Inside the Dorchester’s magical transformation from hotel to winter wonderland

In the small hours of a Saturday morning in mid-November, a party in black tie spills out of the Vesper Bar into the lobby of the Dorchester hotel. ‘Oh look!’ declares one woman in a sweeping red gown, staring around in surprise. ‘A Christmas tree! That wasn’t there before…’

Tonight, as guests sleep on 300-thread-count sheets, the Dorchester’s equivalent of Christmas elves – six florists and eight tree decorators – set to work. They will give every table in the restaurants and bars a festive flower arrangement, and hang the entrances with glittering wreaths. They’ll take delivery of more than 120 Christmas trees, the largest arriving by lorry and installed by crane.

Tonight, they’ll dress the first set of trees in sparkling lights and hoist them above the entrance, with more in each restaurant, bar and spa. Eight trees are destined for the Promenade, the hotel’s main restaurant. The hotel’s florist, Philip Hammond, dashes back and forth as he directs activities on a night of toil that will transform the space into a Christmas wonderland.

It is a mammoth task: Hammond estimates he’ll use 3,000 baubles and 15,000 lights. Save for excited whispers, work is done in silence – after all, guests spend up to £10,000 for a night of peace and quiet. To all but a few late-night revellers, the decorations will be a complete surprise the next day.

‘When the guests come down in the morning and I see their faces, that’s the best moment,’ says Hammond, who has delivered Christmas to the Dorchester for 15 years. The grand hotels of London compete in an annual arms race, with trees becoming bigger and better, from the 25ft showstoppers at the Ritz, to the designer collaborations at Claridge’s (this year, Sir Paul Smith has decked the tree with colourful baubles, ribbons and bespoke birdhouses).

Hammond is not competitive, though. ‘I used to look at what other people were doing, but I don’t any more,’ he says. ‘We all have our strengths and our own distinctive style.’ The mood here is classic; as Hammond says, ‘You’re never going to see an upside-down tree in the lobby of the Dorchester.’

Hammond, 36, started his career at the Dorchester aged 22 and has been preparing this season’s pale pink, baby blue and bronze colour scheme for a year, ordering new decorations from trade shows in January. Every shade picks up a similar hue in the interiors, whether it’s the trim of a cushion or the detail of a carpet. ‘It’s not that things have to match, but there has to be an underlying story,’ he explains.

He chose the main Christmas tree in the lobby – a 14ft 6in Nordmann fir – via an arboreal beauty parade over Zoom. Hammond works with the same supplier each year, shortlisting 10 trees in January. He’ll take another virtual look in August before the final three are chosen: one to start, another to swap in when the first begins to look tired, and 
a third as an emergency back-up. Hammond is looking for a specific height, width and density. ‘The honest truth is, I never stop thinking about Christmas,’ he says.

Throughout the year, decorations are stored at the hotel, in three shipping containers at sister property Coworth Park, and in a warehouse in Fulham. ‘People say I’m a hoarder,’ shrugs Hammond, ‘but you never know what you’re going to need’. He keeps everything from previous years, mixing in new additions; the star that tops the main tree has been the same for 15 years. ‘I advise people to recycle and reuse, because Christmas is about tradition,’ he says. ‘Just a few new things can change the look and feel of a scheme.’

As installation night draws closer, Hammond and his team prepare as much as they can, spraying branches gold and drying blooms in back rooms. ‘The problem with planning in January is there’s only so much you can do,’ he says. ‘You have to be adaptable.’ He loves hydrangeas (‘the reds, greens and purples feel so festive’) as well as amaryllis: (‘big, in your face, and lush, just like velvet’).

In Hammond’s opinion, decorations needn’t be complicated. ‘Even if you have two branches of pine in a vase with a few sparkly twigs, it’ll add that bit of glitz. And a wreath on the door, however simple, is always going to be the best welcome.’ This year, however, Hammond has gone all-out with a jaw-dropping mise en scène: a wooden train snakes through a forest of chocolate pines made by Michael Kwan, the executive pastry chef. Pink candy-studded miniature trees surround four, larger chocolate ones, the tallest just over a metre high, festooned with chocolate baubles. ‘The greatest challenge was crafting a cohesive colour mood board that harmonised with the rest of the decorations,’ says Kwan of the peach, blue and gold-toned forest, adding, ‘I have a spare set of baubles stored in the kitchen, in case someone decides to snack on my Christmas trees!’

When the last guests have left the lobby, at around 1.45am, Kwan and four members of his award-winning team carry the trees up from the basement kitchen to reconstruct the tableau, which took six days to make. They carefully move the trees into position, as Hammond arranges the train to wind between them. By 2.20am they’ve finished, with Kwan declaring, ‘Everything has come together, and the result is pure magic.’ He and his fellow chefs go to bed: they have a wedding to cater tomorrow. But for the rest of the night, the decorating team can’t stop commenting on the heady scent of dark chocolate as they walk past.

They move swiftly around the hotel, removing the palms that fringe the Promenade, replacing them with firs, hanging giant baubles from the ceiling and festooning doorways. The atmosphere is festive: before going home for the night the hotel pianist plays The First Noel in the Artists’ Bar, and the concierge hands out Haribo to the decorating team. At around 3am the kitchen delivers pizzas to keep everyone going, along with strong coffee. Half an hour later, work begins on the main tree. Six burly men slice the massive Nordmann from its packaging and heave it into place before Hammond’s team sets about decorating it: the lights and the star go on first, followed by the baubles.

‘The best bit is opening up the boxes and seeing the decorations,’ says Annette Jacks, who has been working on Christmas here for a decade. ‘Phil gives us clues, but he keeps most of it to himself. Every year, we’re all so proud to see it finished.’ Meanwhile, few of the decorating staff can resist stopping to snap photos of the train, while others take selfies in front of the main tree.

Every year Hammond places a cherry-red postbox in the lobby, so children staying at the hotel can send their letters to Father Christmas. ‘Depending on the children’s wishes, we try to grant them during their stay,’ says Hammond. ‘Once a child asked for a Ferrari, but his second most wanted was a banana. One request was easier to fulfil…’

Just before the clock strikes 7am, the decorators shimmy down from their ladders and the last of the fallen pine needles are hoovered up. The transformation is complete. The decorators clap and high-five each other, before melting away into the morning light, leaving the lobby silent and sparkling. Hammond surveys his handiwork. He should be due a few days of relaxation – but his mind has already turned to Christmas 2025.