Inside San Francisco’s iconic gingerbread house at the Fairmont Hotel

SAN FRANCISCO — For generations of San Franciscans and Bay Area residents, the holidays don’t truly begin until a visit is made to the Fairmont Hotel’s gingerbread house. Towering in the hotel’s iconic lobby, the larger-than-life creation has become a must-do seasonal tradition that draws families, couples, and visitors year after year to experience the magic up close.

“The gingerbread house is famous for many reasons,” says Jesse Caetano, director of food and beverage at the Fairmont San Francisco. “It’s not quite often anywhere in the world that you get to see a full-scale-sized gingerbread house right in front of you.” Standing 22 feet high, 23 feet wide, and more than 10 feet deep, the structure is as impressive as it is meticulously crafted. Each year, more than 8,000 individually hand-baked bricks are prepared in the Fairmont’s pastry shop, with the process beginning as early as July and continuing for four and a half months before construction even starts.

Once the build moves into the lobby, the gingerbread house becomes a true spectacle. The pastry team joins the effort on-site, using roughly 2,000 pounds of hand-placed candy and an additional 1,000 pounds of royal icing to secure the edible bricks. Guests don’t just view it from afar- “you have the ability to physically walk inside the house,” Caetano explains, where miniature toy trains, colorful candy, and intricate icing details reveal the scale of the craftsmanship. “It’s one thing to see the gingerbread house in pictures, but when you actually see that it is a piece of gingerbread right in front of you… it brings the magnitude of what you’re experiencing to life.”

Beyond its visual impact, the gingerbread house reflects the Fairmont’s deeper holiday mission of bringing people together. Caetano says what he loves most about the season is “reverting back to the word community” and “the bringing of people, the gathering of people together to celebrate a joyous time of year.” That sense of togetherness extends throughout the hotel, which he describes as “a one-stop shop” for both guests and the wider Bay Area community.

This year, the gingerbread house experience goes even further with immersive dining options inside the structure itself. Guests can reserve a private prix-fixe dinner, enjoy breakfast, or sit down for holiday tea surrounded by gingerbread walls. An expanded Veranda experience inside Laurel Court adds another festive setting, while the newly introduced Carousel Bar brings seasonal cocktails, warm libations, and nostalgic charm to the lobby.

“There’s a long tradition here… celebrating community,” Caetano says, and the Fairmont’s gingerbread house stands as a sweet symbol of that legacy-one that continues to make the hotel a cornerstone of the Bay Area’s holiday season.

Learn more at the Fairmont’s website/