4 weeks ago
19
Resolve right now to try something new on New Year's Eve. Instead of staying home in your jammies and watching Andy and Anderson giggle and exchange Champagne spit takes in Times Square, shake off the old year somewhere else. Plus, with New Year's Day falling on a Wednesday in 2025, you can break up with your sofa and take an extra-long weekend by taking just two vacation days. Hustle to one of these holiday hot spots to ring in 2025 like you're H-O-T-T-O-G-O.
New Orleans
Throwing wild holiday celebrations is standard operating procedure in New Orleans, so New Year's Eve here is a guaranteed good time. Get in the mood with the afternoon's Sugar Bowl Parade, a noisy annual tradition that rolls right through the French Quarter. Then you can book a late dinner at glam spots like Herbsaint or Bar Metier or dive in and mingle with the crowds at Jackson Square as they watch a giant fleur-de-lis slide down a pole atop Jax Brewery at midnight. Then, join the locals and head to the live music clubs along Frenchmen Street to dance until dawn. Prefer an early show? One of the city's most historic music venues, Preservation Hall, is reopening in December after nearly six months of renovations and has four performances on New Year's Eve between 5 p.m. and 8:45 p.m.
TPG tip: Move quickly because rooms are getting scarce. A room at The Barnett — formerly the Ace Hotel New Orleans and now part of the JdV by Hyatt collection — can be booked starting at $385 or 23,000 World of Hyatt points for New Year's Eve.
Washington, DC
Even with the area's only fireworks across the Potomac River in Virginia, Washington is pretty lit on New Year's Eve. Because the Metro's free all night, you can easily breeze between venues. Book dinner at The Bazaar by José Andrés, then head to the original Busboys and Poets bookstore bar on 14th Street NW for its popular open-mic event (with an all-night happy hour). Alternatively, hop the Metro's Orange Line to Foggy Bottom after dinner and catch comedian John Oliver's late show at the Kennedy Center, the year's last laugh. All the Smithsonian museums are open on New Year's Day, so start 2025 off with some culture.
TPG tip: Its unbeatable location in the grand Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue makes the Waldorf Astoria an impressive and sensible place to stay on a weekend that will be crowded. The hotel has rooms from $864 or 110,000 Hilton Honors points on New Year's Eve.
Seattle
For the whole month of December, the Seattle Center's Winterfest celebration makes it the destination for all things holiday: its event calendar is packed with a Christmas Market that runs daily through Dec. 24, a holiday train show open through Dec. 31 and performances of "The Nutcracker" through Dec. 28. New Year's Eve marks the final night of Winterfest, and it's guaranteed to go off with a bang, not a whimper: The evening festivities start inside with a free 8 p.m. concert and dance party with the rollicking Blue Wave Band, move outside to the International Fountain Mall for a light show and dance party beginning at 10 p.m., and culminate at midnight with the Space Needle drone and fireworks show overhead. Bring your dancing shoes.
TPG tip: Downtown's Hyatt at Olive 8 — worth the stay if only for the divine glass-walled pool and sustainability-minded spa — has rooms available from $193 or 23,000 World of Hyatt points on New Year's Eve.
Related: A Hyatt hop through Seattle: Which Hyatt should you choose on your next trip to the Emerald City?
Philadelphia
You can choose a couple of different ways to spend New Year's Eve in Philadelphia: late dinner at Caribou Cafe (you can't miss with the steak frites) followed by midnight fireworks at Penns Landing or, you know, just stay in that night. Staying in is a great option if you're staying at the W Philadelphia on Rittenhouse Square. Two ticketed parties, one at Wet, the pool bar, and another in the Living Room, a cool lobby space, bring in the locals. Our reviewer says the cocktails will be notable and, big plus, you won't have to bring your coat. In the morning, City Hall, where Philly's famously weird and colorful Mummers Parade originates, is a three-minute walk away.
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TPG tip: The design-forward W Philadelphia is centrally located in this city of history, yet it feels very mod. Between the pool bar and the buzzing lobby scene, you may never step outside. On New Year's Eve, stays are available from $422 or 76,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
Santa Fe, New Mexico
And now for something completely different. How do peace and quiet sound for New Year's Eve? Santa Fe and its surrounding area offer both in spades. Opt to spend a few days an hour southwest of Santa Fe at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa, where the cinematic desert landscape around Bernalillo lends a quiet serenity to the end of a tumultuous year. You can start the afternoon with a wintry trail ride at the Stables at Tamaya, followed by a spa treatment (lavender dry-brush therapy, maybe?) and then spend a quiet evening thanks to room service and a view of the starry sky over the mountains. If you need a party, drive into town for the annual celebration on the Santa Fe Plaza. Join the locals in the flickering light of pinon bonfires and luminarias to listen to live music, grab a bite from a food truck, countdown to the midnight fireworks and then raise your voice in a singalong of "Auld Lang Syne" and the traditional Mexican birthday song, "Las Mananitas."
TPG tip: With eye-popping views of the snow-dusted Sandia Mountains and activities like winter horseback rides, guided nature walks and spa treatments, the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa has rooms to book on New Year's Eve from $273 or 18,000 World of Hyatt points.
Nashville
Music City celebrates the new year with a free star-studded concert, the annual Nashville's Big Bash at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. This year's country lineup features Keith Urban, Kane Brown and Jelly Roll. That's not enough? As midnight approaches, a 16-foot LED-spangled musical note descends from a tower above the stage. When it hits the bottom, fireworks soar over the park. Don't miss out on Nashville's great food scene: It offers high and low cuisine, including dozens of James Beard Award winners and semifinalists like City House and Prince's Hot Chicken. Also, the wildly entertaining Country Music Hall of Fame is open on New Year's Eve and Jan. 1.
TPG tip: Though it's a convention hotel, the Grand Hyatt Nashville surprised TPG's reviewer with its upscale rooms and elevated dining options. On New Year's Eve, it has rooms from $317 or 29,000 World of Hyatt points.
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Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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