic hotels around the world, is pleased to announce The 2025 Top 25 Historic Hotels Worldwide Most Historic Bars and Lounges list. This collection of 25 bars and lounges in historic hotels tells a global story of how hotels provide spaces for guests to gather, socialize, and connect, while enjoying a handcrafted drink and a unique cultural experience.

Historic Hotels Worldwide® is pleased to announce the distinguished winners of the 2024 Historic Hotels Worldwide Annual Awards of Excellence.

Historic Hotels Worldwide® is pleased to announce The 2025 Top 25 Historic Hotels Worldwide Most Romantic Hotels list. Around the world, historic hotels are the perfect places to “woo and wow,” and the romantic hotels on this list encompass 16 countries across four continents, a representation of the romance offered at Historic Hotels Worldwide. Nominees for this list were judged based on location, as well as available services, service levels, special touches, and amenities for couples on a getaway, getting engaged, or celebrating a wedding, honeymoon, or anniversary. Consideration was given to hotels that offer luxurious suites, breathtaking views, fine dining, exceptional architecture and interior design, and historical character, while offering a variety of romantic settings and experiences. Some hotels are easily recognizable, located in cities famous for their romance, and others are true hidden gems, waiting for travelers to discover them with their beloved. These iconic, award-winning hotels offer bespoke experiences, beautiful settings and architecture, and romance that is anchored by the past. Planning a special romantic moment or event in 2025? The 25 destinations described here, and many more historic hotels inducted into Historic Hotels Worldwide, provide beautiful venues and breathtaking views to set the stage for couples who want to make their own history at a historic hotel.

Historic Hotels Worldwide® is pleased to announce the Nominee Finalists for the 2024 Historic Hotels Worldwide Annual Awards of Excellence.

Historic Hotels Worldwide® represents more than 350 of the finest, most authentic historic hotels in more than 47 countries. In December and January, these historic hotels, inns, chateaus, castles, and haciendas are illuminated according to local customs for the holiday season, creating beautiful spaces for guests to celebrate one or more of the festive holidays and observances that take place during this time of the year. The historic hotels featured in The 2024 Top 25 Historic Hotels Worldwide Holiday Traditions and Spectacular Displays list host extraordinary parties, one-of-a-kind cultural performances, religious services, charitable campaigns, and festive Afternoon Teas for December holidays including the Winter Solstice, Hannukah, and Christmas, and/or January holidays, including New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. These hotels put up spectacular displays of Christmas or holiday trees, light exhibitions, magnificent gingerbread houses or chocolate sculptures, and greenery. Many historic hotels featured on the 2024 list incorporate charitable giving into their holiday programming: organizing food drives, collecting monetary donations and gifts for less fortunate children and families. Other historic hotels are featured for their festive activities and proximity to Europe’s finest Christmas markets in Barcelona, Helsinki, Prague, and Dresden. Wherever you are as 2024 ends, Historic Hotels Worldwide wishes travelers and explorers Bonne Année! Frohes Neues Jahr! Veselý Silvestr! Bliadhna Mhath Ùr! Srećna Nova Godina! Happy New Year!

Historic Hotels Worldwide®, a prestigious program that recognizes and celebrates authentic historic hotels around the world, is pleased to announce The 2024 Top 25 Historic Hotels Worldwide® Most Magnificent Ceilings and Domes list. Visitors to the hotels celebrated on this list can appreciate the creativity, craftsmanship, and extraordinary attention to detail of the hoteliers and preservationists that have worked to recover or restore these historic hotels. Some of the best examples are viewed by looking up at the magnificent ceilings and domes in the public areas of these hotels, including lobbies, spas, ballrooms, and restaurants. These ornate ceilings and domes include some of the finest surviving examples of historic stained glass, painted frescoes, hand-painted wallpaper, ornamental plaster, stenciled wood, and gold leaf. To experience the fine artistry of these architectural wonders, Historic Hotels Worldwide invites travelers to visit these historic treasures in person and to remember to look up.

Historic Hotels Worldwide® is pleased to announce The 2024 Top 25 Historic Hotels Worldwide Most Magnificent Gardens list. This semiannual listing is a guide to where and how travelers can experience the finest gardens at the world’s finest historic hotels and resorts. Representing four continents, the legendary hotels featured highlight many diverse and varied gardens from around the world, including estate gardens of medieval Irish castles and Mexican haciendas, and lush UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China, France, and Italy. These destinations are guaranteed to delight the senses, from the soft rustling of centennial trees and explosions of colorful flowers in springtime, to aromas of jasmine or roses and the fresh flavor of just-picked herbs. Guests are invited to explore these tranquil spaces and make lifelong memories during romantic getaways and proposals, honeymoons, weddings and anniversary celebrations, solo adventures, or family vacations. This list is an invitation to discover the bounty of travel in the beautiful gardens of Historic Hotels Worldwide, a prestigious collection of the world’s finest historic hotels.

