Gone are the days when holiday getaways were defined by generic festivities and predictable packages. The modern traveller craves something unique — a touch of exclusivity and immersion that transforms a holiday sojourn into an extraordinary memory. According to a 2024 McKinsey & Company report, the demand for bespoke and personalised experiences is reshaping the hospitality landscape. Leading hotels around the globe are responding with curated offerings — from designer collaborations and private helicopter tours to tailored menus and immersive cultural activities. These destinations promise a festive season like no other.
Four Seasons Resort and Residence Whistler, Canada
Tucked away on snow-capped mountains in British Columbia lies the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Whistler. This winter, guests can indulge in a thoughtfully curated collection of festive activities and après-ski offerings, each designed to capture the wonder and joy of the season.
One of its highlights includes The Library by The Macallan, a collaboration between the resort and the Scottish distillery brand. First introduced last winter, The Library by The Macallan reopened on November 28 for the 2024 season. With it comes a new immersive experience, titled “A Journey Through Colour,” which pays tribute to the art of whisky-making by playing with various shades of single malt Scotches. Whisky lovers can either indulge in The Library’s newest cocktail inventions or choose from 12 different bottlings of The Macallan to enjoy in the lounge’s intimate fireplace setting.
If it is an adventure you’re seeking, the hotel’s 45-minute helicopter tour takes full advantage of its premier mountainside location. Patrons are treated to an unforgettable flight over the Coast Mountains, which makes a special stop on a serene mountaintop to enjoy hot cocoa and wondrous views.
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Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, United Kingdom
The Scottish estate ends its 100th year in operation with a decadent Christmas programme for visitors. Located near the town of Auchterarder, Gleneagles Hotel boasts sprawling grounds that are blanketed in snow during December, serving as an ideal backdrop for opulent holiday activities. Throughout Christmas, the days are peppered with thoughtfully planned festivities, such as a dazzling pantomime performance, a visit from Santa’s reindeer, and wine tastings. A custom-built ice rink also sits on the property in winter time, where European and World Championship ice skaters are set to perform on Christmas Eve.
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Halekulani Okinawa, Japan
For those who prefer a more coastal-style Christmas, Halekulani Okinawa marries Hawaiian sensibilities with Japanese customs. The 2024 festive season theme is “Me ke aloha pumehana,” meaning “With all my love” in Hawaiian. True to that fashion, the hotel’s Christmas events include delicate quilling art, and cork tree and wreath crafting. Halekulani also offers a Santa Claus gift delivery service, where guests can drop-off their selected gift for loved ones before Christmas Day, and receive a personalised ‘visit’ from Santa Claus as if Father Christmas himself has come bearing presents.
Towards New Year’s, the hotel pays homage to its locale with traditional Japanese activities. Patrons can learn to weave miniature shimenawa, a sacred Shinto rope seen around shrine spaces and commonly used as New Year’s decorations; or participate in kakizome, a calligraphy tradition to write out auspicious blessings for the new year.
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Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Monaco
With appearances in two James Bond films, once home to an exhibition by Andy Warhol, and a regular shooting location of fashion photographer Helmut Newton, Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo is synonymous with glamour and sophistication. Its Christmas celebrations are no different. The hotel’s Belle Époque lobby is adding extra gleam with its Christmas tree display, designed by Swiss watch and jewellery house Chopard. Every day from 14 December to 5 January, the “Festive Afternoon Tea” will take place in the lobby at 3pm, offering up hot chocolate created by Michelin-decorated chef Alain Ducasse.
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The Mark, New York
Dubbed “the starriest hotel lobby in the world”, The Mark Hotel is no stranger to stylish hospitality experiences. This Upper East Side luxury hotel is home to North America’s largest penthouse, which serves as the base for The Mark Holiday Penthouse Spectacular. For the festive season, Penthouse guests can celebrate a quintessential New York Christmas, with the luxury of privacy and exclusivity.
The Mark — which has long been known as the “unofficial red carpet” for Met Gala attendees and celebrities — continues their association with the historic museum in winter. Penthouse guests are provided with an after-hours visit to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accompanied by an expert guide. Christmas shopping is also made easier with a late-night private shopping experience at Bergdorf Goodman.
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The Plaza, New York
Few hotels in the world capture the Christmas spirit as The Plaza in New York City does. The iconic Fifth Avenue hotel is cemented in pop culture as a Christmas wonderland, in part because of appearances in films such as “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” and the “Eloise” movie series. During Christmastime, The Plaza graciously brings these magical movie moments to life with their holiday offerings.
The most well-known holiday custom is The Plaza’s “Home Alone” package, where visitors can experience New York a la Kevin McCallister. A private limousine takes guests around the Big Apple to visit the movie’s famous film locations like the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and Radio City Music Hall. For a more traditional Christmas celebration, The Plaza also offers its “Suitest Season of All” package, which transforms one of its lavish hotel suites into a jubilant home away from home. Fairy lights, red and white florals, and a 7-foot-tall Balsam Hill Christmas tree decorate the suite for the holiday season.
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Ritz Paris, France
Situated in the glitzy Place Vendôme, The Ritz Paris has become an institution in French culture, attracting guests like Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaperelli, and King Edward VII. But it is not the only famous hallmark in the City of Lights — Surrealism, the artistic and cultural movement, originated in Paris, France in the 1920s. To honour the 100th Anniversary of Surrealism, The Ritz Paris infuses surrealist art into its end-of-year celebrations.
Designed by award-winning illustrator Jonathan Burton, signature emblems of The Ritz Paris are melded into Surrealist-style decor — think off-kilter paintings of golden-winged hats, The Ritz tulip lamp transformed into a couture dress, and the famous Ritz Paris key dancing around. The art style also extends to this year’s Christmas tree, adorned with original poetry and branches designed to look like Surrealist jewellery using gold thread, crystal pendants, and feathers.
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The Peninsula Hong Kong
This flagship hotel travels back in time each Christmas, this time to The Peninsula Hong Kong’s inception in 1928. The hotel lobby is transformed into a 1920s-style luxury passenger train — known as The Peninsula Express — painted in the hotel’s signature green and furnished with gold accents. Aboard the “train,” guests can indulge in afternoon tea or a lunch/dinner buffet as a simulated journey begins overlooking famed landmarks inspired by Beijing and Shanghai.
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Brown’s Hotel, London
Known as London’s oldest luxury hotel, Brown’s has garnered numerous high-profile clientele since its founding in 1832. Literary figures such as Agatha Christie and Rudyard Kipling were regular guests, and the hotel was also a favourite of the Roosevelt family. In recent years, Brown’s has welcomed a new type of legacy in the form of fashion houses. This year, the historic hotel has partnered with luxury lifestyle brand Golden Goose.
The Italian apparel and footwear brand puts their casual luxury spin on Christmas at Brown’s. Its signature golden star motif will feature subtly in the hotel’s festive decorations, culminating in a bespoke tree designed in rich colours of gold and purple. The Golden Goose x Brown’s Hotel collaboration goes further with the Golden Getaway package — a two-night stay in one of the hotel’s luxurious suites and a complimentary pair of Golden Goose’s iconic distressed-style sneakers. Guests are also given a VIP pass to Golden Goose’s Bond Street store to customise their new pair of sneakers with the brand’s artisans.
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