A Season To Celebrate

 Months before children break the first icicles off a low tree branch, the imaginative minds behind St. Regis Hotels & Resorts have begun handcrafting extraordinary holiday-themed services and amenities.

Timeless rituals have forever been an integral part of the St. Regis brand, dating back to the 1920s when families could glide across the ballroom’s ice-skating rink inside The St. Regis New York. The legacy of holiday traditions lives on at each St. Regis, from the New York-inspired ice-skating rink in Atlanta to the anticipated sand sculpture dedication at Monarch Beach. St. Regis takes pride in continuing these and other signature traditions that guests recall fondly year-round.

Elaborate planning for the St. Regis holidays begins during the heat of summer. By early October, phones begin ringing as returning guests, eager for an early taste of the season, ask butlers to arrange exclusive holiday services and add meaningful amenities to their families’ stays.

Around mid-November, twinkling lights, fragrant garland and seasonal decor transform each address. A team spends weeks perfecting the scheme, until each glimpse down every hall and grand entrance captures the glory of this splendid time of year. Meanwhile, St. Regis boutiques begin showcasing their hand-selected holiday lines, chefs refine their menus and a warm, ambiance is present. From the aromas of hot-spiced apple cider and freshly baked gingerbread to events that invite guests to celebrate, enduring traditions touch the hearts of St. Regis guests.

Signature Traditions

The Astor Holiday Rink on the sixth floor’s Pool Piazza has been a holiday institution since The St. Regis Atlanta’s opening in 2009. Local families and international guests alike float side by side around the rink, as the air fills with music of the season. The rink’s creation owes its roots to the original rink at the flagship St. Regis, The St. Regis New York. During the glamorous 1920s, the hotel’s founders and socialites, the Astor family, entertained a generation of Manhattan’s high society in the famed Iridium Room, complete with an indoor ice skating rink. The new tradition in Atlanta preserves the name and the legacy.

Seaside celebrations at the St. Regis put their own spin on holiday fun. In its 12th year, a sand sculpture dedication of extravagant proportions goes hand in hand with the annual tree-lighting ceremony at The St. Regis Monarch Beach. All ages delight in gathering around eight tons of sand that fills the hotel lobby. Construction over the course of four days eventually reveals an enormous work of art that blends a traditional Christmas theme with a nod to California beach culture. Treats, photos on the lawn with Santa and songs by a children’s choir round out this significant part of the Monarch Beach resort’s holiday identity.

During Hanukkah, a rabbi hosts the candle-lighting ceremony each night at The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, followed by traditional refreshments. The holiday season extends to Jan. 6 at The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort with celebrations of Three King’s Day In keeping with the Latin tradition that highlights the visit of the three kings, the resort honors this day with its own time-honored traditions.

Also notable this year, The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort sparks excitement with its debut holiday season in Miami Beach. Opened in January 2012, the resort has the rare privilege of taking cues from events at the other St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, while establishing its own set of oceanfront traditions to carry it through the years.

Bespoke Butler Services

Come early autumn, St. Regis butlers are already in high demand. With holiday preparations in full swing, each hotel and resort ensures more butlers are on hand, ready to complete holiday to-do lists and fulfill over-the-moon wishes.

Decorating the suites upon request—whether with a fresh tree or a Hanukkah menorah—is naturally a popular desire. While Atlanta butlers have been known to assist with engagement proposals at the Astor Holiday Rink and New York butlers pop the cork for en suite Champagne toasts, Monarch Beach butlers have brought smiles to guests by delivering gingerbread houses from the on-site Gingerbread Academy.

Guests know the holidays have arrived when hot apple cider and gingerbread join the in-room coffee and tea service. “We also help organize shopping trips to The Galleria,” says LeRoy Albertini, who oversees the butler team as assistant director of housekeeping at The St. Regis Houston. “Then, we beautifully wrap the gifts and even pack them to go home.”

For a private occasion in one of the four master suites, butlers coordinate with the chef to prepare a festive, multicourse dinner for up to 15 people.

Building Memories

 

Guests hold tight onto memories from a holiday visit to the St. Regis, but so do those at the hotel. Last year, many memories were made at the St. Regis, with one standout in Atlanta. A young guest named Maggie was enjoying tea with Santa when she shared her wish list with him.

“Our front desk staff received a copy and, upon her family’s departure, the front desk manager hinted for Maggie to check under our lobby tree to see if Santa had left her a package,” says Miller Jackson, marketing manager. “It was a very special moment of delight when she found a board game wrapped and under the tree just for her.”

Concierge Peter Kent at The St. Regis New York charmed the young granddaughter of a guest when she arrived with her family last December. “As the little girl walked in, he presented her with a red rose and said, ‘Welcome to the St. Regis!’ ” recalls concierge Annah Pelin. “The young lady was so enchanted; it was absolutely adorable.”

