At luxury hotels across the country, a new kind of evening activity is appearing alongside winetastings and wellness classes. Mahjong tables are filling hotel lounges with players learning the difference between a pung and a chow over cocktails and bar snacks.
Properties from mountain resorts in Colorado to urban hotels in Washington, D.C. are adding beginner mahjong clinics, open-play nights, and multi-day retreats to their event calendars, often in partnership with local instructors or established mahjong groups. Some are structured as guided lessons for first-time players; others function more like recurring social gatherings that bring both hotel guests and locals into lounges and restaurants for hours at a time.
Mahjong itself, of course, is hardly new. “The game really dates back to the late 1800s in China,” says Nicole Wong, author of Mahjong: House Rules from Across the Asian Diaspora. It’s a game traditionally played by four players with a set of 144 tiles and combines elements of strategy, skill, and chance as players build winning hands by drawing and discarding tiles. Wong adds that it spread internationally in the early 1900s after Western businessmen learned to play during their Chinese work trips and brought the game home. Eventually it became a “craze” in the United States during the 1920s.
Over time, multiple styles of play evolved in parallel, including American mahjong (which relies on a yearly card from the National Mah Jongg League that outlines specific winning combinations; Chinese mahjong allows for more flexible hand-building and regional rule variations), that became embedded within Jewish American social culture after the National Mah Jongg League standardized rules in the 1930s. Today, American mahjong is often the focus of hotel clinics and retreats, Wong notes, although interest in other styles has also grown in recent years.
The timing of the hotel game nights and clinics aligns with a broader resurgence in the game itself (Yelp data shows searches for mahjong clubs are up almost 4,500 percent since 2025), particularly among younger players discovering—or rediscovering—mahjong.
“In our current state of prolific social media use, people are yearning for activities that create real human interaction and connection,” says Lily Ho, founder of Mahjong Movement, a community-focused mahjong organization based in San Francisco. “With mahjong, you are forced to look across the table at another person and socialize within an arm’s distance.” The game’s slower pace is part of the draw, she says: “It requires strategy, but luck is also a big factor—the unpredictability of chance makes it fun.”
Social media has also helped fuel the game’s recent swell in popularity. Over the past several years, platforms like Instagram and TikTok have introduced new audiences to mahjong through colorful tiles, custom mats, and videos explaining everything from beginner rules to advanced strategy.
“Social media is making people who might not ever have had a connection to the game more aware of it,” says Wong. “And then you also see a lot of people reconnecting with the game that they may have grown up seeing their relatives play. So it’s kind of feeding itself in that more people are playing.”
The game has also experienced periodic surges of mainstream attention tied to pop culture moments, including after the release of films The Joy Luck Club and later Crazy Rich Asians, both of which prominently featured mahjong (the Hong Kong and Singaporean versions, respectively) as a cultural touchpoint.
“Hotels are increasingly focused on creating memorable experiences and fostering connection, and mahjong naturally brings people together,” says Stacey White, founder of the Mahjong House, which makes mahjong tiles and mats.
For properties positioning themselves as gathering spaces for both travelers and locals, the built-in social interaction of the game offers a reason for strangers to sit down together. Here are five U.S. hotels where you can try your hand at mahjong.
The Broadmoor
At the Broadmoor’s Cloud Camp retreat in Colorado Springs, mahjong games unfold beside the lodge fireplace and against panoramic mountain views during recurring “Camp Mahj” weekends hosted with local instructors.
Courtesy of the Broadmoor
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Set 9,100 feet at the summit of Cheyenne Mountain, Cloud Camp is one of the most secluded wilderness outposts of the Broadmoor, the historic Colorado Springs resort’s network of all-inclusive retreats. With 15 guest cabins and 7 lodge rooms, days here are typically structured around horseback riding, hikes, campfire dinners, and, increasingly, mahjong.
