Hotel brand The Luxury Collection has unveiled an exquisite limited-edition advent calendar created in collaboration with artist and designer Laila Gohar (a former Wallpaper* guest editor), the company’s Epicurean Global Explorer. Discerning travellers are invited to discover The Luxury Collection’s diverse portfolio of hotels and resorts through the sensory experience of very fine chocolate.
The advent calendar – available in the US from The Luxury Collection and in the UK and select countries through Gohar World – presents a culinary round-the-world trip with 24 destinations. Each of its numbered drawers slides open to reveal an enticing chocolate bar, with each bar celebrating a different Luxury Collection hotel; from The Gritti Palace in Venice to The Laurus in Singapore.
The spirit and cultural identity of the locations are expressed, deliciously, through the flavour notes in the chocolate. Your journey will take you, for instance, to Waikiki with flavours of banana and sea salt. Another day, you will stop off in Los Cabos, tasting smoked mesquite and dates; arriving at The Prince de Galles in Paris, you will enjoy rich hazelnut praline.
The chocolate nestled within the calendar has been created for The Luxury Collection by Casa Bosques, the acclaimed Mexican brand known for its bean-to-bar production of organic single-origin bars. It uses rare heirloom cacaos sourced from farmers across Mexico and an unconventional and exciting range of spices and flavourings from around the world.
Illustrations are by Joana Avillez
The chocolates are by Mexican brand Casa Bosques
Illustrated by Joana Avillez, the calendar takes the form of a grand hotel. The façade opens to reveal a gallery of quirky, joyful, festive scenes, and the requisite 24 drawers – portals to just a selection of The Luxury Collection’s 130-plus hotels and resorts in 42 countries.
Bruce Rohr, vice president and global brand leader of The Luxury Collection, says: ‘This imaginative collaboration celebrates the destination-inspired flavours and culinary traditions found across our global portfolio, offering a transportive journey through the cultures and stories that make each place distinct.’
The calendars in the making
There’s a different flavoured chocolate for each day
Gohar’s creative vision for the calendar is extended to a series of pop-up chocolate shops located in key Luxury Collection destinations, including Paris, Nashville, Singapore and Los Cabos. Their design was inspired by traditional Parisian chocolatiers and Milanese apothecaries and features glass vitrines with chocolate-hued swags of drapery and banks of wooden drawers.
Gohar comments: ‘Each drawer is a small world of its own, inspired by the flavours, traditions, and details that make destinations so special at this time of year. I hope each discovery sparks curiosity and joy.’
The Paris pop-up, one of a series to promote the partnership
The advent calendar can be purchased through The Luxury Collection in the US, Gohar World in select countries internationally, and at select hotel pop-ups.