European Hotel Awards 2026: The 22 Laureates Honoured in Bordighera

Grand Hotel del Mare Resort & Spa, Bordighera — host venue of the European Hotel Awards 2026 © Grand Hotel del Mare Resort & Spa

European Hotel Awards 2026 — 21 distinctions reflecting the diversity of European hospitality

On 28 September 2026, the eighth edition of the European Hotel Awards brought together a selection of hotels, hospitality leaders, tourism figures, destinations and professionals whose work illustrates the diversity and depth of European hospitality.

Hosted at the Grand Hotel del Mare Resort & Spa in Bordighera, Italy, the 2026 edition was conceived as a qualitative recognition rather than a ranking. The distinctions reflect individual leadership, hotel identity, heritage, gastronomy, wellbeing, responsible luxury, tourism governance and the role of destinations in creating meaningful hospitality experiences.

BOARD’S CHOICE 2026
Twenty-one distinctions, twenty-one distinct expressions of European hospitality — united by identity, commitment, service culture and long-term quality.

Hotels and properties distinguished in 2026

Business Hotel of the Year 2026 — Courtyard by Marriott Vilnius City Center, Vilnius, Lithuania — represented by Lina Pariokienė, General Manager.

Urban Sanctuary Hotel of the Year 2026 — The Dominican, Brussels, Belgium — represented by Bert Vandewaetere, General Manager.

Heritage Boutique Hotel of the Year 2026 — La Bastide Saint-Antoine, Grasse, France — represented by Jacques Chibois, Chef & Owner.

Wellness & Spa Hotel of the Year 2026 — Hilton Vilamoura, Vilamoura, Portugal — represented by Miguel Afonso dos Santos, General Manager.

Iconic City Hotel of the Year 2026 — Radisson Collection Hotel, Berlin, Berlin, Germany — represented by Marco Eichhorn, General Manager.

Historic Castle of the Year 2026 — Schloss Fall, Keila-Joa, Estonia — represented by Andrei Dvorjaninov & Margus Kuklane, Co-Owners.

Art of Hospitality Excellence 2026 — Esplanade Zagreb Hotel, Zagreb, Croatia — represented by Ivica Max Krizmanić, General Manager.

Palace Hotel of the Year 2026 — Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris, France — represented by François Delahaye, General Manager of Hôtel Plaza Athénée and Chief Operating Officer of Dorchester Collection.

Legend Hotel of the Year 2026 — La Réserve de Beaulieu, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France — represented by Nicole & Jean-Claude Delion, Owners.

François Delahaye — Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Palace Hotel of the Year 2026 © Hôtel Plaza Athénée / European Hotel Awards

Leadership, management and the professions behind hospitality

The 2026 selection places strong emphasis on the women and men whose decisions, expertise and daily leadership shape hotel performance, service culture and guest experience.

Hotel F&B Manager of the Year 2026 — Donatas Burneika, F&B Manager, Grand Hotel Vilnius, Curio Collection by Hilton — Vilnius, Lithuania.

Hospitality Operations Excellence 2026 — Vasile Chirila’, Operations Manager, Grand Hotel del Mare Resort & Spa — Bordighera, Italy.

Hospitality Executive Achievement 2026 — Vincent Schuit, Operational Director, Hotel De Zeevaartschool — Vlissingen, Netherlands.

General Housekeeping Manager of the Year 2026 — Antoine Le Van, General Housekeeping Manager, Hôtel de Crillon — Paris, France.

General Manager of the Year 2026 — Alessandro Dorrucci, General Manager, Grand Hotel del Mare Resort & Spa — Bordighera, Italy.

Ethical Luxury Hotelier of the Year 2026 — Simone Marigliani, General Manager, Borgo Scopeto Wine & Country Relais — Vagliagli, Italy.

Area General Manager of the Year 2026 — Salvatore Pisani, Area General Manager, Starhotels Collezione — Venice, Italy.

Managing Director of the Year 2026 — Michel Morauw, Managing Director North, EAME, Hyatt — Zurich, Switzerland.

The Mediterranean setting of Grand Hotel del Mare Resort & Spa, Bordighera © Grand Hotel del Mare Resort & Spa

Wine, territory and the wider culture of hospitality

Wine Estate & Wine of the Year 2026 — Château La Calisse, Pontévès, France — represented by Patricia Ortelli, Owner.

The distinction reflects the wider European Hotel Awards understanding of hospitality as an ecosystem in which hotels, gastronomy, wine, landscape and the identity of a territory can reinforce one another.

Tourism, destinations and European governance

Territorial Tourism Leadership 2026 — Jérôme Viaud, Mayor of Grasse — Grasse, France.

European Hospitality City 2026 — City of Bordighera, Italy — represented by Marzia Baldassarre, Mayor.

European Tourism Governance Award 2026 — Lidija Bajarūnienė, Vice-President, European Travel Commission — Vilnius, Lithuania.

The institutional dimension of the 2026 edition also brought together public figures from the region. Among those present was Claudio Scajola, President of the Province of Imperia and Mayor of Imperia.

A European reading of hospitality excellence

The 2026 distinctions form a deliberately broad picture of hospitality. Some recognise landmark hotels and independent houses; others highlight managers, operational specialists, public leadership, regional strategy, wine culture or destination governance. Together, they reflect a sector in which hospitality is created by many different professions and many different forms of responsibility.

The European Hotel Awards remain a private, international and independent initiative. Their approach is qualitative and editorial, with attention to identity, service culture, leadership, consistency, guest experience, heritage and the particular contribution of each laureate to the wider European hospitality landscape.

Rather than establishing a hierarchy between fundamentally different forms of hospitality, the Awards recognise individual identities, achievements and contributions within their own context — from the culture of a historic house to operational leadership, from tourism governance to the character of a destination.

Nicole & Jean-Claude Delion — La Réserve de Beaulieu, Legend Hotel of the Year 2026 © La Réserve de Beaulieu / European Hotel Awards