Celebrate Christmas & New Year with The Rocco Forte Collection

Urban Winter Wonderlands
Celebrate Christmas & New Year with The Rocco Forte Collection

Experience the luxury of Christmas and New Year with The Rocco Forte Collection, renowned for personalised customer service, attention to detail and individual design.  With 12 prestigious properties in Europe’s major cities, from Rome and St. Petersburg to Prague and Geneva, each hotel has been designed to reflect its location.  The Rocco Forte Collection has captured Europe’s cultural highlights over the Christmas and New Year period, promising guests the most memorable of festive breaks.

St. Petersburg is especially magical at this time of year with the city’s parks and palaces sparkling with snow. Hotel Astoria is hosting an opulent Tsar’s style New Year’s Eve gala event complete with traditional entertainment, authentic Russian dishes including caviar, jesters and free-flowing vodka, brandy and champagne.  The Davidov Restaurant will be transformed into stunning ‘Imperial Russia’ chambers, with heavy drapes and ornate candelabras. 
The New Year Package at Hotel Astoria starts from €1,265:  including a one-night stay in a classic room, buffet breakfast and New Year’s Eve gala event in Davidov Restaurant on December 31.

Famous for its fairytale architecture, Prague is home to the latest addition to the Rocco Forte Collection, The Augustine, located in the heart of the city. Spend a perfect frosty afternoon, wrapped up wandering the cobbled streets of Prague’s Old Town or enjoying the Prague International Jazz Festival. Guests are invited to attend Midnight Mass on 24th December at the neighbouring St Thomas’s Church followed by refreshments at Tom’s Bar, which has extended opening hours till 2am on Christmas Eve.  New Year at The Augustine will also be a momentous occasion, with an ice-bar on the terrace to kick-start the night, a 1930’s big band and the Chef's countdown menu, culminating with spectacular fireworks. 
Christmas and New Year Packages at The Augustine start from €250: including a 2-night stay with daily breakfast and St.Thomas beer tasting.

Enjoy a chic Italian-style Christmas, choosing from Hotel de Russie in Rome or Hotel Savoy in Florence.  A few steps from the Hotel de Russie is the charming Piazza Navona Christmas Market, ideal for handmade stocking fillers.  Experience Christmas Eve Midnight Mass in St. Peters Square, making sure you stop off to admire the full-scale Nativity crèche.  Christmas and New Year Packages at Hotel de Russie start from €545: Including accommodation, daily breakfast, home-made Panettone cake in room upon arrival and a €50 credit, per room, per stay that can be used in the spa (excluding spa products).

Situated in the heart of Florence, Hotel Savoy is ideally located for enjoying one of the many concerts taking place in December.  The city’s churches, libraries and museums open their doors to host a series of live concerts involving a diverse range of music styles from classical and contemporary to Gregorian chant and Gospel. An indulgent five-course New Year dinner menu will be served in the atmospheric L’Incontro Restaurant with stunning views over Piazza della Repubblica. Christmas and New Year Packages at Hotel Savoy start from €420: Including accommodation, daily breakfast, Christmas gifts in room on arrival and a €50 credit that can be used in the restaurant. 

Germany is widely recognised for its stylish festive celebrations and Christmas markets and The Rocco Forte Collection’s German properties are situated in three of the major cities, giving guests the ideal opportunity for present shopping.

Enjoy a cultural Christmas at Hotel de Rome in Berlin. The hotel is offering two-night stays with tickets to the famous Christmas market at Gendarmenmarkt, which is one of the largest in Europe and even has its own craftsmen tent where you can watch toymakers, goldsmiths and wood carvers at work.  There is also a stage with musicians, dancers, jugglers and acrobats to entertain the whole family.  Christmas and New Year Packages at Hotel de Rome start from €430: including a two-night stay, daily breakfast, use of the Spa de Rome with sauna and pool, museum-card with free entry to 70 Museums and exhibitions for 3 days, tickets to the Christmas market and a €50 credit for food and drink.

The Rocco Forte Collection’s The Charles Hotel in Munich invites guests to experience a ‘Christmas Wish Package’ available between 23rd and 25th December including a warming hot chocolate massage, Christmas Cake, Panetone, in-suite Christmas trees on request and a Christmas gift. The Fete D’Or New Year’s Eve festivities will include a live Swing band and a ‘strictly golden’ dress code.
The Christmas Wish Package at The Charles Hotel starts from €410: including a one-night stay, breakfast, 4-course menu and a late check-out.

A Christmas break in Brussels is the perfect excuse to indulge in the city’s two most famous exports of beer and chocolate, both of which have their own dedicated museums.   Hotel Amigo is located in the heart of the city next to the beautiful Grand Place which becomes a winter wonderland in December, complete with an ice-skating rink, big wheel and festive market stalls serving warm Belgian waffles.  The hotel’s ‘Christmas Tradition in Style’ package includes a two-night stay, entrance to the Winter Wonderland on the Grand Place, a bottle of Pommery Champagne, Belgium chocolates, home-made biscuits and activities for children.
The ‘Christmas Tradition in Style’ package starts from €217 including a two-night stay and daily breakfast.

For those looking for a quintessentially British Christmas, the ultimate ‘Red Carpet Party Preparation Package’ at Brown’s Hotel in London will prepare you for a festive night in the Capital, whether seeing The Nutcracker ballet in Covent Garden or enjoying traditional carols at St Paul’s Cathedral. Treat yourself with a signature Natura Bisse Diamond Facial, a Carita revitalising eye and lip treatment and a luxury aromatic manicure and pedicure. Or make sure your feet are ready for the party season with the festive ‘Mistle’Toes’ Christmas Pedicure’. 
Christmas and New Year Packages at Brown’s Hotel start from €278 including a one–night stay with a bottle of Champagne.  The Party Preparation Package starts from €316.

For a traditional Hogmany celebration head to The Balmoral in Edinburgh, home to the city’s most glamorous New Year’s Eve party with a black-tie Hogmany gala ball, complete with a five-course dinner created by Michelin-starred Executive Chef Jeff Bland.  After dinner, bring in the New Year with a glass of Champagne whilst watching the famous fireworks from one of the Castle view suites.    
Christmas and New Year Packages at The Balmoral start from €235 for a Festive Nights Package including full Scottish breakfast. The Hogmanay Gala Ball Experience starts at €616 including a two–night stay and breakfast.

To find out further information, or to book a festive package, please call 00800 7666 6667 or visit www.roccofortecollection.com
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Anna Martin/Natasha Berg
The Rocco Forte Collection
Tel. +44 20 7766 3137
Email. pressinformation@roccofortecollection.com

Notes to Editors

The Rocco Forte Collection
The Rocco Forte Collection was established in 1996 to create a group of luxury hotels in Europe.  The hotels have individual styles, with each hotel reflecting its nationality and location. The properties are linked together under The Rocco Forte Collection, which guarantees attention to detail, quality and service delivery.

The Rocco Forte Collection comprises: Hotel de Russie, Rome; Hotel Savoy, Florence; The Balmoral, Edinburgh; The Lowry Hotel, Manchester; Hotel Astoria, St Petersburg; Hotel Amigo, Brussels; Brown’s Hotel, London; Villa Kennedy, Frankfurt; Hotel de Rome, Berlin; Le Richemond, Geneva; The Charles Hotel, Munich; The Augustine, Prague; Verdura Golf & Spa Resort, Sicily.

Future openings: Abu Dhabi – 2010; Jeddah – 2010; Marrakech – 2011