Written By: Colin Hinshelwood/ CPA Media

With the Festive Season upon us, hotels across Asia have a number of special events to mark the holidays. Here’s a roundup of notable celebrations.

Hotel Marks First Christmas with Host of Merry Events

Meliá Chiang Mai will mark its first season to be merry with Mediterranean flair. After an April debut in the heart of Chiang Mai, the hotel will host buffets on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The ‘Festive Sparkling Afternoon Tea’ for two, held at Ruen Kaew Lounge daily from Dec, 1 until Jan. 31 between 2pm-5pm, comprises sweet and savoury Spanish favourites, a choice of either two glasses of Sangria or Spanish Cava, as well as tea and coffee. On Christmas Day from 6pm – 10pm on the 21^st floor of the hotel, Mai Restaurant & Bar will offer a four-course set Northern Thai dinner, anchored by a main course of either slow and tender roasted beef filet steak with spicy toasted rice gravy, root vegetables and potatoes or wok-fried Andaman tiger prawns, New Zealand mussels, squid and lotus stems with salted egg rice. Visit melia.com, call +66 52 090 699 or email fb@meliachiangmai.com

Alma Resort Unveils Giant Gingerbread House For Christmas 

A giant gingerbread house and glittering winter wonderland display, a Christmas choir involving youngsters from a local orphanage, and an artists-in-residence program will be among a broad spectrum of festivities at Alma. The 30-hectare beachfront resort will host events including Christmas and New Year’s Eve cocktail parties and dinners, as well as champagne breakfast, wine and cheese tasting and buffets from Dec. 15, 2022 until Jan. 1, 2023. The festive program’s activities for children will range from baking, singing, dancing and piano classes to face painting, Christmas craft-making and a kite-flying competition, topped off with Christmas movies at Alma Cinema and visits by a gift-toting Santa Claus, colorful clowns and Alma’s teddy bear mascot. Visit alma-resort.com, call +84 258 399 1666 or email [email protected]

Balinese Resort Offers Seven Days of Holiday Festivities

Tanah Gajah, a Resort by Hadiprana, is keeping things festive over the holiday period with seven days of dining experiences and Balinese cultural performances. Things kick off with a four-course Christmas Eve dinner to live music, and finish on January 2nd with an omakase style, chef’s choice menu. Other highlights include the Kecak Dance and Royal Balinese Dinner on December 30th. The powerful torch-lit performance reenacts scenes from the Ramayana, with mock battles, monsters and chanting that will echo in guest’s memory for years to come. The performance is followed by a three course family style Royal Balinese meal. On New Year’s Eve there will be a series of family-friendly day activities including Balinese street food-making, Balinese offering-making, and an introduction to local dance and musical instruments. More details here.

I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas in Krabi

Nestled on Tubkaek Beach on the Andaman coastline, Banyan Tree Krabi will host a White Christmas Dinner for guests, residents and non-residents alike, at its Naga Kitchen Restaurant on 24 December, starting at 6:30pm. A carving station will tempt with roast turkey (served with brussel sprouts and cranberry sauce) while alternatives include tiger prawn, rock lobster, Australian ribeye beef, smoked salmon, a cheese platter, and much more. Included in the price of 2,600 THB nett per person, diners will be greeted with a welcome drink and be treated to live entertainment. For reservations, call +66 075 811 888 or email: [email protected]

Savor the Seasonal Splendour in Koh Samui

Banyan Tree Samui will kick-off its Christmas festivities this year on December 18 with a High Tea Buffet including Sparkling Wine (Bookings for 2 persons receive a complimentary bottle). Then, on Christmas Eve, an eye-boggling choice of menus and venues is on offer, starting with a Christmas Eve Gala Dinner Buffet at The Edge restaurant, overlooking the bay, from 7pm till 11pm. Beachfront dining is available at Sands Restaurant from December 24-26 with a Festive 5-Course Christmas Gala Dinner Buffet or a special Candlelit Set Dinner on the beach (book early for the beach venue due to limited tables). And on Christmas Day, festive feasts include a Christmas BBQ at Sands with fire show and live music, while award-winning Saffron Restaurant provides a traditional Festive Set Dinner. For prices, bookings and more information, contact: +66 077 915 333; email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Santa Claus is Coming to Vietnam’s Ho Tram Beach 

A Christmas tree lighting ceremony, photos with Santa, a beach bonfire and marshmallow roast and ‘lobster, prawn and steak’ nights are among Meliá Ho Tram Beach Resort’s array of celebrations this festive season.The resort’s festive program kicks off on December 18 with the tree lighting ceremony accompanied by cocktails and canapes and a visit from Santa. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve buffets anchored with fresh seafood, Asian specialties and traditional Christmas favourites will be served at Sasa restaurant. Breeza Beach Club will host its ‘Ho Tram Seafood Market’ feast on Christmas Eve, the lobster, prawn and steak night on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, a steak night on December 30 and a countdown party on New Year’s Eve. In addition to the beach bonfire and marshmallow roast on Christmas Eve, craft workshops will be held throughout the program. Visit www.melia.com, email [email protected] or call +84 (0) 254 3789 000.

A Christmas Meal to Remember at a Luxury Japanese Hotel

Palace Hotel Tokyo, a Forbes five-star property overlooking the Imperial Palace Gardens, is offering several sophisticated menus at its upscale restaurants. Esterre, a French fine-dining restaurant that showcases contemporary haute cuisine, is serving up a menu of several courses from scallops to lobster for JPY40,700 per person at dinner. Grand Kitchen, with its moat-side location, will offer a course menu with highlights including olive-fed wagyu from Shodoshima Island, for JPY16,500 at dinner. At the Japanese restaurant, Teppanyaki GO, the set menu includes such unique offerings as grilled fugu (blowfish) and blue lobster with lunch or dinner reservations at JPY35,200 per person. At the hotel’s pastry shop, Sweets & Deli, beautifully crafted Christmas cakes are available for purchase from Dec. 21 – 25. For more information visit here.

