The Collaboration
The Luxury Collection has launched a $218 limited-edition advent calendar developed with artist and designer Laila Gohar, translating 24 properties from its global hotel portfolio into destination-inspired chocolates — a move that underscores how luxury hospitality brands are increasingly using food as a storytelling and revenue-diversification tool.
Each of the calendar's 24 drawers reveals a bespoke chocolate created by Laila Gohar alongside Casa Bosques founder Rafael Prieto and culinarians from individual Luxury Collection hotels. The flavor lineup spans saffron inspired by Dubai, black sesame evoking Kyoto, toasted coconut nodding to South Caicos, hazelnut praline from Paris, banana and sea salt channeling Waikiki, and smoked mesquite reflecting Los Cabos — giving each piece a culinary sense of place that connects the product directly to the brand's property roster. Original illustrations by artist Joana Avillez adorn the calendar's façade, depicted as a fantastical grand hotel animated by scenes of travel and celebration.
Why It Matters for Operators
For hospitality food and beverage directors, the calendar is a case study in how a hotel brand can extend its culinary identity off-property and into the gift market. Rather than a generic branded amenity, the Luxury Collection worked with on-property culinarians at each featured destination to develop flavors rooted in local ingredients and regional traditions — an approach that reinforces the broader industry push toward authentic, place-based dining experiences rather than homogenized hotel F&B.
"Each of our hotels offers a unique expression of its destination, and Laila has an extraordinary ability to translate that sense of place through food and design," said Bruce Rohr, Vice President and Global Brand Leader, The Luxury Collection. The calendar is an extension of the brand's existing World In Season platform, which frames destination travel through seasonal culinary traditions and cultural celebrations.
Retail Pop-Ups and Distribution
Beyond the product itself, the brand is activating a series of immersive retail pop-ups at four properties: Prince de Galles in Paris, The Joseph in Nashville, Solaz Resort in Los Cabos, and The Laurus Resort in Singapore. Conceived by Gohar as "chocolateries in miniature" inspired by old-world Parisian chocolate shops and Milanese apothecaries, the installations give hotel food and beverage teams a vehicle for guest engagement, incremental retail revenue, and brand storytelling during the high-traffic holiday season. The Paris location features window displays specially conceived by artist and set designer Alix Bortoli.
Select hotels will also host festive programming tied to the collaboration, including seasonal interpretations of the brand's signature Epicurean Moment — a format that luxury hotel F&B programs have increasingly adopted to differentiate the guest experience from standalone restaurant competition.
The calendar is available through The Luxury Collection Boutique in the United States, through Gohar World in select international markets, and at the hotel pop-up locations for the duration of the festive season.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
