BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Clad in traditional men’s Moravian attire, Keith Sten of Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites held a FedEx envelope aloft, revealing a message of congratulations for Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
For the fifth year in a row, USA Today newspaper has chosen the hotel as one of the nation’s 10 Best Historic Hotels/Resort.
The announcement came during a Wednesday celebration with hotel staff and guests.
They included Lehigh Valley IronPigs General Manager Kurt Landes, accompanied by team mascot FeRROUS; Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites President LoriaAnn Wukitsch; Discover Lehigh Valley Chief Executive Officer Alex Michaels; and Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce President Tony Iannelli.
Remembering Ralph Schwarz
The announcement comes just a year after Bethlehem was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site — a milestone not lost on Hotel Bethlehem Managing Partner Bruce Haines.
“The table is now set here in Bethlehem for us to fulfill the vision of one of our predecessors at Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, Ralph Schwarz,” Haines said.
Schwarz, who served as special planning representative for Bethlehem Steel and was a World War II veteran, died in 2018.
“His dream was for Bethlehem to become a tourist destination like Colonial Williamsburg [Virginia]."Hotel Bethlehem Managing Partner Bruce Haines
He also played a pivotal role in preserving Bethlehem’s Moravian heritage and was instrumental in declaring the city’s designation as Pennsylvania’s first Historic District in 1961.
“His dream was for Bethlehem to become a tourist destination like Colonial Williamsburg [Virginia]," Haines said.
"He played a key role in rebuilding the Moravian Blacksmith Shop — the only structure in our UNESCO World Heritage Site that’s been reconstructed. Everything else dates back to the 1700s.”
In spring, the Ralph Schwarz Center for Colonial Industries opened inside the Grist Miller's House as a space to promote local artists and hold exhibitions.
"We just embarked on a new project, The Overlook on History, that will connect the Grist Miller House to the Luckenbach Hill," Wukitsch said.
"It's going to be the beacon of Bethlehem.
"Anyone who enters through the Hill to Hill Bridge or the Broad Street Bridge will see the history lit up, visible, and see this beautiful piece of colonial."
How the USA Today contest works
For the contest, USA Today has a team of travel writers select the top 20 historic hotels — a subcategory established in 2015 — before a four-week period during which the public can vote for its favorite.
For the second year in a row, the hotel teamed up with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs to build excitement around the contest at a game in July.
Votes also were cast on VoteHotelB.com.
The hotel, which has housed famous guests including John F. Kennedy, Henry Ford, the Dalai Lama, Ray Charles and Amelia Erheart, is affiliated with Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
It also is among only 1% of USA Today contest winners to have won the 10Best contest five consecutive times.
Also winners in the 2025 10Best Historic Hotel/Resort contest are: The Peabody in Memphis, Tennessee; Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa in Point Clear, Alabama; The Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia; The Hotel Hershey in Hershey, Dauphin County.
Also, Davenport Hotel, Autograph Collection in Spokane, Washington; Congress Hall in Cape May, New Jersey; Willard InterContinental Washington, D.C.; The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York.
