A beautifully decorated Christmas tree fills you with holiday cheer. There’s something about a soaring tree with dazzling décor that gets you in the mood for carols, holiday movies and hot chocolate.
These hotel displays from all over the world will inspire awe and merriment all season long:
The 1864 Monaco grande dame enlisted Chopard to trim its lobby tree. The luxury jeweler made it look like a snow globe — a nod to the theme of Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, which owns the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star property — with white and gold baubles suspended mid-air around the tree. The display also pays homage to Charles Dickens’ old Christmas chestnut.
The Four-Star hotel collected discarded yarn and fabric from clothing factories and tailor shops and wove them into this one-of-a-kind, sustainability-minded tree topped with a multi-colored glowing star. The 16-foot-tall textile structure stands in the lobby as a cheerful, bright tribute to Thai culture and contemporary art.
The Five-Star hotel’s display is a vision of white and gold. Realistic-looking frosty snow covers the branches, and lights shaped like candles dot the tree and illuminate the gold decorations. The festivities continue outside: As part of its 125th anniversary, the Ritz unveiled a classic merry-go-round and a wooden Christmas chalet serving gourmet treats and hot chocolate in Place Vendôme.
When entering this storied hotel, you’ll be greeted by Robby and Lizzy, oversized Fullerton bear mascots wearing Santa attire complete with jaunty red hats. They hint at what’s to come. Wander over to the grand staircase to find a 16-foot-tall tree made up of 700 small Fullerton stuffed bears also dressed in their red Santa wear. It’s a cuddly Christmas tradition.
Cashmere purveyor Lingua Franca adorned this lofty tree with sustainably sourced, vibrantly hued yarn garlands as well as custom hand-stitched ornaments with messages like, “Give a damn,” “Vote” and “Make love, not war.” For more coziness, stop by the hotel lobby for a cashmere pop-up from the slow fashion brand, whose products are all handmade by women in New York City.
Louis Vuitton stacked two monogrammed travel wardrobes affixed with Claridge’s stickers and an LV luggage tag. Inside, you’ll find the brand’s avant-garde sculpture made up of 15 chrome repurposed trunks that mimic the silhouette of a traditional Christmas tree and reflect the hotel’s art deco décor. At the tree’s apex is Asnières, the Louis Vuitton family home/atelier in Paris.
A five-minute walk from Rockefeller Center, you’ll discover another iconic towering tree in this hotel’s courtyard. After snapping photos of the bedecked spectacle, warm up at the adjacent Winter Bar at the Palace with a Royal Hot Chocolate (featuring Madagascar dark chocolate), hot New York apple cider or Hennessy hot toddy with gingerbread and sugar cookies.
Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris
This Parisian winter wonderland gleams with bold, shiny oversized silver and gold decorations, including a larger-than-life polar bear, in its lobby from artistic director Jeff Leatham. For more holiday sparkle, stroll over to the marble courtyard and enter the eminently Instagrammable winter dome that’s covered with white lights and has a mirrored floor. It makes for dazzling shots in the City of Light.
The Connaught, London
British artist and sculptor Rachel Whiteread hung 102 circular neon-white hoops on the branches of the Five-Star hotel’s outdoor 31-foot-tall Premier Nordmann fir, bathing Mayfair’s Carlos Place with a soft glow. The circles of light are supposed to encourage a feeling of togetherness and positivity throughout the holiday season.
The outdoor Christmas tree at this Five-Star hotel comes classically and elegantly decorated with a blanket of white lights and a shining star at its peak. But not much else is needed when the 55-foot tree sits along a cliff facing the Pacific Ocean. The timeless tree lets the stunning SoCal scenery shine just as brightly.
Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui
To make this eco-friendly Christmas tree, the Koh Samui, Thailand, hotel used more than 700 recycled coconut shells and fisherman’s nets. Both components honor the island’s past as a destination for fishing and coconuts. After the seasonal festivities, the Four Seasons will turn each shell into compost and return it to the resort’s landscape.
The Nutcracker plays out on the Atlanta hotel’s 20-foot lobby tree, curated by Over The Moon. The bridal and home website used ornaments from Riley Sheehey, a celebrated watercolor and multimedia artist from Falls Church, Virginia. Each of her ornaments depicts Clara’s journey through the Land of Sweets and the characters she meets along the way.
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