WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--December 13, 2018 Historic Hotels of America® has the best hotels to celebrate the holiday season and see the most spectacular (and delicious) gingerbread creations. From almost life size replicas of a historic hotel to intricate and detailed edible villages, there are a variety of magnificent gingerbread creations that are worthwhile to see this holiday season.
Can you imagine a gingerbread recipe that requires 6,000 house-made bricks, 1,650 pounds of candy, 3,300 pounds of royal icing, and when finished 11 persons can dine inside? Another gingerbread recipe required the help of 10 master pastry chefs and two carpenters working for more than 220 hours and used 958 pounds of powdered sugar, 650 eggs, 475 pounds of flour, to create a 13 foot high replica of a legendary historic hotel.
Here is The 2018 Top 25 Most Magnificent Gingerbread Displays:
The Willard InterContinental (1818) Washington, DC
Every
year, The Willard’s pastry department works to create a gingerbread
display that pays tribute to an iconic landmark around the nation’s
capital. This year’s display honors Ronald Reagan Washington National
Airport (DCA). Situated on the banks of the Potomac River in Virginia,
National Airport first opened for business on June 16, 1941. Spearheaded
by Jason Jimenez (Executive Pastry Chef), Magenta Livengood (Pastry
Cook), and David Sanabria (Engineer), and assisted by the hotel’s entire
pastry team, the design of the gingerbread display began in late
September, with construction beginning in November. Taking over 350
hours, this display weighs nearly 400 pounds and contains over 100 LED
lights, 30 feet of electrical wire, 306 pieces of gingerbread and 30
pounds of fondant standing as the runways. It also includes a live
audio feed from DCA's control tower.
French Lick Springs Hotel (1845) French Lick, Indiana
This
year, the historic French Lick Springs Hotel is being recreated in
gingerbread. The gingerbread hotel is still crafted the same way as the
gingerbread houses from prior years, as everything guests will see on
the exterior is edible — from the real gingerbread made from scratch in
the bakery, to the sugary stained-glass windows and snowflakes and other
adornments that make it sparkle. The gingerbread creation has taken
500-600 combined work hours to create and can be seen at the hotel
through January 6.
Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa (1847) Point Clear, Alabama
This
year, the Grand Hotel has created a massive gingerbread replica of the
resort. The pastry chefs at the Grand Hotel started working on the
display in late October and finished on Thanksgiving Day. From making
the dough, rolling, cutting, baking, assembling, and decorating it, the
four-week project is a Grand tradition. Utilizing over 150 pounds of
flour and 150 pounds of royal icing, this year’s creation is one not to
be missed.
Pinehurst Resort (1895) Pinehurst, North Carolina
This
year’s gingerbread village is a complete recreation of landmarks from
the Village of Pinehurst, including the Village Chapel, Carolina Hotel,
and other cottages from around Pinehurst. This year’s gingerbread
village is quite massive requiring 14 tables to support over 80 pounds
of gingerbread. It takes a staff of 12 three months to complete and
requires engineers, an electrician, audio-visual setup staff to work
around the pastry crew from 7 am to 5 pm non-stop. 50 gallons of royal
icing and over 70 pounds of assorted candies are used for this creation,
complete with a train around the village.
The Fairmont San Francisco (1907) San Francisco, California
Fairmont
San Francisco’s two-story, life-sized Gingerbread House in the hotel’s
grand lobby has become a must-see attraction for guests from near and
far. Fairmont San Francisco’s talented culinary and engineering teams
have joined forces to meticulously plan construction of this year’s
enormous Gingerbread House, which will be even larger than last year’s
stunning, two-story-high Victorian! Once complete, the impressive,
edible abode will stand more than 25 feet high, 35 feet wide and 10.5
feet deep and will feature more than 6,000 house-made gingerbread bricks
(largest bricks to date), 1,650 pounds of candy and 3,300 pounds of
royal icing. The gingerbread house’s railroad track also delights guests
of all ages, who happily gaze upon this favorite feature. The beloved
Gingerbread House now offers a private dining space for up to 10 guests.
This space can be reserved in advance and is the ideal place for
afternoon tea or dinner, or a special occasion.
Omni Grove Park Inn (1913) Asheville, North Carolina
It all
began with a small group of gingerbread houses built by community
members in 1992 as another way to celebrate the holiday season with no
plans to continue the following year. There was no possible way to know
that more than two decades later The Omni Grove Park Inn National
Gingerbread House Competition™ would be one of the nation's most
celebrated and competitive holiday events. The gingerbread display has
grown in more than just entries; it has become a true family holiday
tradition. The 26th Annual National Gingerbread House Competition™ was
held on Monday, November 19, 2018. The winning creations will be on
display Sunday, November 25, 2018 - January 4, 2019.
