Walk into the historic The Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa in Asheville, North Carolina, during the holidays and you’ll see a sweeping Christmas tree that nearly brushes the top of the twenty-four-foot-tall ceilings. While it’s impressive, what you’ll more likely to notice the most is the smell of gingerbread everywhere.
It’s the hotel’s hallmark scent of the season thanks to its long-standing holiday tradition. Since 1992, The Omni Grove Park Inn has hosted a gingerbread house competition. It’s grown from a small, fun activity among community members to a competition that draws competitors from all over the world.
The contest entries remain on display for several weeks after the judging is over, making The Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa a popular destination for visitors from around the South during the holidays.
Caroline Ruthven, Brand Communications & Events Manager, estimates the gingerbread house competition brings in hundreds of thousands of people wanting to get a look.
“It’s definitely our most popular time of the year,” she says, “And it’s so many people’s family tradition to come and see the houses every year.”
A Sweet Comeback
In 1992, former hotel owner Elaine Sammons invited about twelve community members to build gingerbread houses at the hotel. It wasn’t meant to turn into an annual event, but every year interest grew, turning it into a staple holiday tradition for the hotel and community.
Following the wake of Hurricane Helene in 2024, though, the hotel had to cancel the event last year. Still, over forty competitors decided to bring their gingerbread creations to the hotel. The Grove Park Inn kept fourteen of the houses on display in the hotel, and decided to spread the remaining houses throughout Asheville in what they dubbed ‘The Gingerbread Trail of Giving.’
“It turned out to be a really fun initiative to show what was open in Asheville especially right after the storm,” Ruthven says, “and to share the holiday spirit with everyone.”
With the hotel fully reopened now, the tradition has been able to resume this year.
The Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa
Not Just Gingerbread Houses
This year’s competition and holiday display is the biggest it’s ever been with 235 competitors. And while it’s called the National Gingerbread House Competition, entries don’t have to be a house.
“As long as it’s made of 75% gingerbread and is 100% edible, [contestants] can have full creativity and do whatever they want,” Ruthven says. “It doesn’t even have to be Christmas themed,” she continues.
Entries can’t be more than two feet tall, weigh more than fifty pounds or be on a base that’s larger than two feet by two feet, and judges look for components to be proportionally sized, but there’s a lot of freedom for bakers to think beyond a traditional house.
Chloe Jennings has been competing for thirteen years. She visited the hotel when she was four to see the gingerbread houses, and five years later asked her parents if she could enter the contest. Since then it’s become an annual must-do for her. Some of her favorite gingerbread creations she’s done include a nutcracker whose mouth actually moved up and down and a bedroom set made out of gingerbread, complete with a rug made out of sprinkles.
Michael Oppenheim
Chloe Jennings
“I try to have my idea settled as early as the beginning of February, but preferably January,” she says. “The actual construction of each piece takes between five and eight months.”
This year’s winner, Mary Hulsman from Concord, North Carolina, features an intricate display of five gnome houses. You’ll also see things like a gingerbread moose sitting in a chair surrounded by a Christmas tree and dog and a replica of the Augusta National Clubhouse, all made from the spiced pastry.
A Life-size Gingerbread House
All of the contest entries are spread out around the hotel for guests and visitors to walk around and admire, but in the Great Hall of the hotel you’ll find a life-size gingerbread house covering one of the host stands.
The Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa
It takes nearly a month for a team of bakers to make all of the pieces for the house and nine days for a team of eight to build. All in all, it’s about 500 hours of work, 400 pounds of gingerbread, 600 pounds of royal icing and over 75 pounds of candy to make the house come to life.
You can purchase hot chocolate from the gingerbread house. There’s regular hot chocolate, a spiked version and a special signature cocoa each year. This year it’s ‘Major Bear’s Hot Chocolate,’ made with crunchy bear cookies, sprinkles, marshmallows and whipped cream. Each of the hot chocolates comes in a souvenir mug, so if you make visiting the hotel a regular holiday tradition you’ll build quite the collection.
The easiest way to see the gingerbread creations is to stay at the property. If you’re hoping to stop by and visit, making a dining reservation ensures you’ll be able to access the property. Otherwise, visitors can stop in after 6 pm on Sundays and anytime Monday to Thursdays as long as there’s parking available.
All of the entries will be on display through January 4, 2026. Plenty of time for a sweet visit.
Related: This Smoky Mountains Resort Feels Like Stepping Into A Hallmark Christmas Movie
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