10 Outrageous New Year's Celebrations (Slideshow)
Exotic New Year’s Eve
Located in the heart of the city and within easy reach of ancient bazaars and the famous Bosphorus shores, revelers looking to ring in the New Year in exotic high style should look no further than the glamorous, five-star Marti Istanbul Hotel, designed by acclaimed interior decorator Zeynep Fadillioglu. Here, guests who spring for VIP treatment will get chauffeured from the airport to the hotel by limo, stay in the 2700-square-foot Regal Suite, dine under an authentic Ottoman tent at a gala dinner on New Year's Eve at the hotel's Quad Restaurant, enjoy an opulent brunch on New Year's Day and luxurious Turkish Bath treatments in the hotel's superb top-floor spa. The VIP experience begins at approximately $6199.
Party at a Palace
Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Gstaad Palace hotel (which has played host to celebrities and travelers with a taste for luxury since its opening in 1913) is throwing a Jazz Age New Year's Eve celebration in its exclusive Green Go Nightclub fit for royalty. Fittingly, the fête is inspired by the over-the-top opulence of The Great Gatsby, so guests can expect white ties and dinner jackets required of the men, flapper dress for ladies and plenty of Champagne. For $5,177, guests can book the best room in the palace, the Towers Suite (though the single classic room is just $813 and gives you access to all the New Year's action).
Tropical Circus New Year
Tucked away in the cliffs of Kamala on Phuket's "Millionaire Mile," Paresa Resort offers a remote location for luxury travelers who hope to ring in 2014 in the tropics, big-top style. At the newly opened ZAZADA Beach Club, the resort will throw an over-the-top circus-themed celebration this New Year's Eve complete with fire breathers, burlesque dancers, magicians, acrobats, clowns and more. The extravagant event will also feature a Mediterranean dinner buffet, gratis house wine and local beer, and a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne for each couple, so get ready to send in the clowns. The cost for the event is $265 for adults and $95 for children 12 and under.
Times Square-inspired Party
What starts with bubbly and ends with a bang? The New Year's Eve party at Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, where the resort's Grand Hall will transform to Times Square this New Year's Eve, complete with street cart vendors and live entertainers (thankfully, minus the picture-snapping tourists). In addition to numerous Champagne tastings, guests will enjoy a live fireworks display to ring in 2014. Rates start at $489 per night, though guests can add on winter-appropriate activities to their New Year's Eve celebration, like sleigh rides, snow tubing, skiing and dog sledding at the resort if price is no object
Jet Set Luxury
For the cost of a house in some cities (that's $114,000), guests can book the Great Modern Experience Package this New Year's Eve and fly away (literally) to paradise. The hefty price tag includes a round-trip private jet charter on Apollo Jets from California or Las Vegas to Honolulu for up to eight people, a four-night stay at the Modern Honolulu's spacious Penthouse Suite, limo service to and from the airport, a private Waikiki catamaran sail, VIP entrance to the stylish hotel's 2014 New Year's Eve party (complete with a picture-perfect view of fireworks) and two daybeds at the New Year's Day Beach party at Addiction Beach Club. The extravagant package has perks like dinner for two at the Morimoto Waikiki, daily spa treatments for two and daily breakfast for two served poolside (or in guests' private suites), and last but not least, an option to view Hawaii via sky dive for two over Oahu—what better way to kick off the new year?
Showstopping New Year’s Eve
We hope you packed your jazz hands: Broadway lovers should book their New Year's Eve at The White Barn Inn, which will bring in a talented cast of actors and singers who have graced stages across the U.S. for a unique night of entertainment. Partygoers will begin their New Year's festivities with canapés at the bar, then enjoy a six-course dinner with musical entertainment on the piano followed by a Broadway show. Just before midnight, revelers will don avant-garde masks or top hats, then ring in the New Year with a midnight Champagne toast, followed by a kitchen tour led by celebrated chef Jonathan Cartwright (a star in his own right). Prices begin at $290 per person for dinner and entertainment ($710 per night for a two-night stay for two).
Slope-side Celebration
Located on stunning Lake Geneva in Wisconsin, the Grand Geneva Resort is offering a New Year's Eve fit for ski bums with cash to spare. Gather three of your closest friends for the Hills and Thrills New Year's Eve Package, which includes a two-night stay at the resort for four, lift tickets for the on-property ski slope, The Mountain Top, and dinner at the Ski Chalet. There will be a DJ and live entertainment at the Lienenkugel's Mountaintop Lodge, followed by fireworks on top of the ski hill at midnight. Prices start at $675 for a two-night stay.
Magical Beach Gala
Guests who arrive between December 27 and January 1 at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai can enjoy a New Year's Eve package with a minimum-length stay of five nights at the otherwordly property, which offers a pristine stretch of shore by the Arabian Sea overlooking Buri Al Arab. The hotel's whimsical New Year's Eve celebration begins with a beach gala dinner, includes a 10-piece band and DJ, an international buffet with live cooking stations, open bar, half bottle of Champagne and midnight fireworks on the beach. Circus performers will help make the evening a memorable one: Entertainment will be provided by acrobats, jugglers and magicians. Prices begin at $899 per adult.
High-brow New Year’s Across the Pond
Get ready to lift your pinky: For a refined New Year's Eve that even Lady Grantham would approve of, book a room at Cosworth Park, a pastoral country house in Ascot, England (the property offers activities on two professional polo fields, as well as tennis and croquet). The upscale evening will begin with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne in your room upon arrival, include afternoon tea, a flim screening in the cinema room, Champagne and canapés, followed by a gourmet dinner. After dining, a DJ will get the party started in the Mansion House, followed by midnight fireworks. But that's not all: Guests will continue the revelry into the next day, enjoying a brunch, a chocolate master class with the property's chef, a wine tasting with the sommelier and use of all facilities at The Spa (which includes an indoor pool complete with underwater music and aromatic steam room). Prices begin at $844 per person.
$10,000 Dinner
Would you drop $10K on a dinner for two this New Year's Eve? At Empire Steak House in Manhattan, big spenders will ring in the New Year in high style, inspired by the indulgence of the Rat Pack era: Think a pound of fresh Ostera caviar per person to kick off a high-end meal (dishes include South African lobster tail with Cristal Champagne sauce and three-layer chocolate torte with raspberry and gold leaf), a bottle of 2010 Château Lafite Rothschild for the table and...24 hours of Frank Sinatra impersonators. That's right: New York, New York is scheduled to play during the iconic Times Square ball drop.