Embrace sustainability during your family getaways with Somerset

This festive season Somerset is bringing nature indoors and creating a sense of harmony in cities worldwide. Discover the difference yourself with up to 50% off all family stays right now.

At Somerset, where Harmony is Second Nature

Somerset is all about creating harmony: within yourself; with your loved ones and in the environment. Where harmony is second nature, Somerset champions inclusivity and sustainability through its wide array of brand signatures and programmes. Unsurprisingly that’s a philosophy which appeals to families, along with their innovative approach to design which brings nature indoors with flourishing lobby features, eco play areas, and themed rooms across the entire network of Somerset properties in 60 cities worldwide.

Discover the difference yourself with up to 50% off all family stays this festive season.

Cubby themed suite at Somerset Schoenbrunn Vienna

Why families love Somerset as their sanctuary for the holidays

• With their nature-inspired designs, the signature lobby feature in Somerset properties welcome you and set the harmonious, calm and thoughtful tone for your stay.
• Family-friendly themed suites are designed with children’s furniture and décor to inspire and encourage play. Plus, flexible layouts, dual-keys and connecting-rooms mean space and comfort for families of all sizes.
• ‘Powered by happiness’, the Eco Play Area is a kid-friendly space incorporating biophilic design and powered by solar and kinetic energy. Fitness enthusiasts can also power their happiness, at the Eco Gym, fitted with energy-saving and power-generating equipment.
• With various sustainability and family-focused initiatives, the Sustainability Passport Programme encourages you to be part of the green travel movement, even rewarding you with discounts and perks for every sustainable choice made during your stay. The programme runs throughout the year, featuring initiatives that engage guests as well as local communities in meaningful ways. As the year draws to a close, the programme culminates in a globally coordinated campaign where all Somerset properties unite to make an impact together – proving that every action, no matter how small, contributes to the green travel movement.
• Somerset Guardians aren’t just staff, they’re custodians of your wellbeing and happiness. Ever attentive, warm and friendly, they’re always around to make sure you have everything you need and can focus on the important business of having a good time.
• Then there’s Cubby, The Ascott Limited’s mascot and champion of inclusivity and sustainability, fitting as a brand icon for Somerset. Along with Cubby-themed interior design sprinkled across Somerset properties, you’ll also find a whole range of collectibles and merchandise featuring the mascot with different costumes and friends from around the world. Your kids would get to expand their cubby collection with every stay at Somerset.

Find the perfect sanctuary for your next retreat with Somerset

Somerset Sustainability Passports for adults, children and pets

Celebrating unlimited good with Somerset Sustainability Passport Programme

Perfect for families who love to explore the world and respect the planet’s resources, Somerset properties walk the walk and talk the talk. Not only are they peaceful retreats for families in some of the world’s busiest cities, they offer a wide array of workshops, activities and events themed around sustainability, accessibility and wellness through the Somerset Sustainability Passport Programme.

As a hotel brand with unwavering passion for sustainability, Somerset is where everyone can be part of the green travel movement while having fun and spending quality time with their loved ones.

This year’s Sustainability Passport Programme focuses on three areas: Sustainability, Accessibility and Wellness, which are in direct support of Ascott CARES – the group’s sustainability programme that centres around five fundamental pillars of Community, Alliance, Respect, Environment and Supply Chain. Events, workshops and a range of activities are organised throughout the year with local communities for guests to take part in. If you are planning on staying at a Somerset property during the festive period, look out for various hands-on activities to lend a hand in decking the halls for the year-end festivities and celebrate sustainability.

Family fun at Somerset Baitang Suzhou

Celebrating wellness from within

Somerset Baitang Suzhou organised hands-on art workshops to repurpose unwanted glass bottles as vases and home décor items. Guests were also engaged in sessions to upcycle old clothes into new pieces of clothing.

Right at the heart of Dalian’s central business district, you’ll find Somerset Grand Central Dalian, where this holiday season families were invited to take part in a running carnival across the city. Participants enjoyed the outdoor greenery and took part in plogging for their return leg of the journey – a combination of jogging and picking up litter along the way. For those preferring non-strenuous, indoor activities, leaf painting workshops were set up for guests where they gave a new life to fallen autumn foliage, using the leaves to create intricate shadow box artworks.

Harvesting joy with your loved ones

This winter, the ‘Harvesting with family’ programme at Somerset Grand Citra Jakarta lets you experience the joy of picking fresh vegetables from the property’s very own hydroponic garden. In December, guests can also soak in the joy of Christmas with children from SOS Children’s Village as they perform and sing Christmas carols in the lobby.