In partnership with Mahj Squad, local mahjong instructors, the resort hosts recurring “Camp Mahj” weekends built around American mahjong instruction and organized play. Games unfold either around the massive stone fireplace in the timber-lined Grand Dining Hall, or at the Overlook, a gathering space with panoramic views stretching from Pikes Peak to the plains below Colorado Springs. The vibe is more social retreat, with a mix of longtime players and newcomers gathered around tables for hours between other scheduled activities around the property. The next sessions are scheduled for May 31–June 2 and September 13–15, 2026.
Conrad Washington DC
Washington DC
On occasional evenings at Conrad Washington DC, the usual lounge chatter is interrupted by the sharp click of mahjong tiles. The hotel recently launched a series of monthly Mahjong 101 clinics in partnership with area retailer Talk Tiles to Me. The sessions bring together both hotel guests and locals for two-hour introductions to American mahjong, focused on tile identification, rules, flow of play, and what makes for winning hands. “It’s as much about demystifying mahjong as it is about playing it, giving guests enough fluency to feel confident at a table,” says Kelly Collis, the hotel’s director of marketing.
Each evening is split between guided instruction and open play, with two tables reserved for lessons and two for more experienced players. The hotel rounds out the setup with themed cocktails, mocktails, and light bites designed to encourage guests to stay awhile after the games wrap up. More than a one-off activity, the series is intended to function as a recurring social event that brings locals into the hotel around a shared hobby rather than a traditional networking or nightlife scene.
Bowie House
Fort Worth, Texas
Mahjong has been woven into the identity of the Bowie House almost from its start. Since opening in December 2023, the Fort Worth property has hosted recurring lesson nights and open-play sessions built around American mahjong, partnering with a local instructor of the Mahj Club to teach National Mah Jongg League rules to both first-timers and more seasoned players.
On game nights, locals and hotel guests filter into Billet, the hotel’s game room, or Mulberry, a library-style lounge where tables are already set with custom Bowie House mats and mahjong sets. Beginners cluster around instructors learning the rhythm of the tiles, while more experienced players settle into longer rounds nearby.
The Jay, Autograph Collection
The Third Floor terrace at the Jay, Autograph Collection in San Francisco hosts the hotel’s recurring “Mahjong + Martinis” nights, where guests and locals gather for lessons, open play, and cocktails inspired by mahjong terminology.
Courtesy of the Jay, Autograph Collection
San Francisco, California
At the Jay, Autograph Collection, the hotel’s take on the mahjong trend comes with a distinctly neighborhood-driven angle. Since September 2025, the property has hosted “Mahjong + Martinis,” a biweekly Thursday night series on the outdoor terrace of the Third Floor restaurant in partnership with Mahjong Movement, a program run by the Delta Chinatown Initiative and Chinatown Renaissance. According to Todd Statz, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing, the idea grew out of the Jay’s proximity to San Francisco’s Chinatown and a desire to bring more of the community into the hotel space.
The format blends instruction with social play, with Mahjong Movement members teaching both American and Hong Kong-style mahjong to both hotel guests and locals. Tickets cost $15 and include a cocktail. (The bar leans into the concept with drinks named after mahjong terminology like “Pong” and “Chow.”) This is only item that mentions costs. Are the others free?
Barnsley Resort
Adairsville, Georgia
At Barnsley Resort in north Georgia, mahjong has become one of the newest additions to the resort’s lineup of hobby-driven retreats. The property launched its first mahjong retreat in December 2025 after connecting with the Steel Mahjnolias of Johns Creek, an Atlanta-area mahjong group that helped cohost a holiday-themed weekend retreat for about 50 players. Since then, Barnsley has expanded the concept into a steady calendar of workshops, open play sessions, and themed retreats, including a recent Mother-Daughter Mahjong weekend.
Rather than keeping the game confined to a single lounge or activity room, the resort moves sessions throughout the property. Open play might happen beneath a shaded portico during a summer weekend, while larger retreats take place around the fireplace at Georgian Hall with holiday music in the background. For instruction, the resort partners with Mahjong Memories, a social club and mahjong league in nearby Cartersville, which teaches everyone from first-time players to guests looking to sharpen their strategy.