Historic Hotels Worldwide® represents over 300 of the finest, most authentic historic hotels in over 40 countries. In December and January, these historic hotels, inns, chateaus, castles, and haciendas are illuminated in the local fashion for the season, creating beautiful spaces for guests to celebrate one or more of the festive holidays and observances that fall in this time of the year. The historic hotels featured in the 2023 Top 25 Historic Hotels Worldwide Holiday Traditions and Spectacular Displays host extraordinary parties, family activities, winter sports competitions, one-of-a-kind cultural performances, religious services, charitable campaigns, and festive afternoon teas for the Winter Solstice, Hannukah, Christmas season, and New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Many put up spectacular displays of Christmas or holiday trees, light exhibitions, magnificent gingerbread houses and hotel replicas, and greenery. Many historic hotels featured on the 2023 list incorporate charitable giving into their holiday programming: organizing food drives, directing monetary donations, and collecting gifts for less fortunate children and families. The cultural diversity found around the world means booking a stay or visit at a Historic Hotels Worldwide hotel guarantees a diversity of opportunities to carry on personal traditions or to discover new ones. As 2023 comes to a close, Historic Hotels Worldwide wishes travelers and explorers Bonne Année! Frohes neues Jahr! Veselý Silvestr! Bliadhna Mhath Ùr! Srećna Nova godina! Happy New Year!

Historic Hotels Worldwide® is pleased to announce its selections for The 2023 Top 25 Historic Hotels Worldwide® Most Magnificent Art Collections List. Historic Hotels Worldwide is a global collection of authentic historic hotels known for their stunning architecture, colorful gardens, and romantic settings—amenities that are often enhanced with historic, museum-quality art collections. The hotels highlighted here exhibit unique art collections for guests to enjoy, and many of them are committed to supporting artists, art movements, and diversity in art. The historic hotels, inns, and resorts of Historic Hotels Worldwide view their art collections as an expression of their hospitality and community values, many collecting with the aim of supporting local or national heritage preservation and local artists. Above all, this is art that is meant to be enjoyed by all who visit, work, or live at the hotels. These art collections can be viewed and experienced in furniture, paintings, sculpture, augmented reality, textiles, tablets, fountains, and even some hotel buildings that are considered stand-alone works of art. From Hong Kong to Guadalajara to Montreal, Historic Hotels Worldwide lodgings offer guests opportunities to experience a variety of original artwork, from the works of Dutch masters and graffiti artists to Mexican muralists and Pop Art disrupters. These historic hotels are truly museums where you can stay the night.

Historic Hotels Worldwide® represents over 300 of the finest, most authentic historic hotels in over 40 countries. In December and January, these historic hotels, inns, chateaus, castles, and haciendas are illuminated in the local fashion for the season, creating beautiful spaces for guests to celebrate one or more of the festive holidays and observances that fall in this time of the year. The historic hotels featured in the 2022 Top 25 Historic Hotels Worldwide Holiday Traditions and Spectacular Displays host extraordinary parties, family art activities, one-of-a-kind cultural performances, religious services, charitable campaigns, and festive afternoon teas for the Winter Solstice, Hannukah, Christmas season, and/or New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Many put up spectacular displays of Christmas or holiday trees, light exhibitions, magnificent gingerbread houses and hotel replicas, and greenery. The cultural diversity found around the world means booking a stay or visit at a Historic Hotels Worldwide hotel guarantees a diversity of opportunities to carry on personal traditions or to discover new ones. As 2022 comes to a close, Historic Hotels Worldwide wishes travelers and explorers Bonne Année! Frohes neues Jahr! Veselý Silvestr! Bliadhna Mhath Ùr! Happy New Year!

Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing, celebrating, and promoting the finest historic hotels in the United States, is pleased to announce The 2023 Top 25 Historic Hotels of America in Film and Television History List. The historic hotels and resorts selected for this announcement have been the settings for iconic scenes in beloved blockbusters, art house favorites, cult classics, and primetime television programs. Guests of these hotels can retrace the steps of many movie makers and film stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, and Alfred Hitchcock through the storied lobbies and guestrooms, and stand in the same historic places that brought unforgettable characters like Tarzan, Amy March, and Luke Skywalker to life. A few on the list even played roles in the history of the film industry. For example, The Hollywood Roosevelt (1927) in Hollywood, California, was the location of the very first awards ceremony of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—known as the Academy Awards® or the Oscars® —and hosted by Douglas Fairbanks in the hotel's Blossom Room in 1929. Often, historic hotels have been the co-stars in movies, playing their parts through the talents of architects, interior designers, historic preservationists, and nature conservationists. Explore this year’s list to find out how the history of film intersects with historic hotels, from luxury seaside resorts to dude ranch desert escapes.

Historic Hotels Worldwide® is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Historic Hotels Worldwide Annual Awards of Excellence. The Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence recognize and celebrate the finest historic hotels and hoteliers from around the world.