Guests staying in Somerset Sudirman Jakarta for this year-end festive season can also participate in yoga classes every fortnight or join organised visits to cultural sites like the Museum Batik National or the National Monument to learn more about the local Indonesian culture and heritage.

Do good and feel good

Holiday season activities are all about celebrating unlimited good this year. In the Philippines, guests from Somerset Central Salcedo Makati were in for a treat for pilates sessions organised in collaboration with Open Mat Studio, a local wellness studio. Wellness kits and kombucha were also provided during the event, encouraging participants to take their first step towards a happier and active lifestyle.

Raising awareness on eating clean and healthy starts from young. In celebration of World Vegan Day, young guests staying at Somerset Alabang Manila picked up growing kits to embark on their own little green journey, growing their own herbs such as chives, basil, Italian parsley and more, in the comfort of their rooms.

Every little action counts – helmed as a collective effort, Somerset Millennium Makati spearheaded a nationwide initiative where all Somerset properties in the Philippines collectively organised donation drives to collect clothing, hygiene kits and canned food for communities affected by the recent typhoon Katrina.

Empowering lives, one shoe at a time

In collaboration with non-profit Soles4Souls, Somerset Bencoolen Singapore organised a donation drive where donated shoes will be used in Soles4Souls’ 4Opportunityprogram. The initiative creates jobs and empowers individuals from developing countries with the chance to start small businesses through a steady supply of high-quality, low-cost shoes and apparel. If you’re in a festive mood, the property is also organising free trips to see the Gardens by the Bay Christmas Train Show in Singapore.

Somerset Alabang Manila’s recycled Christmas decorations

A sustainable festive season with Somerset

The festive season just got a little greener as everyone is invited to be part of this year’s Christmas celebrations in true Somerset fashion: with heart, soul, and a positive impact on the planet. The holidays are often associated with excessive consumption, but what makes Somerset stand out is its unique approach to the festivities.

Across its properties worldwide, Somerset is embracing sustainability by inviting guests to join hands and create stunning Christmas trees crafted from recycled and repurposed materials, including mattress fillers, cardboard egg trays and discarded iron rods to name a few.

Celebrate the holidays with a cultural twist

Made using fallen trees and debris from the aftermath of Typhoon Katrina, the Christmas tree at Somerset Alabang Manila symbolises resilience, sustainability and hope while navigating through calamity.

Celebrating the holidays with a cultural twist, Somerset Rama 9 Bangkok utilised Pha Khoa Ma – a traditional cloth to integrate the Thai heritage into their Christmas tree, along with locally sourced palm leaves and rattan. Guests were invited to be part of this festive hands-on experience by weaving Pla Taphian (fish ornaments) to decorate the tree.

Staying true to their love for marine life, Somerset Pattaya’s tree represents a vibrant underwater world. The tree was built using white and colourful plastic shopping bags collected from guests, which were shaped into coral-like flowers to represent the ocean water and coral reefs. Egg cartons were also gathered from the hotel’s restaurant and cut into turtle shapes. The young guests added a magical touch by painting the egg carton cut-outs, bringing the little sea turtles to life.

Decking the halls in sustainable style

Somerset Heping Shenyang decked out the halls with discarded bedroom slippers and recycled materials such as plastic bottles and metal cans. Beneficiaries from Sunny Home and Yucheng school also played their part by colouring cubby cut-outs from the kids’ sustainability passport, which were then hung on the tree as decorative ornaments.

Using discarded keycard holders as ornaments, Somerset IOC Hangzhou brought their Christmas tree to life while repurposing discarded wooden floor panels and metal rods for the structure of the tree.

In collaboration with Kenya Forest Service, Somerset Westview Nairobi brought their tree to life using driftwood sourced from various species of indigenous trees, reclaimed wooden pallets from ongoing rooftop construction, as well as shredded flip-flops and recycled beads from their local partners Ocean Sole and Kazuri Beads Kenya.

Somerset Greenways Chennai creatively reimagined and transformed old mattress filling as toppers to replicate a snow-like effect, adding a touch of magic to their Christmas tree.

Somerset Jeju Shinhwa World repurposed leftover soap bars by melting and transforming them into mini Hallabong tangerines– Jeju’s representative fruit, to be used as ornaments for their Christmas tree with a unique local twist. Somerset Palace Seoul built their cosy Christmas tree by repurposing and painting discarded egg cartons, while Cubby the mascot brought the tree to life with its cute appearance. How many cubbies can you spot?

Book any Somerset or The Ascott Limited properties during this festive season and save up to 50% on stays worldwide*

*Book by 31 December 2024 for stays until 31 January 2025