Omni William Penn (1916) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
This
year’s gingerbread house is a replica of the historic Omni William Penn,
dating back to 1916. Located in the lobby for all guests to admire from
mid-November through January, this gingerbread house took 80 hours to
complete utilizing all of the hotel’s culinary team and measuring in at
five feet tall and three feet wide. Over 200 pounds of gingerbread, 48
pounds of powdered sugar and 252 mint candies were used when creating
this replica gingerbread hotel.
The Broadmoor (1918) Colorado Springs, Colorado
The
Broadmoor is wrapping up its centennial year celebration with its
largest gingerbread display to date, measuring in with an over 13 foot
tall replica of the 1918 resort. A holiday tradition since 1964, this
year’s Broadmoor gingerbread display honors its heritage. The
Broadmoor’s gingerbread display took over 10 master pastry chefs and two
carpenters over 220 hours to create and includes 958 pounds of powdered
sugar, 650 eggs, and 475 pounds of flour. Over the years The Broadmoor
has come up with some innovative and ambitious gingerbread displays
including a full size steam engine in 2016 and a 13 foot tall chapel in
2017.
Hilton Chicago (1927) Chicago, Illinois
This six foot
gingerbread hotel replica utilizes 300 pounds of flour, 200 pounds of
powdered sugar, and 16,000 gingerbread bricks and weighs over 750
pounds. Three pastry chefs worked tirelessly to create this masterpiece
totaling over 270 hours of work to get the gingerbread creation
completed. It took 16,500 individual gingerbread ‘bricks” and 300
“windows” to create the scene. This year’s display features notable
Chicago landmarks including the Historic Hilton Chicago, Buckingham
Fountain, Willis Tower, John Hancock Tower, and the Cloud Gate, among
others. Every Saturday from November 17th through December 15th,
the hotel will have a cookie decorating station for kids at 10 am-12 pm
by the Gingerbread Hotel.
Skytop Lodge (1928) Skytop, Pennsylvania
The 2018
gingerbread display at Skytop Lodge is one not to be missed.
Construction of the 11 foot tall and 19 foot wide gingerbread structure
began in August and was erected in the hotel at the end of October.
Using 250 pounds of powdered sugar and 60 pounds of egg whites just for
the icing alone, this life-sized gingerbread house is impressive to all
visitors and guests of the hotel and can be seen at the hotel through
the end of the year. More than 1,000 hours of labor and a few thousand
pounds of gingerbread went into making this year's display. The theme of
the gingerbread creation for this year is Skytop Lodge itself, with
bakers replicating resort’s main building in edible form.
In addition to those listed above, here are several other historic hotels with amazing gingerbread creations:
Hanover Inn Dartmouth (1780) Hanover, New Hampshire
Omni Bedford Resort & Spa (1806) Bedford, Pennsylvania
Mohonk Mountain House (1869) New Paltz, New York
The Peabody Memphis (1869) Memphis, Tennessee
Palmer House®, a Hilton Hotel (1871) Chicago, Illinois
Wentworth by the Sea (1874) New Castle, New Hampshire
The Jefferson Hotel (1895) Richmond, Virginia
The Drake (1920) Chicago, Illinois
La Fonda (1922) Santa Fe, New Mexico
The Brown Hotel (1923) Louisville, Kentucky
Omni San Francisco Hotel (1926) San Francisco, California
Mayflower Park Hotel (1927) Seattle, Washington
The Settlers Inn at Bingham Park (1927) Hawley, Pennsylvania
The Edgewater (1948) Madison, Wisconsin
Hotel Captain Cook (1964) Anchorage, Alaska
“The tradition of gingerbread fairy-tale houses reportedly started in the United States more than 200 years ago with the German immigrants to Pennsylvania. Today, one of the world’s largest gingerbread houses is created and baked (in parts of course) at the Skytop Lodge in Pennsylvania. Across the country, 11 people can dine in the more than life-sized gingerbread house at the Fairmont San Francisco,” said Lawrence Horwitz, Executive Director Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide. “Each is a work of culinary artistry. We are pleased to recognize the many historic hoteliers, pastry chefs, carpenters, and other artisans that have created these wonderful gingerbread displays.”
For a complete listing of magnificent gingerbread displays, visit www.HistoricHotels.org/gingerbread.php.
About Historic Hotels of America®
Historic Hotels of America is the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing and celebrating the finest Historic Hotels. Historic Hotels of America has more than 300 historic hotels. These historic hotels have all faithfully maintained their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity in the United States of America, including 46 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Historic Hotels of America is comprised of mostly independently owned and operated historic hotels. More than 30 of the world’s finest hospitality brands, chains, and collections are represented in Historic Hotels of America. To be nominated and selected for membership into this prestigious program, a hotel must be at least 50 years old; has been designated by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark or listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places; and recognized as having historic significance. For more information, please visit HistoricHotels.org.