ARCOTEL Tabakfabrik (Austria, Linz), Casa Cook Madonna (Italy, Madonna di Campiglio) and Hotel Schani City (Austria, Vienna) have won the 25th anniversary edition of the award
. To mark the award’s anniversary, the ‘Hotel Property of the Year 2026’ title is being awarded to three hotels for the first time this year. The winners – ARCOTEL Tabakfabrik (Linz, Austria), Casa Cook Madonna (Madonna di Campiglio, Italy) and Hotel Schani City (Vienna, Austria) – were honoured yesterday at the 196+ forum specialist conference in Munich.
Andreas Martin, Chair of the Jury: “The fact that we are honouring three winners this year, each representing very different concepts and approaches, sends a strong signal. It is precisely this diversity that reflects the hotel market very well. Successful projects today no longer follow a single formula, but impress with tailored responses to location, target audiences and the changing needs of guests. The three winners demonstrate, in very different ways, just how broad the spectrum of sustainable hotel concepts has become.”
From the 24 entrants from eleven European countries, the 12-member interdisciplinary jury selected ten nominees from five countries. Of these nominees, three hotels were chosen as this year’s winners. The call for entries for the ‘Hotel Property of the Year’ award was open to hotel developers, owners and operators alike. Hotels that opened between January 2025 and June 2026 were eligible to enter the competition. The jury’s selection was based on a successful overall concept combining architecture and design, integration into the project’s surroundings, sustainability and technical innovations, the originality of the concept, and economic viability.
Thiemo Willms, jury member and Vice President of Development for DACH & Nordics at Accor: “This year’s entries reflect the diversity and innovative strength of the European hotel industry, ranging from impressive leisure destinations in the Alps and Northern Europe to outstanding city hotels in major metropolitan centres. Despite the current reluctance to build new hotels, we have seen numerous projects of a very high standard, with repurposing and conversion concepts becoming increasingly important. Selecting the finalists from among all these candidates was anything but easy; it was the result of intensive expert discussions and a careful weighing up of factors such as location quality, cost-effectiveness, innovation and sustainability.”
The winners
The ARCOTEL Tabakfabrik forms part of the new Quadrill Quarter on the listed site of the Linz tobacco factory. The hotel tower, standing just over 100 metres tall, combines the site’s industrial heritage with contemporary high-rise architecture, whilst deliberately opening up to the neighbourhood. The hotel comprises 189 rooms and suites, as well as around 1,000 square metres of conference space. A particular highlight is the Q27 on the 27th floor, at a height of 99 metres, featuring a restaurant, bar, lounge and terrace, as well as a 360-degree view over Linz, the Danube and the surrounding countryside. The history of the site is also evident in the interior design – which, for this Arcotel, was developed in collaboration with the architectural firm Zechner & Zechner from Vienna – where exposed concrete, metal and industrial elements are combined with warm materials and precise lighting design.
The Casa Cook Madonna di Campiglio has emerged from the former family-run Hotel Milano and also marks the international hotel brand Casa Cook’s first foray into a traditional winter sports resort. The existing hotel building, formerly the Hotel Milano, dating from the 1960s, has been comprehensively revitalised, reorganised and expanded by ten rooms to a total of 50 through the conversion of the attic. Rather than demolition, the focus was on the further development of the existing structure. The minimalist design characteristic of Casa Cook has been adapted to an Alpine context for the first time, combining dark wood, mineral-based surfaces and warm earth tones with restored furniture from the existing collection. Situated directly on the central village square, the hotel aims to attract new, particularly international, guest groups to Madonna di Campiglio whilst also providing impetus for the resort’s further development beyond the traditional winter season.
The Hotel Schani City sees itself as an urban oasis of tranquillity in the heart of Vienna’s Leopoldstadt district. Situated in a quiet side street near the Karmelitermarkt, the hotel combines contemporary architecture and natural materials with digital technologies and a distinctive art and design concept. The digital guest journey is not intended to replace personal contact, but rather to create scope for individualised service. At the same time, the hotel draws on the cultural and Jewish history of the so-called ‘Mazzesinsel’ and integrates this not only into its storytelling but also into the technical facilities of its ‘kosher-friendly’ rooms. The result is less a traditional city hotel and more a retreat and meeting place for design- and culture-conscious city and business travellers, across all cultures and religions.
Winners of the ‘Hotel Property of the Year 2026’ award (in alphabetical order):
ARCOTEL Tabakfabrik
Location: Austria, Linz
Owner: TF BOSTON GmbH
Operator: ARCOTEL Hotels
Project developer: Bodner Bau
Architect: Zechner & Zechner ZTGmbH, Vienna
Interior designer: Arch. Monika Breu (project manager at Zechner & Zechner)
Type of establishment / Category: Conference hotel / 4-star
Construction period: 59 months
Number of rooms: 189
Casa Cook Madonna
Location: Italy, Madonna di Campiglio
Owner: JPI Hotel Milano S.r.l.
Operator: Treasurests MdC S.r.l.
Project developer: JPI Hospitality Advisory GmbH
Architect: Architettura & Design, Studio Monazza Rolando
Interior designers: vision alphabet GmbH, Berlin
Type of establishment / Category: Resort hotel / 4-star
Construction period: 22 months
Number of rooms: 50
Hotel Schani City
Location: Austria, Vienna
Owner: KODESCH GmbH
Operator: Hotel Schani City GmbH
Project developer: HOPPE+PARTNER ZT-GmbH
Architect: HOPPE+PARTNER ZT-GmbH
Interior designer: AllesWirdGut Architektur ZT GmbH
Type of establishment / Category: City hotel / 4-star
Construction period: 16 months
Number of rooms: 126
The ten nominated hotels, in alphabetical order:
ARCOTEL Tabakfabrik (Linz, Austria)
Brach Madrid (Madrid, Spain)
Casa Cook Madonna (Madonna di Campiglio, Italy)
Hotel De Zeewaartschool (Vlissingen, Netherlands)
Hotel Schani City (Vienna, Austria)
Kimpton Main Frankfurt (Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
Silt & Sand Langeoog (Langeoog, Germany)
SLS Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain)
The Florentin by Althoff Collection (Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
Wilde, Vienna Fleischmarkt (Vienna, Austria)
Previous winners of the ‘Hotel Property of the Year’ award:
Cocoon Theresienwiese, Munich, Germany (2025), OLM Nature Escape Sand-Taufers, South Tyrol, Italy (2024), Falkensteiner Hotel Montafon, Austria (2023), Hotel Wilmina Berlin (2022), Ruby Luna Düsseldorf (2021), Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, Croatia (2020), Schgaguler Hotel Kastelruth (2019), QO Amsterdam (2018), Bretterbude Heiligenhafen (2017), Reichshof Hamburg CURIO Collection by Hilton (2016), Hotel Zoo Berlin (2015), Holzhotel Forsthofalm Leogang, Salzburg region (2014), Radisson Blu Hotel Nantes (2013), Hotel TOPAZZ Vienna (2012), 25hours HafenCity Hamburg (2011), Roomers Frankfurt (2010), Lindner Park-Hotel Hagenbeck (2009), 25hours Frankfurt (2008), Schloss Elmau Luxury Spa & Cultural Hideaway (2007), Hotel Daniel Graz (2006), Colosseo Erlebnishotel Rust (2004), Rocco Forte Hotel Amigo Brussels and Accor Suite Hotel Hamburg (2003), Hilton Cologne (2002).
