[Spridgets] In the spirit of The Season

corvallis at peoplepc.com corvallis at peoplepc.com
Sun Dec 19 11:55:04 MST 2010


December 19, 2010 8:42 AM EST 

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - An Abu Dhabi luxury hotel that
boasted an $11 million Christmas tree decorated with gold and gems admitted
Sunday it may have taken the holiday spirit a bit too far.

A statement from the Emirates Palace hotel said it regretted "attempts to
overload" the Christmas tree tradition by adorning it with premium bling
including gold, rubies, diamonds and other precious stones from a hotel
jeweler.

The statement was a rare bit of reflection on the Gulf's ethos of excess.
The tree was unveiled last week with full fanfare in a hotel that features
its own gold bar vending machine and a one-week $1 million package that
includes private jet jaunts around the Middle East.

But the hotel management apparently had second thoughts after questions
arose about whether the opulent tree was innocent good cheer or unfortunate
bad taste.

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," said a statement carried on
the state-run news agency WAM.

The hotel even tried to distance itself from the 43-foot (13-meter) faux fir
in one of its rotundas, saying a hotel-based jeweler was solely responsible
for creating and decorating the tree.

"The hotel is just a venue for exhibiting the tree," the statement said.

The hotel also claimed the tree was not a stunt, but rather an effort to
boost the holiday mood for its guests based on the United Arab Emirates'
"values of openness and tolerance."

Although officially Muslim, the UAE features many signs of Christmas for its
huge foreign population. Lights, carolers and Santas are fixtures in nearly
every mall.


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