Gaylord Texan Resort
From Colorado to Copenhagen to Texas, Tennessee, and China, we’ve found hotels that cast a festive glow for the holidays.
The Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas continues to wow. This year’s holiday event Ice! includes two 2-story ice slides and ice sculptures of Charlie Brown and friends. This walk through display of colorful ice-sculptures was created by 40 artisans from China. Ice-skating and eight lanes of snow tubing are part of Gaylord Texan Resort’s Lone Star Christmas that runs through Jan. 5. The rest of the year, the Gaylord Texan Resort wows with its indoor gardens, 10 restaurants, seasonal water park and two pools.
More than 250,000 strands of lights, illuminate The Broadmoor’s grounds.
Check out more of Diana’s holiday favorites in Top Hotels for the Holidays. The historic Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado makes the list. The annual dinner holiday show, sleigh rides, visits with Santa, twinkling lights and an annual gingerbread village turn this magnificent hotel into a place of Christmas memories.
Clock at The Inn at Christmas Place, Pigeon Forge, TN
In Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, The Inn at Christmas Place celebrates Christmas year round, but in December, the holiday is a kid-friendly paradise. Christmas in December is served up with crafts, gingerbread house making, Christmas karaoke, visits from Santa, Winterfest lights and more. Throughout the year, Christmas carols, hot chocolate,
Christmas in Copenhagen is a magical time where Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark’s historic amusement park is decorated with thousands of Christmas lights. The Tivoli Hotel and Congress Center close to Tivoli Gardens is a perfect place to pair children’s Christmas activities with amenities that adults enjoy. The 679 room hotel was named “Best Hotel in Copenhagen” by Danish Travel Awards 2019. This means a stay any time of year is world class pleasure.
Copenhagen Christmas mulled wine and apple fritters at Tivoli Gardens
Hotel lobbies and more decked out for the holidays spread good cheer for those staying away from home. The Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah decks its halls with a Holiday Window Stroll and giant gingerbread replica of the hotel. Built for the 2002 Winter Olympics, the 24-story Grand America Hotel evokes grandness with Richelieu furniture, original art and Italian marble.
Palmer House lobby with its magnificent ceiling of 21 paintings
The Palmer House Hotel in Chicago has been a gorgeous hotel to behold for 145 years. This oldest continuously operating hotel in North America is worth visiting anytime of year, but during the Christmas season the decorations turn up gorgeous several notches. Earlier this year, the hotel’s lobby including ceiling murals by Art Deco painter Louis Pierre Rigal and the 24-karat gold winged candelabras by Tiffany and Co. were restored.
Sometimes holiday decorations appear when least expected. When my family and I spent our son’s first Christmas in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Christmas Eve was a festive occasion where entire families donned Santa Claus hats for an evening out.
Vanburgh Hotel lobby decked out for the holidays
For Mary Jo, the Vanburgh Hotel in Guangzhou, China was a festive surprise. The lobby, decked out with a gigantic Christmas tree, Santa sleigh and presents, were just part of the decorations she discovered on her first visit. This 382-floor guest room hotel is worth a stay any time of year for its attention to service and amenities.
Post courtesy of Jamie Rhein
