ABU DHABI As word spread globally that its lobby is hosting what is thought to be the world’s most valuable Christmas tree, Emirates Palace hotel on Sunday admitted that its display of Christmas spirit may have gone overboard.
The hotel issued a statement Sunday saying that it regrets “attempts to overload” the Christmas tree tradition by decorating the 43-ft. artificial evergreen with US$11 million worth of diamonds and other precious baubles.
The hotel regrets “attempts to overload the tradition followed by most hotels in the country with meanings and connotations that do not fall in line with the [hotel’s] professional standards.” In attempting to distance itself from the show of excess, Emirates Palace notes that it “is just a venue for exhibiting the tree” and that a hotel-based jeweler is solely responsible for creating it.
Last week, however, the tree was being touted to international press by hotel General Manager Hans Olbertz, who noted that the hotel is seeking recognition of the tree as the most expensive in the world from the Guinness Book of World Records.