‘Tis the Season to Be Jolly on Cam Ranh Peninsula

The Anam Cam Ranh will welcome the festive season with a Christmas tree lighting ceremony, Christmas choir performances, wine and cheese tastings, cocktail parties, festive movies at an outdoor cinema and more. Following the tree lighting event and choir performance accompanied with mulled wine, fruit punch, hot chocolate and cookies in the resort’s lobby on December 23, The Colonial restaurant will host exquisite French five-course and seven-course dinners on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve respectively. Lang Viet Restaurant and Bar will serve a buffet dinner brimming with fresh seafood on December 24, and an authentic slice of Vietnamese culture on December 31 with “Mama’s Cooking”, whereby mothers of the staff cook timeless Vietnamese classics as if they were cooking for their own families. In addition to the general manager’s early evening cocktail parties on the resort’s lush lawn on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, tapas and cocktails will be served at the Saigon Bar during the festive program. Visittheanam.com, email [email protected] or call +(84) 258 398 9499.

Eat, Drink and Be Merry on Thailand’s Phuket Island

Melia Phuket Mai Khao will celebrate Christmas with a festive dinner on Christmas Eve and a barbecue pool party on Christmas Day. The resort’s Gaia Beach Club, hard by Phuket’s longest stretch of sand, will serve a family-themed set menu dinner on Christmas Eve, accompanied by a gift-toting Santa Claus as well as a DJ spinning the decks. The following day, Gaia will host a Christmas Day barbeque lunch and pool party at the adjacent beach pool framed with cabanas and sun lounges. In addition to popsicles, floating lilos and live DJ entertainment, a tropical pinata jam-packed with toys and sweets will be suspended from a tree and broken apart by youngsters. The resort’s Elyxr Café will serve organic, biodynamic and sustainable wines from December 22 to January 7. Visit melia.com, call +66 76 563 550 or email [email protected]

Fusion Gets Festive Throughout Vietnam

From cookie decorating classes in Saigon to wreath making in Hue, Fusion Hotels and Resorts around Vietnam are rolling out a range of Christmas-themed activities for guests. At Fusion Suites Saigon, in addition to cookie-decorating for all ages, there will be a free-flow canape afternoon and a festive set menu for the holiday. Fusion Suites Vung Tau will be offering a special Seafood & Roast Carvery buffet accompanied by live music, a lucky draw and Christmas surprises. Alba Wellness Valley by Fusion, a hotspring resort surrounded by forest, is making the most of its location with a forest laurel wreath session. The resort is also offering free gifts for children and will host an indulgent buffet on Christmas. Fusion Resort Phu Quoc’s festive gifts come in the form of special on-site offers with stays booked over the Christmas period including an on-site F&B credit of VND 1,000,000 per room per night in addition to daily breakfast anytime, anywhere and a daily spa treatment. GLOW, which comes under the Fusion umbrella, is also offering stay perks with up to 15% discount off the best rate and 20% off F&B with the code FHGNY23TH at the time of booking (see website for dates). Maia Resort Quy Nhon, the newest member to the Fusion family, has several days worth of activities including gingerbread house and Christmas tree decoration, in addition to a Christmas buffet and chef’s table. The beachfront property, Fusion Resort Cam Ranh, will host a three-course menu with wine pairings to celebrate the day. Visit the website of each property from here.

Celebrating the Yuletide in Vietnam’s Capital

This Christmas season, Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi once again transforms into a winter wonderland with elegant, classic-style nutcrackers, bringing the holiday to life with renowned French sophistication and joie de vivre. Throughout the holidays, the Metropole will host exclusive dining events at its award-winning restaurants Le Club (home to the hotel’s famed Afternoon Tea and evening jazz), angelina (cocktail bar, whisky lounge and rustic New World cuisine) and the recently renovated modern French fine dining restaurant Le Beaulieu. Many of these special meals include optional wine and Champagne pairings. The festivities kick off Christmas Eve and continue through into the New Year. Marking the holiday spirit in its 122nd year, Vietnam’s most storied hotel will display a towering Christmas tree strewn with colorful ornaments at Le Balcon in the Metropole Garden. For more information, please contact the hotel’s Festive reservation desk at +84 24 3826 6919 ext. 8215 or [email protected].

A Cornucopia of Christmas Delights in Ho Chi Minh City

Festive season at The Reverie Saigon promises enchantment and beauty, whimsy and spectacle, much as guests have come to expect from the bold and extravagant 286-room hotel that epitomizes the best of Italian design. Ice sculptures, crystal trees, polar bear doormen, and the silver castle of the Snow Queen bring the hotel’s winter wonderland theme to life. A cornucopia of delights is on offer this year, from traditional French favorites at Café Cardinal to exquisite Cantonese cuisine at The Royal Pavilion and Michelin-star-caliber Italian fine dining at Da Vittorio Saigon. Offerings include a special festive season menu (served from Nov. 28-Dec. 30, excluding Dec. 24-25), a classic Christmas Day brunch (11:30am-2:30pm), and La Fête de Noël (a Christmas feast accompanied by fine French wines and champagne available on Dec. 24 and 25), in addition to holiday high tea service and festive dining enjoyed at home. To book culinary experiences at The Reverie Saigon this holiday season, please call +84 (0) 28 3823 6688 or email [email protected].