The Happiest, Merriest Holiday Decorations at New York City Hotels, 2021 Edition

Things aren’t quite normal yet, but New York City is back and so are its hotels, dressed to dazzle and lighting the way to a scintillating  holiday season — inside and out (some of the cleverest decorations adorn building exteriors).  Camera in hand, we captured 10 delectably decked halls, walls, even sidewalks at hotels all over Manhattan — and added a special guest property from California because who doesn’t love gingerbread houses?

Happy Holidays!

This time it’s green (Overnight New York photo)

Chameleons, mood rings, Tonks’ hair — add the holiday tree at the James New York NoMad to the list of color-changing entities out there. We stationed ourselves in front of the lobby’s stylish tree, watched lights blinking merrily in ten different color combinations and clicked at green.

Lighting the way to the Pierre (Overnight New York photo)

Housed in a glamorous, Jazz Age tower, The Pierre oozes understated elegance on the inside. And that’s just one reason we love the exuberant, planet-sized ornaments startling, delighting — and all but demanding to be in selfies with — anyone passing the hotel’s Fifth Avenue entrance.

A classic tree for the renovated Algonquin lobby (Overnight New York photo)

When the Algonquin reopened on November 1 after a lengthy pandemic closure, it was instantly clear why the 119-year-old Theater District hotel took its sweet time to return. Gut renovations don’t happen in a blink, even when it’s just the lobby, and that’s what occurred. But the lobby’s towering holiday tree is back and looks thoroughly at home in an airy, 21st-century setting that melds the celebrated Blue Bar with the Algonquin’s equally storied architecture. Bar and food service will commence in 2022.

It’s raining ornaments at the Peninsula (Overnight New York photo)

The Peninsula New York’s embrace of the holidays can be described in one word: total — and we love it. This year this luxurious, Fifth Avenue beauty is a feast of lights, glass balls, life-size nutcrackers, a walk-in sweet shop — and our favorite, a cascade of ornaments raining down from the mezzanine ceiling. 

A lobby tree for little ones at the Palace (Overnight New York photo)

Naughty or nice? The majestic Lotte Palace New York collects and delivers letters to Santa at One Reindeer Lane, North Pole — and even provides the necessary stationery, pencils and a lobby mailbox.

Lobby tree at the Regency (Overnight New York photo)

Two magnificent trees greet guests at Park Avenue’s glamorous Loews Regency New York, back in action this holiday season and close-up ready.

A is for Ace’s lobby trees (Overnight New York photo)

What happens when you surround a great big A (for Ace New York) with a suite of smaller As filled with branches and lights? You get a clever riff on the triangle, the Christmas tree and a nifty holiday tableau that’s worth a look up.

A lobby sparkler at the St. Regis (Overnight New York photo)

Who needs a big tree? Not the St. Regis New York. Their parade of ground floor spaces Edith Wharton would recognize sport fairy-lit reindeer and a gigantic dessert sparkler minus the dessert (above) but not a fir tree in sight. It’s the holiday version of a Thanksgiving dinner with nothing but side dishes. And it’s delicious.

Doubly pretty at the Quinn (Overnight New York photo)

Twin trees fill the majestic windows at The Quin Central Park/Hilton Club, doubly pretty because last year the windows were dark.

Going green at the Mark Hotel (Overnight New York photo)

This mossy soldier, steadfast and photo-ready, is one of a pair of silent but stylized greeters at the entrance to the Mark Hotel on the Upper East Side.

Gingerbread village for Pechanga Resort Casino, Temecula, Ca (Eli Weiner/Pechanga Resort Casino photo)

The mouth-watering gingerbread village pictured above is the latest edible tour de force by Deden Putra, Executive Pastry Chef at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California. Long-time readers of Overnight New York may recall his fanciful creations from his days at the Peninsula New York and Jumeirah Essex House.

We couldn’t resist sharing his team’s newest engineering feat — 11 iced gingerbread houses, no two alike, landscaped by 30, treat-laden chocolate trees including a tasty five footer. Want to whip up a gingerbread village at home? You’ll need 73 lbs. of  butter, 250 lbs. of granulated sugar, 725 lbs. of powdered sugar, 175 lbs. of flour, 370 lbs. of white and dark chocolate, 27 gallons of egg whites and 2 gallons of peppermint flavoring. Yum!