Historic Hotels of America® is known for recognizing authentic historic hotels and offering travelers memorable ways to experience holiday traditions. What better, or more delicious, tradition than building gingerbread houses?

The Grand Hotel in Point Clear took a shot at making a gingerbread masterpiece—and it made the top 25! Wondering what this Alabama hotel’s display looks like? Keep scrolling.

The Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama

According to Historic Hotels of America®, all of the 300+ historic hotels inducted into the preserve their sense of authenticity, sense of place and architectural integrity.

Nestled on Mobile Bay, the Grand Hotel served as a vital military staging site as a hospital during the Civil War and later as host to training operations during World War II.

The Grand Hotel’s gingerbread display

Grand Hotel In Point Clear, Gingerbread Display — The Grand Hotel’s gingerbread display. (Historic Hotels of America)

This year, Chef Kimberly Lyons and her team built the Grand Hotel’s annual gingerbread display in the resort’s lobby. The process took 23 days—a record time for this team.

The display is a replica of the resort’s Historic Main Building which was built in the 1940s. Historic Hotels of America shared what Chef Kimberly and her team used to make the larger-than-life creation:

150 pounds of icing
75 pounds of flour
25 pounds of sugar
14 pounds of shredded coconut
1,000 gumdrops
30 different types of candies

The display measures 18 feet long, seven feet wide and three feet tall. Making the tradition a game each year, Chef Kimberly and her team hide nuggets of fun throughout the display to see if guests can find them.

Some of the hidden references this year include:

A Butterfly Tree, an homage to the Monarch Butterflies that migrate through the resort every October
Snowman Chefs, each representing a member of the resort’s culinary team
Michael Herzog, the resort’s General Manager
Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa’s friendly ghost, who loved the hotel so much that it never left
3 Beach Bikes, a great way to get around the resort
A Wedding Cake, a nod to many joyful occasions held at the resort over the past year
Nitro, Chef Kimberly’s pet dog

We might be a little biased, but we love the authenticity and beauty that Point Clear’s Grand Hotel brings to the program.

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