St. Regis Kuala Lumpur has never failed to wow me at Christmas. It seems that the hotel gets sprinkled in elf dust come every end of the year. From the moment you step into the lobby, you are greeted by a massive Christmas tree all decked out in their signature red theme, and this sets the tone throughout the hotel – whether you’re checked in for a stay or you’re there just to dine.
This year, St. Regis Kuala Lumpur is running a 12 Days of Bespoke Gifting. There are activities, and feasts aplenty for young and old alike – great for the kids and the parents.
12 Days of Bespoke Gifting: activities
I had brought the teen along to the preview (as is the norm with me), and even though I had my doubts about the Gingerbread Advent Calendar Workshop’s suitability for him in terms of age, he happily went along. In fact, he really got into decorating his own Advent Calendar – stopping and planning which decorations he wanted to put down for each day. I was all warm and tingly inside, that through this activity, the charm of Christmas seemed to be relit somewhere within him (Christmas and teens…. well…… that’s a whole other story). And as a mum, I can’t tell you how much joy that brought me.
The Gingerbread Advent Calendar Workshop was filled with adults and little ones alike joining in, and everyone was having fun with it. The team at St. Regis Kuala Lumpur certainly hit the right spot with this activity.
At the Bespoke Gifting Station where you’re able to design your own ribbon charm, the teen picked out ribbons, charms, and the letters to my name and gifted it to me. The Bespoke Stocking Workshop where you can personalise your own stocking with stickers sounds a treat for little ones!
For the adults, there’s the Radiance Ritual Wellness which is a spa session and would make a great Christmas gift for both mums and dads. Time away from the kids to recharge, get kneaded to get the knots out – bliss!
12 Days of Bespoke Gifting: let’s dig in
We were also treated to samplers of the Afternoon Tea that’s available for this season, plus turkey, and roast beef. Everything hit the mark, as you would expect from a St. Regis – from the quality of the food on offer, to the service (they took it further by addressing you by your name – no ma’am or sir here – all with big smiles).
I’ve left my favourite part of 12 Days of Bespoke Gifting to the last – Bauble Cocktail. Jerry, the bartender at Astor Bar, created this cocktail from scratch, from you guessed it – 12 ingredients. As Jerry explained it to me, mandarins are actually quite difficult to source overseas and as such, they’re given as Christmas gifts. This was the reasoning behind including mandarins in his concoction. His cocktail is Vodka based and includes a rosemary sprig which sort of looks like a teeny Christmas tree, pomegranate seeds for tartness and freshness and the cocktail mixture. When swirled in the bauble, the cocktail eddy creates a silverish hue, which looks like snow. I LOVED it!!
It was clear that Jerry simply loves Christmas and he took the challenge on to create a drink with 12 ingredients with such gusto. I found him affable, and knowledgeable when it came to knowing his alcohol and mixers. Plus, he truly managed to put Christmas into a drink (in terms of the taste as well as the presentation of it). Folks like Jerry are truly gems and an asset to the team. This was the first drink out of 12 that’s been launched (12 days, 12 ingredients, 12 drinks!) and I’m eager to go back to try out the remaining 11!
For the full list of activities and offerings, check out St. Regis KL Festive e-brochure.
We were invited by St. Regis Kuala Lumpur. As always, our opinions are honest and our own.
