An upscale Abu Dhabi hotel that unveiled a jewel-studded 11 million dollar (8.3 million euro) Christmas tree said it regretted overloading the tradition, according to local press reports on Sunday.
The Emirates Palace hotel said it regretted "attempts to overload the tradition followed by most hotels in the country with meanings and connotations that do not fall in line with the professional standards" of the hotel.
"Putting the Christmas tree is not a novelty, rather it is a tradition meant to share in celebrating occasions guests hold while they are away from their home countries and families," the Gulf News daily quoted a hotel statement as saying.
The tree, inaugurated on Wednesday, holds a total of 181 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones, said Khalifa Khouri, owner of Style Gallery, which provided the jewellery.