The edible, 1,200 pound sugar castle at the Westin St. Francis on San Francisco's Union Square.

You can count on the Westin St. Francis to boost your level of holiday cheer.

The location, in the shopping epicenter of San Francisco — Union Square — places you directly across from the massive Christmas tree that towers over the everything, and sparkles with thousands of lights.

For the past four years, the hotel’s pastry chef and his team have concocted a completely edible 12-foot sugar castle that can be viewed in the hotel’s lobby.

This is not your mother’s gingerbread house. The castle, created in the French chateau style, weighs in at more that 1,200 pounds and requires some 60 pounds of flour with icing mad of 300 pounds of sugar and egg whites. It takes 400 hours of work. I wonder whose job it is to crack all of those eggs…

The famous lobby of the St. Francis.

You can drop in to see it when you’re out shopping, visiting Santa, ice skating on Union Square, or just taking in the lights and holiday window displays. But better yet, avail yourself of some of the St. Francis’ holiday promos:

• Holiday Savings Package — one night rates start at $149; two nights at $111; three nights at $104
• Ice Skating on Union Square — enjoy reduced rates of up to 30% plus admission for two with skate rentals to the Union Square ice skating rink
• Macy’s Shopping Package — reduced rates plus a $100 Macy’s gift card

Photos courtesy of the Westin St. Francis