For the third year in a row, the Historic Hotel Bethlehem won a USA Today poll to be named the best historic hotel in America.

Hotel management announced at a noon press conference that the century-old hotel at 437 Main St. in Bethlehem won the USA Today 10Best Reader’s Choice Award yet again.

“Congratulations everybody. ... We did it,” hotel managing partner Bruce Haines said after a sign indicating the win was unveiled Friday. The event was livestreamed on Facebook.

The online poll to name the best historic hotel in the U.S. closed Monday after four weeks of voting. Haines said it was a great honor to be recognized along with other iconic properties.

A panel of industry experts and editors at USA Today nominated Hotel Bethlehem each of the past five years for the contest. The Bethlehem hotel came in third in 2019 and second in 2020.

Hotel Bethlehem showcases holiday decorations in the lobby in 2018.Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

Haines thanked the hotel’s loyal customers and its staff Friday.

“When guests come here, they feel like they’re coming home,” he told a crowd of staffers at the press conference. “You make them feel that way.”

Haines has called Hotel Bethlehem “the go-to venue for community celebrations for generations.” The 125-room hotel has employed thousands of Lehigh Valley families since it opened in 1922, he said.

The hotel was the brainchild of Bethlehem Steel President Charles Schwab, who wanted a grand hotel on Main Street. The Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce sold shares of the hotel to residents for $50 apiece, the hotel’s news release says.

The hotel features an expansive lobby, restaurants and multiple ballrooms. There’s a conference center, ladies boutique and the Hotel B ice cream parlor.

“A hotel like this can be more than just an overnight accommodation,” Haines said, adding it can “rejuvenate the mind, body and spirit” of its guests.

The hotel is affiliated with Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Who’s stayed there?

Plenty of famous people have stayed at Hotel Bethlehem in its 101-year history. Among those listed by the hotel are:

Winston Churchill, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Amelia Earhart, Bob Hope, the Dalai Lama, Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Shirley Temple, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Ron Jaworski, Muhammad Ali, Bernadette Peters, Counting Crows, Steve Carlton, Jack Nicklaus, Alison Krauss, Harry Connick Jr., Mayim Bialik and Jeffrey Tambor.

• MORE: Why Ozzy Osbourne got booted from Hotel Bethlehem (and other famous guests who didn’t)

In this 2022 file photo, Notre Dame High School seniors celebrate their prom at Hotel Bethlehem.Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

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Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com.