This Colorado Hotel's 10-foot Tall Gingerbread House Was Made With 958 Pounds of Powdered Sugar

Colorado's The Broadmoor hotel has brought holiday spirit to life once again with the recent reveal of its gigantic gingerbread house.

This year, the "Gingerbread Chateau" was built in homage to the resort's "Heartfelt - Home for the Holidays" theme, honoring the gathering of friends and family. It stands roughly ten feet tall, 12 feet wide, and eight feet deep.

"The pastry team begins the production of the gingerbread baked goods and chocolate for the display in early November and takes turns working on it in shifts," David Patterson, executive chef, said in a statement shared with Travel + Leisure. "It's a labor of love but watching guests and visitors – especially children – enjoy the display is quite magical."

The construction team of two carpenters and 10 pastry chefs collectively worked approximately 288 hours to complete the massive gingerbread creation and was made out of 958 pounds of powdered sugar, 20 pounds of candy canes, and 475 pounds of flour, the sugary house now greets guests at the center of the hotel.

The gingerbread itself was created using The Broadmoor's own in-house recipe, which required 650 eggs, 128 pounds of molasses, and six pounds of salt. In order to get the house all decked out in festive flair, the team used 160 chocolate bars, 30 pounds of hot tamales, and 24 pounds of green apple gummy bears.

The confectionery construction will be available to view in The Broadmoor's main building mezzanine through New Year's Day.

While the gingerbread house could reasonably fit a person inside, it's not available to book. Instead, The Broadmoor is offering holiday packages for guests, including a getaway with tickets to the hotel's annual holiday show.

Although The Broadmoor's gingerbread house is certainly impressive, it's not the largest on record. According to Guinness World Records, a 60-foot wide, 10-foot tall gingerbread house built in Texas in 2013 holds the world record.

Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure, currently based in Brooklyn. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or at caileyrizzo.com.