Marzia Baldassarre, Mayor of Bordighera, represents the city recognised as European Hospitality City 2026 © European Hotel Awards 2026
BOARD’S CHOICE 2026 — Hospitality can belong to an entire city
A visitor experiences a destination long before checking into a hotel and long after leaving it. Streets, gardens, architecture, public spaces, cultural references and the rhythm of local life all contribute to a broader sense of welcome. Hospitality, in this sense, can become a quality of place.
The City of Bordighera receives European Hospitality City 2026 from the European Hotel Awards, recognising a Mediterranean destination whose identity has long been connected to travel, cross-border culture and the tradition of receiving visitors.
European Hospitality City 2026
City of Bordighera — Bordighera, Italy
Represented by Marzia Baldassarre, Mayor
© City of Bordighera
A Riviera identity built through layers of history
Bordighera occupies a distinctive position on the Italian Riviera, close to the French border and open historically to international influences. Its gardens, villas, Mediterranean vegetation and relationship with the sea form a destination identity that is immediately recognisable without needing to be manufactured.
For contemporary hospitality, this authenticity matters. Guests increasingly seek places with character rather than interchangeable environments. A city capable of preserving its atmosphere gives hotels, restaurants and local businesses a stronger context in which to welcome visitors.
The 2026 distinction acknowledges that relationship between destination identity and hospitality experience.
It is a destination where place, culture and welcome combine to shape the visitor’s entire experience.
© City of Bordighera
The host city of the 2026 European Hotel Awards
The eighth European Hotel Awards were held in Bordighera at Grand Hotel del Mare Resort & Spa on 28 September 2026. The location gave the European gathering a Mediterranean setting while placing the host destination itself within the wider conversation about hospitality.
The City’s recognition is institutional and symbolic. The European Hotel Awards remain a private and independent initiative; the Comune di Bordighera is neither organiser nor co-organiser of the ceremony. The distinction instead honours the destination for its own qualities and for the culture of welcome associated with it.
Bordighera is represented in the 2026 recognition by its Mayor, Marzia Baldassarre.
© City of Bordighera
Why destinations belong in a hospitality awards programme
Hotels depend on the strength of the places around them. A memorable destination can give meaning to a stay, support local economic activity and create the desire to return. Public policy and private hospitality therefore meet in the visitor experience even when their institutional roles remain distinct.
European Hospitality City 2026 recognises this wider ecosystem. It highlights Bordighera as a city where the characteristics of the territory — landscape, heritage, Mediterranean culture and international openness — contribute directly to hospitality.
For the European Hotel Awards, that is a meaningful part of excellence: recognising not only the houses that receive guests, but also the destinations that give those houses their context.
Official 2026 laureate film
Discover the Main Awards dedicated to excellence across European hospitality and visit the Hall of Fame to explore previous laureates.
Tags: Bordighera, Destination Hospitality, European Hospitality, European Hospitality City 2026, European Hotel Awards, Italian Riviera, Liguria, Marzia Baldassarre
