There’s no better time to appreciate the fantastic things pastry chefs can do with cookies than around the holidays. Using flour, butter, sugar and spices, these artists create palaces, life-sized replicas and even an elevator — all out of desserts. Make this season’s holiday destination a sweet one by booking a Forbes Travel Guide-rated hotel stay that comes complete with a side of gingerbread magic.
Gingerbread House at Rancho Bernardo Inn
Head to San Diego this holiday season for a glimpse of the property’s epic holiday festivities. The life-sized gingerbread house built annually in house tops Santa’s list. This creation used 1,000 pounds of sugar, 1,000 pounds of flour, 400 pounds of candy, 240 eggs and 128 pounds of molasses. While you can’t sample this sweet treat, a menu of holiday cocktails, prix fixe dinners and desserts will hit the spot.
Gingerbread Lounge at Terranea Resort
Creating a functioning bar made of gingerbread required around 1,000 pounds of holiday cookies and dedication. Executive pastry chef Pierino Jermonti and his team built the Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star resort’s lounge, and this year’s display is the Southern California property’s largest confectionery construction to date. Even better, you can sidle up to the seven-foot-by-seven-foot bar to check out the royal icing, gumdrop and candy cane décor and order signature seasonal cocktails.
Gingerbread Spectacle at The Lodge at Turning Stone Resort Casino
Discover one of the country’s biggest hotel gingerbread spectacles at this Four-Star Upstate New York resort. The expansive exhibit brings the board game Candy Land to life with nine sugary structures, including a Cupcake Commons Barn and a Dulce de Leche Falls Log Cabin. Executive pastry chef Jeremy Moore and his team used 4,000 gingerbread pieces, 4,000 Hershey’s Kisses, 3,900 Hershey’s Miniatures, 1,260 Andes candies, 1,000 pounds of frosting, 720 Dum-Dums lollipops, 400 cow cupcake wrappers, 375 peppermint sticks, 315 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, 250 pounds of fondant icing, 150 pounds of isomalt sugar and 41 pounds of white chocolate to develop the 75-foot-long village.
Gingerbread Pirate Ship at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island
This Forbes Travel Guide Recommended property off Florida’s coast has made vacation jolly with the world’s largest gingerbread pirate ship. Dubbed SS Amelia, the vessel comes complete with booty, little pirates and an octopus sidekick. Adults and kids alike can also participate in one of the gingerbread house workshops the hotel offers.
Gingerbread Express Elevator and Pop-Up at Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago
Not every hotel sports an elevator made of sweets, but in Chicago, you can find such whimsy when visiting this Five-Star hotel’s standout restaurant, Terrace 16. The pastry team lovingly baked 1,300 gingerbread bricks to create the “walls” of the working elevator. This special lift has been seasonally decked out in gingerbread, candy canes and other treats since 2010. This year’s model took more than 450 hours to make and features a Christmas tree and fireplace garnish inside. Not only does the elevator reach the restaurant but it also takes you to the hotel’s Gingerbread Holiday Pop-Up Shop, where edible treats benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital can be purchased.
Gingerbread Front Desk at The St. Regis Washington, D.C.
When you check into this Four-Star D.C. hotel, you will do so at the life-size gingerbread front desk made of 1,000 cookie bricks and 150 pounds of icing. Sit down and admire the carefully placed icing filigree along the cookie edges and shimmers of crystal-like sugar glinting from every angle. If the scene fills you with holiday cheer, indulge in the hotel’s afternoon tea service with a festive kick.
Gingerbread Palace at Lotte New York Palace
Forget the gingerbread houses of your childhood; the one displayed here is a masterful miniature replica of the Forbes Travel Guide Recommended New York hotel. The Lotte pastry team spent more than 300 hours assembling the cookie structure, and it’s a sight to behold in the Grand Lobby. The gingerbread house adds to the hotel’s festive offerings, which include a mailbox to Santa, visits from the Rockettes, holiday brunch and suites decked out in celebratory red and green.
Gingerbread School at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes
Located on a 500-acre resort in Orlando, this Four-Star property invites guests to school this holiday season. Don’t worry, there aren’t any tests as the pastry team teaches you how to build your gingerbread house at Santa’s Workshop. Design your own or garner inspiration from the life-sized display in the lobby. After, hit up the gingerbread social, an adults-only gathering complete with cocktails, a gingerbread decorating challenge and unlimited hot cocoa and coffee.
Gingerbread Boat at The Broadmoor
This Five-Star resort creates a gingerbread display with a story each year. This year’s vision revolves around the canopy boats that floated on Cheyenne Lake when the property opened in 1918. Not only does the 16-foot-by-4-foot vessel pay homage to the past, but it also shines a light on the future: the Colorado Springs resort will debut two electric canopy boats in the summer of 2024. The cookie boat might not float, but it does come decked out in candy canes, gumdrops, macarons, meringues, peppermints and jellybeans.
Gingerbread Village at Solaz, A Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos
Check out the seven-foot-tall gingerbread house and charming gingerbread village at this Four-Star resort in Los Cabos. The gumdrop- and icing-filled edifice sits in the lobby for everyone to see. Want more? Sign kids up for a gingerbread wonderland master class, where they can build their own sweet structure. The Cabo Nauta Kids Club also has a lineup of festive crafts for the little ones, including ornament making, stocking decorating and snowman-pillow creating.
Gingerbread Street Car at The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans
NOLA does things differently. For example, this Four-Star property has created an elaborate gingerbread streetcar instead of the traditional house. The vehicle is built to scale and decked out with candy canes, cookies, festive candies and colorful characters in each window. Make sure to catch the actual streetcar outside the hotel to compare notes with the gingerbread version.
Life-Sized Gingerbread Display at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota
Once again, Florida’s charming Four-Star resort will light up for the season with a life-sized gingerbread display in the lobby. Created by the in-house pastry team, the intricate and edible treats work perfectly for festive group photos and can inspire guests in their own creative candy creations when taking a class with the property’s pastry masters.
Stay tuned for our 2024 Star Awards announcement on February 7, 2024.
