What began as a humble gesture of hope beneath the winter sky of 1930s New York has evolved into one of hospitality’s grandest global traditions.
What began as a humble gesture of hope beneath the winter sky of 1930s New York has evolved into one of hospitality’s grandest global traditions.
November 10, 2025
What began as a humble gesture of hope beneath the winter sky of 1930s New York has evolved into one of hospitality’s grandest global traditions.
Today, luxury hotels transform Christmas décor into an art form — and an economic powerhouse, using design, storytelling, and spectacle to enchant guests, fill rooms, and redefine festive travel. From Lake Como to London, Abu Dhabi to Dubai, the world’s most iconic hotels are elevating holiday décor into a new language of luxury.
In 1932, the Rockefeller Christmas tree tradition was born not from extravagance, but from resilience. Italian immigrant workers — cold, underpaid, and full of longing, gathered at a construction site and erected a small fir adorned with handmade garlands. It was a moment of unity amid the Great Depression, a reminder that even in harsh times, beauty could still be built together.
Nearly a century later, that spirit has become the emotional and commercial heartbeat of the hospitality industry’s most profitable season. Today, Christmas décor is far more than festive embellishment, it is a strategic engine that powers bookings, drives international travel, and elevates a hotel’s cultural relevance. Searches for Christmas holidays have risen by more than 100% year-on-year, and December consistently delivers the highest-grossing days for hotels worldwide.
Glowing lobbies, winter installations, and immersive holiday experiences encourage longer stays, inspire advance bookings, and increase spending on dining, spa treatments, family packages, and seasonal events. Hotels capable of turning their spaces into enchanting winter worlds gain something even more valuable: guest loyalty.
If summer is Lake Como’s signature season, winter now belongs unmistakably to Villa d’Este. Once a Renaissance residence, then a legendary warm-weather retreat, the hotel has transformed its December mood into a full-scale fairy tale, thanks to floral designer Vincenzo Dascanio’s creative direction.
This is Christmas at its most cinematic.
Along the grand colonnades, glittering trees line the pathways like a regal procession. Life-size nutcrackers guard staircases, each step wrapped in sparkling berry branches and golden ornaments. Indoors, thousands of fairy lights trace the contours of frescoed ceilings, while the hotel’s 25 acres of baroque gardens shimmer in the evening fog, creating a dreamlike landscape where shadows dance with silver light.
Guests wander through a whimsical chocolate room, a cozy greenhouse filled with candles and curiosities, and festive workshops where traditions come alive. The quiet haze drifting over Lake Como, the distant hum of winter boats, and the gentle glow of garden lanterns come together to create something rare in luxury travel: a holiday experience that feels both enchanted and intimately Italian.
Villa d’Este has long been the emblem of summertime dolce vita, but its winter metamorphosis has become one of Europe’s most celebrated festive escapes. It is a reminder that even the most storied hotels can reinvent themselves through the artistry of Christmas.
Luxury hotels are no longer simply decorating for Christmas, they are curating it. Collaborations with iconic designers and heritage brands have become a defining trend, transforming Christmas trees into cultural statements and selfie-worthy attractions that ripple across global media.
For the 2025 holiday season, Hôtel de Crillon reveals a radiant collaboration with Christofle, historic French silversmithing Maison, turning the palace into a showcase of French craftsmanship. Guests arrive to sparkling façades and two monumental outdoor trees glimmering in gold and silver. Inside, the festive scenography continues with Christmas trees adorned in Christofle’s Bouquet Givré collection, culminating in a majestic tree at the base of the Heritage Staircase, illuminated with metallic accents that reflect the Maison’s silversmithing legacy. In the lobby, "Perspectives", a modern tabletop collection inspired by classical architectural moldings created by artist Mathias Kiss in collaboration with Christofle, adds a striking contemporary touch.
In London, Claridge’s continues its reign as the world’s most fashion-forward Christmas destination. The 2025 tree, created by Burberry’s Chief Creative Officer Daniel Lee, transforms tradition into high art: a 16-foot fir decorated with 600 fabric bows made from surplus Burberry materials, Victorian-era unity symbols, sculptural chess pieces inspired by the brand’s heritage logo, and hand-blown glass baubles. It is elegance with a modern British wit, timeless yet entirely of the moment.
At The Dolder Grand, Belgian designer Charles Kaisin reimagines the spa as a floating golden constellation, created from 1,200 hand-folded origami cranes suspended on fine red threads. Shaping the silhouette of a contemporary Christmas tree, the installation is softly kinetic and deeply poetic, symbolising dreams, hope and new beginnings. Alongside this striking artwork, guests can enjoy festive culinary moments, from Afternoon Tea to Christmas Brunch, and indulge in winter getaway offers that complete the season’s charm.
These collaborations accomplish more than seasonal beauty. They generate anticipation months in advance, attract international bookings, and create instantly recognizable imagery shared across social media. More importantly, they position hotels as cultural tastemakers—places where fashion, design, heritage, and hospitality intersect.
Christmas trees become not just ornaments, but branded masterpieces.
In the Middle East, where luxury knows no limits, Christmas décor becomes a dazzling stage for world-record ambition.
At Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, the holiday season is defined by what remains the world’s most expensive Christmas tree since 2010, a multimillion-dollar spectacle valued at over US$11 million. Beneath the palace’s golden domes, the towering fir glitters with not just traditional ornaments but necklaces, watches, and precious stones from the hotel’s elite retailers. The effect is breathtaking: a 43-foot-tall festive landmark that merges extravagance, craftsmanship, and theatrical beauty in a way only the UAE can deliver.
Across the Arabian Gulf, Mandarin Oriental Jumeira in Dubai has created its own signature holiday tradition. For 2025 Christmas season, the beachfront resort has partnered with Schiaparelli to unveil a studded golden tree glowing on the hotel’s outdoor terrace. A sculptural fusion of Schiaparelli’s meticulous artistry, Daniel Roseberry's keen design and the Mandarin Oriental’s golden architectural excellence, the installation radiates contemporary elegance.
Crowned by a striking ruby-red heart set with 1,458 Swarovski crystals — a signature Schiaparelli motif, the 2025 Christmas tree brings surreal elegance to the hotel’s lobby. Radiant, theatrical, and perfectly suited to Dubai’s love for luxury, the piece stands as a bold artistic statement where high fashion, fine jewellery, and festive spirit converge.
What began with a modest Depression-era tree on a Manhattan worksite has evolved into a global language of celebration, one spoken in lights, craftsmanship, creativity, and experience. Today’s luxury hotels use Christmas décor not only to enchant the eye, but to shape entire holiday journeys that drive revenue, build emotional connection, and define their cultural identity.
