Saks Fifth Avenue may have gone dark on its traditional luxury holiday light show this year, but these Manhattan hotels have gone beyond the glitz to light up the holiday season.
By mid-November, the spectacular Christmas tree and holiday wreaths were fully installed at the Park Terrace Hotel (18 W. 40th St.) and doused in champagne.
“Putting things in place early gives you more bang for your buck,” professional holiday decorator Jesse Cooper told The Post.
Park Terrace Hotel
- 1800 custom warm white lights
- 1000 flashing lights
- 1000 feet of hanging fairy lights
- 130 meters made of ribbon
- 750 ornaments
Cooper installed a 12-foot “real touch” Elizabeth pine tree with 6,026 evergreen tips — meaning the tree is nice and bushy, not scruffy looking.
First, it combines the tree’s 1,800 regular warm white lights (Cooper prefers trees with built-in lights) with another 1,000 twinkling lights and 1,000 feet of hanging fairy lights. Next comes 130 yards of ribbon and 750 ornaments.
“I love working with companies that are willing to do an epic installation and get hot on Christmas. This is the Park Terrace.”
Savage, but tasteful, that is. The final touch is two distinctive ornaments ingeniously marked Park and Terrace, which Cooper has hand-plated in 24-karat gold. The combination of lighting and gold ornaments creates an effect that makes the tree look all gold, and the hotel staff named it the 24-karat gold tree.
“I’ve heard guests say they could sit and look at this tree all day: it glows like a chimney. Not to be upset,” Cooper said, casually adding a tree pun, “but I put my heart into it.”
Carlyle
- on 100 feet of the crown
- HUNDREDS of ornaments and baubles
- Bales of the golden willow
- THOUSANDS of lights
When it comes to a nostalgic holiday vibe, The Carlyle (35 E. 76th St.) goes for an abundance of seasonal cheer with sparkling garlands and wreaths hanging in its halls, and trees twinkling with lights and glittery ghosts.
It’s designed to match Carlyle’s classical and classic style, and the finishing touch to the festivities is a troupe of tra-la-la-ing traditional carolers.
New York Peninsula
- 38,000 baubles
- 58,000 LED lights
At The Peninsula New York (700 Fifth Ave.), some 38,000 dazzling chandeliers and 58,000 LED lights shine throughout the indoor and outdoor spaces.
The magnificent Christmas trees in the lobby and Palm Court are elegantly decorated with garlands, ribbons and large glittering bows; and there are hundreds of decorations hanging throughout the Gotham Lounge and Clement restaurant to continue the festive look.
Baccarat Hotel New York
- 108 crystal tiles in chandeliers
- 64 lights in two Le Roi Soleil chandeliers
Baccarat Hotel New York (28 W. 53rd St.), on the other hand, goes non-traditional and this season adds a new and individual modernist spin on the glitz with a 16-foot-tall “tree” that honors the famous Baccarat chandelier.
The three-tiered Baccarat Chandelier Christmas Tree is created from two styles of Baccarat Le Roi Soleil (which translates as King of the Sun) crystal chandeliers and uses 108 crystal tiles.
These two sparklers are topped with Baccarat’s signature red rose ball on the third level, all strategically lit for maximum dazzle.
Lotte New York Palace
- 1000 feet of the crown – stretching about 2.8 football fields
- 30,000 flashing lights
- 4500 lights and on 1000 ornaments on the Christmas tree
- Gingerbread Palace: 200 hours to collect. 53 pounds of sugar, 40 pounds of flour, 16 pounds of butter, six jars of molasses and a few spoons of ginger
Decorators at the Lotte New York Palace (455 Madison Ave.) wove over 1,000 feet of glittering garland—spanning about 2.8 football fields—and over 30,000 twinkling lights around this former enclave of turn-of-the-century Italian Renaissance townhouses the 19th.
The 30-meter courtyard Christmas tree alone is decorated with around 4,500 lights and over 1,000 ornaments.
“It was a lot to install, but the decorations looked like magic,” director of sales David Sherman told The Post. “We like to set them up as soon as practical so guests can get into the festive mood.”
After Thanksgiving comes the Gingerbread Palace, a miniature replica of the hotel – and in sugar, about 53 kilograms of sugar, along with 40 kilograms of flour, 16 kilograms of butter, six jars of molasses and a few spoonfuls of ginger.
This takes more than 200 hours to put together for the Lotte pastry team.
“Guests love seeing the final installation hanging in the lobby,” said executive chef Cedric Tovar. “And it smells really good too.”
“The motto we want is ‘Best Christmas Ever,'” Sherman added, “but also classic and traditional.”
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Image Source : nypost.com