Historic Hotels Worldwide®, a collection of more than 300 authentic historic hotels in over 46 countries, is pleased to announce The 2023 Top 25 Historic Hotels Worldwide Afternoon Tea Experiences List. The hotels selected for recognition in this semi-annual list offer heritage travelers and cultural experience seekers a chance to immerse themselves in a tradition from Victorian Britain that is being preserved and revived around the world: afternoon tea. While the custom of tea ceremonies dates back millennia around the world, the tradition of afternoon tea—a light meal served mid-afternoon with tea or sparkling wine—is traced to the English aristocrat Anna Russell, the 7th Duchess of Bedford and Queen Victoria’s Lady of the Bedchamber. Her household served dinner fashionably late, at or after 8 p.m., but the duchess did not want to wait so long between luncheon and supper. Being regularly hungry at 3 or 4 p.m., she instituted a new meal in the early 1840s. The influential Duchess of Bedford became a trendsetter when her “afternoon tea” became popular among women of means in the British hegemony during the late-19th and early-20th centuries, a time when social and cultural mores were rapidly changing for these women. The pursuit of activities away from one’s home became socially acceptable, even fashionable, and afternoon tea was a hit. Many of the historic hotels selected for the list are in the British Isles–the United Kingdom and Ireland–but other historic destinations with afternoon tea experiences can be discovered in China, Portugal, Singapore, Myanmar, and the Netherlands. These regions all played a vital role in the global history of tea, and many of the hotels selected make the history of tea and tea rituals part of the cultural experience they offer visitors. A perfect fit with hotels, the tradition of afternoon tea symbolizes hospitality, tradition, indulgence, sustenance, and friendship. Several of the afternoon teas selected for this list serve guests tea with a twist, offering literature, augmented reality, art, and dancing. The 25 hotels selected offer visitors opportunities to discover the history of tea, indulge in afternoon tea, and experience its romance within meticulously restored historic settings that include elegant castles, refined manor homes, and luxury hotels.

Historic Hotels Worldwide® is pleased to announce the nominee finalists for the 2022 Historic Hotels Worldwide® Awards of Excellence. The Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence recognize and celebrate the world’s finest historic hotels and hoteliers, through categories of excellence such as Historic Hotels of Worldwide Best Historic Resort, Historic Hotels Worldwide Sustainability Champion, and Historic Hotels Worldwide Legendary Family Historic Hoteliers of the Year.

Five historic hotels in Lisbon, Portugal, have been inducted into Historic Hotels Worldwide®, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation (United States of America) for recognizing and celebrating the finest historic hotels around the world. These historic hotels are Heritage Avenida Liberdade, As Janelas Verdes, Hotel Britania Art Deco, Hotel Lisboa Plaza, and Solar do Castelo. All five historic hotels are part of the Lisbon Heritage Hotels collection, which promotes the history and culture of Portugal’s capital city.

Historic Hotels Worldwide is known for its members' grand architecture, colorful gardens, elegant hospitality, and romantic settings, and their luxury amenities are often enhanced with museum-quality art collections. Many of the hotels highlighted here exhibit the most magnificent art collections found at historic hotels, and many are committed to supporting art movements and diversity in art. Hotels of Historic Hotels Worldwide view their art collections as an expression of their hospitality and community values, many collecting with the aim of supporting local or national heritage preservation and local artists. Above all, this is art that is meant to be enjoyed by all who visit. These art collections can be viewed and experienced in furniture, paintings, sculpture, augmented reality, textiles, tablets, fountains, and even some hotel buildings that are considered stand-alone works of art. From Berlin to Guadalajara to Montreal, Historic Hotels Worldwide lodgings offer guests opportunities to experience a variety of original artwork, from the works of Dutch masters and graffiti artists to Mexican muralists and Pop Art disrupters. These historic hotels are truly museums where you can stay the night.

Historic Hotels Worldwide® offers cultural heritage travelers easy access to many of the world’s most beautiful historic gardens. Representing five continents, the legendary hotels featured here in the 2022 Top 25 Historic Hotels Worldwide Most Magnificent Gardens highlight diverse horticultural landmarks, from private estate gardens of medieval Irish castles and Mexican haciendas to lush UNESCO World Heritage Sites at Villa Borghese in Rome and the Gardens of Versailles in France. Numerous life-long memories of special occasions celebrated in the gardens of historic hotels include romantic getaways, romantic proposals, honeymoons, anniversaries, and family reunions. This list is an invitation to explore, experience, and grow blossoming memories in the beautiful gardens of historic hotels.

Historic Hotels Worldwide® is pleased to announce its list of the 2022 Top 25 Historic Hotels Worldwide Most Romantic Hotels and a “Dozen Roses,” 12 very honorable mentions. Around the world, Historic Hotels are the perfect places to “woo and wow.” The romantic hotels on this list represent 18 countries on four continents. Nominees for the 2022 Top 25 Historic Hotels Worldwide Most Romantic Hotels list were considered based on services, service levels, special touches and amenities for couples (whether courting, becoming engaged, celebrating a wedding, honeymoon, or anniversary). Consideration was given to luxurious suites, breathtaking views, fine dining, architecture and interior design, and historical character. This is the first year of the annual Top 25 Historic Hotels Worldwide Most Romantic Hotels list.