25/12/12 - Merry Christmas One and All

Needless to say we slept in this morning and exchanged gifts at our leisure. We kind of missed getting woken up early and the squeals of little people as they opened the gifts that Santa had miraculously delivered. But we were still happy enough pottering around the room for the morning without eating as we saved ourselves and our appetites for our HUGE buffet lunch in the world famous Crown Room complete with its 30 foot high pine ceilings and four magnificent crown shaped chandeliers at noon. A great feast was anticipated … 

But nothing could have prepared us for the diversity and divinity of the spread that was presented in one of the most magnificent dining rooms I have ever eaten in. The room is massive and today was catering for rolling shifts of guests who dined on a sea of silver platters and domed trays that overflowed with seafood, meats, vegetables, salads, cheeses and desserts while the harpist played.

Not only was the selection magnificent but the detail and combinations of tastes was innovative and imaginative. I tasted things I would never have put together and yet they were sublime.

For example who would have put together three silver plates with delicate portions of gruyere and hot blueberries, rocquefort and hot spiced pears and brie at a perfect temperature beside warmed strawberries? And don’t start me on the desserts….
We grazed and chatted with our three guests (Barrow, Becky and Michael Emerson) for three hours and by the end the decor, the food, the champagne and the festive atmosphere had seduced us and we were ready for an afternoon nap.

But it wasn’t over yet. After our nap we woke to find the most glorious of scarlet sunsets casting its glow over the beach and the hotel, which was itself a sight to behold, decorated in over 50,000 lights and backlit by a full moon!!

We went for a walk on the beach and soaked up the ambience of nature at its best and finished the day with drinks on the Sundeck watching hundreds of people ‘Skating by the Beach’ on the hotel’s ice rink that has been set up for the holidays on the Windsor lawn (the very place where the future Edward VIII met the infamous Mrs Simpson).