Let Them Eat Cake

Across the pond, from coast to coast, U.S. hotels joined the worldwide celebration of the royal wedding in London between Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, on April 29.

At the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, Calif., the doorman dressed up as a sentry of the Queen’s Guard and manned his station along Wilshire Boulevard, where two Mini Coopers sporting the Union Jack flag were parked. The hotel’s restaurant, The Blvd, offered a special royal menu that included slices of mini-tiered wedding cake for dessert.

In the lobby of the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel in Orlando, Fla., hundreds of visitors and guests wearing festive hats and tiaras and carrying Union Jack flags watched the nuptials on a large TV and projection screens. A replica of the 18-carat sapphire and diamond engagement ring Prince William gave to Middleton and a royal tiara, both constructed entirely from sugar by the hotel’s executive pastry chef and two-time world pastry champion Laurent Branlard, were on display. Guests enjoyed complimentary English-style breakfast items including porridge, scones, and grapefruit, and received fruitcake, the traditional English wedding cake, immediately following the ceremony.

In addition to showing the wedding on the big screen, the Bristol Lounge at The Four Seasons Hotel, Boston, hosted Royal Tweet Trivia for its Twitter followers. From 5:45 to 7 a.m. Eastern Time, a royal-themed question was tweeted out to #royalBL every five minutes. The person who tweeted back the most correct answers first won a spa treatment at Exhale Spa. Guests who feasted on a full English breakfast in the Lounge also had the chance to win an overnight stay in one of the hotel’s luxury suites.

Other hotels offered royal wedding packages, such as Trump International Hotel & Tower New York’s “Trump Royal Wedding Experience.” In addition to one night’s accommodation in a suite with a 4 p.m. late checkout, guests viewed the wedding on oversized monitors at the hotel’s restaurant Jean Georges while enjoying selections like scrambled eggs with caviar, mini French toast, and pains au chocolate from a tasting menu, and toasted the couple with sparkling mimosas. Participants received a parting gift—a piece of official royal wedding china commissioned by the Royal Collection.