If you’ve ever watched The Nutcracker and wished you could live inside the set in real life, the Mandarin Oriental, Boston is ready to grant that very specific holiday fantasy. This season, the hotel has transformed itself into Boston’s most delightfully over-the-top festive escape. If the Sugar Plum Fairy ever booked a staycation, this is exactly where she’d hang her tiara.
The Nutcracker Suite
The centerpiece of it all is the hotel’s Presidential Suite, reborn for the season as the Nutcracker Suite. The 1,715-square-foot space is filled with subtle and not-so-subtle nods to the classic ballet. Designed in collaboration with Boston Ballet and DiCicco Design, the suite hides surprises in every corner: a reindeer lounging in the bathtub, bowls of glittering sugarplums, multiple Christmas trees, and more. Available for overnight stays or private events, it might just be the ultimate holiday party venue.
The Nutcracker Experience
If the Nutcracker suite is a little too merry for you, the Mandarin’s Nutcracker package might deliver just the right amount of magic. Thanks to the hotel’s official partnership with the Boston Ballet, guests receive accommodations, festive in-room treats (including chocolate mice from beloved chocolatier L.A. Burdick), premium seats in the Queen’s Box at Citizens Opera House, and VIP lounge access during the performance.
Nutcracker Holiday Bar
You don’t need to be a hotel guest to get in on the fun. On select Fridays and Saturdays in December (December 12–13, 19–20), plus New Year’s Eve, the Lobby Lounge hosts live performances by Berklee College of Music students from 5–8 p.m., alongside Nutcracker-inspired drinks and canapés. The star of the menu is The Cloud Dancer—a confection of homemade eggnog, spiced rum, coconut purée, agave, and cinnamon, finished with a puff of cotton candy floating cloud-like on top. It’s the sort of drink you order “for the photo” and then proceed to inhale because it tastes like holiday joy.
