How hotels are turning bubbles into rituals, theatre, and very good business.
Champagne has always been about celebration — but in hotels today, it’s becoming something more intimate. Less special-occasion-only, more everyday indulgence. Served over ice, sabred tableside, poured into baths, and stretched across leisurely afternoons, Champagne is no longer waiting for permission.
Hotels, it seems, have fallen back in love with bubbles — and they’re inviting guests to do the same.
FROM CELLAR TO THEATRE
Once confined to minibars and ballroom banquets, Champagne has stepped into the spotlight. Today, it’s as much about how it’s served as what is poured.
At The St. Regis Bangkok, sabrage is not a party trick — it’s a ritual. Inspired by the Napoleonic tradition of opening bottles with a saber to mark moments of triumph and transition, the daily Champagne Sabering ceremony signals the graceful shift from day into evening. Performed with ceremony and precision in the lobby at 6:00 PM, the moment transforms Champagne into theatre, anchoring heritage, romance, and just enough drama into a single, clean strike. Guests don’t just drink Champagne; they witness it.
This is experiential luxury at its most effortless.
CHAMPAGNE, CHILLED — AND UNAPOLOGETIC
Serving Champagne on ice was once controversial. Today, it’s confident, playful, and unapologetically modern.
Across Asia, hotels are embracing Champagne outdoors — by the pool, at sunset, under city lights — where formality loosens and conversation flows. High above Bangkok on the 59th floor of Centara Grand at CentralWorld, the Veuve Clicquot Sky Terrace at CRU Champagne Bar turns skyline views into an immersive Champagne moment. Bottles arrive cold enough to mist in the evening heat, golden-hour light washes the terrace in warm tones, and the atmosphere leans more celebratory than ceremonial.
Champagne becomes social, relaxed, and dangerously drinkable.
Here, bubbles are less about etiquette and more about mood.
THE RISE OF CHAMPAGNE ACTIVATIONS
What’s changed most isn’t consumption — it’s intention.
Hotels are no longer simply listing Champagne on menus. They’re designing experiences around it:
- sunset rituals
- terrace takeovers
- Champagne-led brunches
- immersive brand spaces
- golden-hour sabering moments
The smartest activations respect both house identity and hotel character. They create memory without overpowering mood.
Champagne becomes less about excess — and more about emotional timing.
THE CHAMPAGNE BATH: DECADENCE, REFRAMED
Yes, it’s indulgent. And yes, it’s very much having a moment.
Champagne baths — once reserved for rock-star folklore — have quietly entered the luxury hotel wellness playbook. At Hotel Café Royal, Champagne bathing rituals combine bubbles with aromatherapy, candlelight, and spa calm, transforming excess into escapism.
Elsewhere, hotels integrate Champagne tubs into romantic turndown experiences, anniversaries, or wellness-meets-pleasure packages. It’s not about extravagance for show — it’s about slowing time and leaning into occasion.
WHY IT WORKS — LOVE, STILL ON ICE
For hotels, Champagne is more than a luxury SKU — it’s a mood-setter. It signals celebration without noise, indulgence without excess, and luxury without intimidation.
Served on ice, sabred with ceremony, poured into baths, or enjoyed mid-afternoon, Champagne becomes approachable — aspirational, but never stiff.
And perhaps that’s why it resonates now.
Champagne culture in hotels isn’t about doing it correctly. It’s about how it makes you feel: lighter, slower, more present. Not a symbol of status, but an invitation.
To celebrate nothing in particular.To indulge without apology.