The smell of gingerbread instantly brings me back to being a kid. Sticky fingers. Gumdrops lined up across a crooked rooftop. Way too much frosting holding together walls that definitely weren’t structurally sound. And the inevitable realization that whatever gingerbread house I had envisioned was not quite the gingerbread house sitting in front of me.
That was part of the fun.
Every holiday season, a few Vermont hotels take that same tradition and scale it up considerably, creating giant gingerbread displays that turn hotel lobbies into destinations of their own.
These aren’t the little kits you assemble on your kitchen table. We’re talking elaborate, oversized gingerbread creations designed and built by professional culinary teams, with enough detail that you’ll want to get close and inspect exactly how everything was made.
If you’re traveling around Vermont during the holidays, I’ve found three hotels where the annual gingerbread displays are worth adding to your itinerary: Woodstock Inn & Resort Local favorite: Woodstock Inn & Resort in Woodstock, The Essex Resort & Spa Local favorite: The Essex Resort & Spa in Essex and Von Trapp Resort Local favorite: Von Trapp Resort in Stowe.
Here’s where to find them.
Giant Gingerbread Display at Woodstock Inn & Resort
Woodstock already looks particularly festive during the holidays, so perhaps it’s no surprise that one of Vermont’s most iconic hotels goes big on gingerbread too.
Each holiday season, Woodstock Inn & Resort creates an elaborate gingerbread display inside the hotel, typically completed in early December.
The inn’s bakery and culinary team takes on the project, transforming gingerbread and plenty of sugary building materials into a large-scale creation filled with tiny details.
And the setting makes it even better.
Woodstock Inn sits directly in the center of Woodstock, where the village green, historic buildings and holiday decorations already make December feel like you’re wandering around a classic New England Christmas scene.
You don’t necessarily need to be staying at the inn to appreciate the holiday atmosphere around the property and village. I’d combine a look at the gingerbread display with time exploring downtown Woodstock, shopping at local businesses and walking around the green.
If your visit lines up with Wassail Weekend, expect the entire town to be especially festive and especially busy.
Giant Gingerbread Display at The Essex Resort & Spa
The Essex Resort & Spa is another Vermont property that embraces the gingerbread-house tradition on a much larger scale.
That makes perfect sense for a resort with such a strong culinary focus.
Each holiday season, The Essex creates its own larger-than-life gingerbread display, bringing the familiar childhood tradition into a setting where professional bakers can take the details considerably further than most of us ever managed at the kitchen table.
This is a particularly easy stop if you’re in the Burlington or Essex area during the holidays, and I’d give yourself time to actually look at the craftsmanship rather than simply snapping a photo and leaving.
Look at the roof. Look at the windows. Look for the tiny details you didn’t notice when you first walked in.
The Essex has also offered miniature gingerbread-house kits that you can take home, which is a fun way to continue the tradition yourself after seeing how the professionals do it.
Just don’t compare your finished product too closely.
Giant Gingerbread Display at Von Trapp Resort in Stowe
Then we’re heading into the mountains.
Von Trapp Resort in Stowe creates another festive gingerbread display that fits perfectly into the property’s Austrian-inspired setting.
There’s something particularly appropriate about seeing an elaborate gingerbread creation here during winter. You’re already surrounded by mountain views, snow-covered grounds and the European influence that runs throughout the resort, so the gingerbread feels like a natural extension of the holiday atmosphere rather than a standalone decoration.
I’d make the display part of a larger visit to the property.
Spend some time exploring the grounds, enjoy the mountain scenery and see what other seasonal activities are happening during your visit.
If there’s fresh snow outside, even better.
Why Visit Vermont’s Giant Gingerbread Displays?
You could certainly argue that driving somewhere to look at an enormous gingerbread house is a little ridiculous.
I’d argue that’s exactly why you should do it.
Not every holiday tradition needs to involve a ticket, a major event or hours of planning. Sometimes it’s fun to walk into a beautiful Vermont hotel and discover that someone spent an extraordinary amount of time turning cookies, frosting and candy into architecture.
There’s also something nostalgic about gingerbread that works particularly well during the holidays.
Even if your childhood gingerbread houses came from a cardboard kit and collapsed ten minutes after you finished decorating them, you probably remember the experience.
Seeing these much larger versions brings a little of that feeling back.
Make a Gingerbread House Road Trip Across Vermont
If you’re particularly committed to gingerbread, you could even turn these three displays into their own holiday road trip.
Start around Essex, where you can see the display at The Essex Resort & Spa. Continue to Stowe for Von Trapp Resort, then make your way south toward Woodstock for the display at Woodstock Inn & Resort.
I wouldn’t try to rush all three into one frantic afternoon.
Instead, use them as anchors for different holiday outings around Vermont.
Pair The Essex with shopping, dining or other holiday activities around the Burlington area. Make Von Trapp Resort part of a winter day in Stowe. Combine Woodstock Inn with time exploring Woodstock’s downtown, covered bridges and seasonal decorations.
That’s much more my style of Vermont road trip anyway.
Pick one thing you specifically want to see, then leave enough time to discover everything else around it.
When Can You See the Gingerbread Houses?
These gingerbread displays are seasonal, and the designs, completion dates and length of time they’re available can change each year.
Generally, you’ll want to look for them during the December holiday season, with some displays appearing in early December and remaining up through Christmas or later in the month.
If you’re planning a drive specifically to see one, check with the individual hotel before you go to confirm that year’s display is complete and available to visitors.
That’s particularly important if you’re visiting in late November or very early December, when the culinary teams may still be working on their creations.
An Easy Vermont Holiday Tradition to Add to Your List
Vermont has no shortage of ways to celebrate the holidays.
You can wander through Christmas light displays, attend tree lightings, visit holiday markets, go skating, take a sleigh ride or spend an entire weekend exploring decorated Vermont villages.
But I have a soft spot for the traditions that are a little simpler.
Walk into a beautiful hotel. Find an enormous gingerbread house. Get close enough to smell the gingerbread. Look at all the tiny details someone painstakingly created from frosting and candy.
Then go find something warm to drink. And if seeing one inspires you to go home and attempt your own gingerbread architecture? Just remember: extra frosting fixes almost everything.
The places in this guide, on the map
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Directions to Woodstock Inn & Resort (opens in a new tab)
Resort · Woodstock, VT
Enjoy the hot tub outside the spa and book the hotel for the walkability into town, restaurants on site and historic nature.
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Directions to The Essex Resort & Spa (opens in a new tab)
Resort · Essex, VT
During the week, inquire about their spa program for a discount on spa services!
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Directions to Von Trapp Resort (opens in a new tab)
Resort · Stowe, VT
The outdoor pool and hot tub overlooking the mountains are a must, along with the Meet the Cows tour and hike to…
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