The St. Regis also extends its heritage of holiday magic right down to the youngest of guests. The holidays are traditionally a time of wonder for children, but each hotel and resort likes to indulge children with signature style.

A remarkable treat fills the lobby of The St. Regis Atlanta in the form of a life-size gingerbread house, wafting its comforting aroma. Children checking in at The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort find themselves suited up with a sand pail, shovel and sun hat. Through the holidays, young guests quickly adapt to a warm, beachside holiday

while immersed in activities from face painting to cookie baking. At The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, the Kids’ Club schedules gingerbread decorating and ornament making along with arts and crafts projects, sandcastle building and holiday storytime.

Holiday Tea 

Afternoon tea is a time-honored tradition at the St. Regis, and the holidays offer a worthy excuse to make it an even more distinctive affair. Several addresses take the opportunity to offer afternoon tea with a holiday theme.

Holiday high tea features classic desserts, tea snacks and exotic teas at The St. Regis Monarch Beach. Guests who reserve high tea for a Friday, Saturday or Sunday afternoon find it makes an unhurried holiday get-together, whether for a girls’ tea date or a savored mother-daughter time.

For decades, families at The St. Regis Houston have participated in the Teddy Bear Tea. This cultured event provides a way of educating  children in the ritual and cultivating a new generation of modern connoisseurs. Children are encouraged to bring a new teddy bear, which the hotel donates to a local women’s shelter. The Teddy Bear Tea often draws sellout crowds, as families take in the holiday sing-a-long, magic tricks, balloon artistry, face painting, marionette production, costumed characters and an oversized St. Regis Teddy Bear.

Festive Feasts 

The St. Regis would not be the St. Regis without traditional Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners, plus a festive Christmas Day brunch. Visitors and families dressed in their holiday best come prepared for classic fare and a few very tempting surprises.

Available only during the holidays, signature hot cocoa and s’mores make everything warm again after an afternoon of ice-skating at The St. Regis Atlanta. At The St. Regis Bahia Beach, children enjoy s’mores and storytelling around a fire pit. More sophisticated sweets are also in store for guests this year. The pastry team at The St. Regis Monarch Beach fashions small chocolate Christmas trees for nibbling or for gifts.

Executive Chef Romuald Feger of Vitrine, the signature restaurant at The St. Regis San Francisco, shares his favorite holiday tradition with guests. Defined as biscuits or small cakes, bredele is a holiday staple in the Alsace region of France, Feger’s native country. The chef brings his age-old family recipe to the hotel with seasonal-inspired flavors.

To honor its first holiday season, The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort introduces an imaginative four-tiered Christmas macaron. Executive Pastry Chef Antonio Bachour, who was named Top 10 Pastry Chef in America by Dessert Professional magazine, created this signature holiday amenity that guests can order during their stay.

Oh Tannenbaum

To attend a St. Regis tree-lighting ceremony is an event like no other. Carols and refreshments help to commence the season for everyone present. Even the tree is a work of art as each address gives in to the finest adornments of the season.

Decorators at The St. Regis Houston bring the beauty of nature to the Christmas tree with all-natural ornaments. In Atlanta, the lobby Christmas tree glitters with bespoke glass ornaments by Frabel. The St. Regis New York partners with florist Renny and Reed to create an original theme each year with extravagant floral decor.

As a new tradition this year, The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort will treat guests to taste of Puerto Rican Christmas traditions during the tree-lighting ceremony. Additionally, The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort was selected as the site of the first art installation of the Bal Harbour Village’s first-ever public art project, titled “Unscripted.” In October, a stainless steel work by artist George Sánchez-Calderón took its honored position in front of the resort.

Seasonal Spa 

Each St. Regis spa invites guests into an exquisite sanctuary from which they can leave nurtured, rejuvenated and aglow for the holidays.

This year, Remède Spa at The St. Regis San Francisco introduces a Peppermint Pedi. Stimulating, exfoliating and refreshing, this 60-minute pedicure combines essential oils with a glycolic peel that works to revive tense muscles and soothe shopping-weary feet.

At The St. Regis Aspen Resort, Remède Spa brings a holiday version of their popular Remède Farm-to-Massage-Table experience, which pairs spa treatments with a tasting menu that uses aromas, textures and flavors to stimulate the senses. Ultimately, the body and skin are nourished and pampered. For the holidays, the spa has created a five-course treatment and seasonal tasting menu with ingredients from local growers.

Whether it’s ice-skating at the Astor Holiday Rink, dining at a festive feast at The St. Regis San Francisco or enjoying the renowned sand sculpture dedication at The St. Regis Monarch Beach, spending the holidays St. Regis style is sure to create memories that will last a lifetime.