Experience The Sweetest Holiday Traditions At America’s Most Historic Hotels

Published on December 10, 2025

With the air of the holidays around us, Historic Hotels of America has published its list of the Top 25 Most Magnificent Gingerbread Displays for 2025. A true festive tradition, these edible masterpieces are crafted from thousands of pounds of sugar, flour, and creativity. Historic hotels around the country—from Virginia to California—will display them for the public to enjoy at the end of the month through the first week of January 2026. Parts of these over-a-month-long displays are novelties baked by the pastry chefs, and the teams were made to decorate and theme the hotels in the states. These masterpieces are welcoming patrons to the hotels to admire the displays and partake in the other holiday activities that are part of the hotels.

The Holidays, Gingerbread Traditions, and Displays over the Years

Life-sized gingerbread houses and replicas of buildings fill the air across the country. Each historic hotel in the country and abroad brings its holiday cheer to life. Each of the hotels in the newly released Top 25 list blends together Traditions of the hotels with creativity and inspiration in the culinary craftsmanship of the hotels. Teams of hotel culinary artisans and chefs devote their holiday season to constructing ingredients of a culinary craftsmanship displayed over the holiday season. Their life-sized gingerbread craftmanship is decorated with holiday culinary artistry of royal icing, gumdrops, and peppermint sticks.
Their culinary craftsmanship is on display in their hotel lobbies.

The holidays at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, include a 120-pound replica of the inn, a decorated gingerbread house. Each detail of the display includes decorations and embellishments from over 40 team contributors, with over 120 hours of display construction work. The display is a long tradition of the inn, dating back to 1773, and includes holiday activities for Inn guests, such as gingerbread house decorating.

Currently in the Woodstock Inn \& Resort in Vermont is a holiday staple of the Vermont Inn’s community. This community is represented by a whimsical woodland cottage. The holiday tribute has been crafted by the Inn’s pastry staff. It features a teahouse, multiple holiday cottages, and holiday woodland critters.

Traditions & Imagination at Historic Hotels

By capturing the joy season and holiday wonder, the Omni Bedford Springs Resort in Pennsylvania brings the Merry Christmas tradition to life with a life-size gingerbread house, crafted by the resort’s female pastry team. The life-size gingerbread house is a tribute to family Christmas Desserts and holiday joy. This display features the gingerbread family: Mr. Gingerbread Omni and his children gingerbreads is and they are discovering Christmas gifts.

The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia, also joins the tradition with its spectacular 180-degree view of a Christmas Village made entirely of gingerbread. Chef Sara Ayyash, the executive pastry chef, decorated the Christmas village, designed with lampposts and gingerbread trees decorated with candy. This display has been the hotel’s trademark and has welcomed all of the artistry, with the aroma of 508 gingerbread houses.

Across America during the holiday season, there are numerous places to dine and visit while seeing amazing holiday displays. One of these locations is The Fairmont in San Francisco, California. Their lobby features a massive Victorian-style, gingerbread house, and the staff is even able to eat inside of it. The gingerbread house weighs 1,900 pounds and is a favorite among anyone visiting the hotel, along with the gingerbread house omnibuses. The hotel staff opened the gingerbread house in the holiday season, and it serves as a holiday attraction.

Another Colorado hotel, The Broadmoor, located in Colorado Springs, showcases a famed holiday attraction consisting of the most detailed and active gingerbread homes and designs. One piece of the attraction is a gingerbread bobsled, as well as a winter sport, and all 4 of the chocolate, animated, gum drop, and peppermint elves in the bobsled display. The attraction is widely talked about as it is the only one offering a people-portable winter wonderland. Packaged with a ton of detailed fondant and peppermint decorations, The Broadmoor and holiday attraction is one of the most visited displays in the United States.

Sweetness at Every Corner

While guests at the hotels can appreciate the magnificent decorations from the outside, the hotels also entertain the guests. The JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District in Georgia, for instance, is showcasing a Savannah Christmas Market-themed balcony featuring a moving display of Christmas elves. Every few minutes, they activate and animate a scene where they make various festival treats – and holiday favourite desserts, a real delight for patrons of all ages. The scene is set in the grand lobby, where visitors can attend the drink station to grab a holiday drink and partake in other holiday activities.

More Than Just Decorations at Historic Hotels

These hotels, now historical, also give visitors the chance to appreciate the festive spirit of the season through other activities apart from the gingerbread. The Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina, for instance, hosts the famous National Gingerbread House Competition. It attracts participants from all over the country, and for several years, it has been a holiday tradition, and people travel to the competition to witness the incredible designs and craftsmanship.

The Gasparilla Inn & Club in Florida has visitors bring in chocolate presents to see an edible Santa’s sleigh. There are other Christmas activities to do on site as part of the hotel holiday, such as Christmas Walk and cookie events, where visitors can get into the spirit of the season.

Conclusion: A Sweet Tradition to Cherish

This holiday season, these Top 25 Most Magnificent Gingerbread Displays will capture the attention of many onlookers. From the historic La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe and the Royal Sonesta Chase Park Plaza St. Louis, many of these one-of-a-kind displays create a fantastic opportunity to enjoy the decorations and festive spirit in the country’s most beloved historic hotels. Whether you’re visiting or from the area, these sweet gingerbread displays will create a memorable holiday season.

Historically, hotels started showcasing edible gingerbread designs. They continue to remind us of the significance of holiday customs and how they help unite families and communities to celebrate the Christmas season. Guests can now create memories and enjoy the warmth and wonder of the season while visiting the hotels. They can also view the edible creations.