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Best Places to Celebrate New Year's 2008: Editor's Top 10

Our Editor's Top 10 list for Best Places to Celebrate New Year's 2008 helps you decide where you want to go. Editor's Top 10 lists offer selections from our editors that help you plan your travel based on your lifestyle, entertainment, sightseeing, or recreation options.

Looking to ring in the New Year at one of the coolest - or hottest - spots in the world? Whether you're looking for a family offering in the Magic Kingdom, luxury accommodations at a Grande Dame in Europe or an adventurous trek down the slopes at a world-class ski resort, these destinations, along with our hotel recommendations, are tops among our editors to ring in 2008 in style.
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20 Hotels Found
1. Park Hyatt Sydney Add to eGuidebook
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$587-$1,200 
Built: 1990 
Renovated: 2004 
7 Hickson Rd, The Rocks, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Uniquely situated beneath the Harbour Bridge on Sydney Cove, this property gets the award for the City's Most Distinguished Boutique Hotel. The bridge views from here are not the very best, but only passengers on the ferries passing by enjoy better panoramas of the Sydney Opera House. At night, gues... Read Entire Review »
2. London Hilton on Park Lane Add to eGuidebook
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$525-$1,213 
Built: 1963 
Renovated: 1999 
22 Park Lane, London, England
In a prime location on Park Lane, near the stylish powerhouse Metropolitan London, this 28-floor triangular tower has been a London landmark since it opened in 1963. It does not carry the prestige it possessed when it first debuted, but unlike the Park Lane Hotel (Sheraton), it has moved into the 21... Read Entire Review »
3. The Ritz-Carlton, Battery Park Add to eGuidebook
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$350-$595 
Built: 2001 
2 West St, New York, NY
In the few years since this hotel opened, it has proven to be the monarch of lower Manhattan. Nothing has changed since last inspection, and its popularity proves that this has become one of the city's most intriguing locations. The hotel fills the lowest 12 stories of a 39-story tower, with expensi... Read Entire Review »
4. JW Marriott Hotel Buckhead Atlanta Add to eGuidebook
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$189-$1,250 
Built: 1988 
Renovated: 2007 
3300 Lenox Rd NE, Atlanta, GA
This hotel would be the leader in most cities, but in trendy Buckhead it ranks second behind its stylish sibling Ritz-Carlton. Still, it faces stiff competition from the swanky Grand Hyatt and new InterContinental farther down the road. The gracious staff and relatively peaceful air of this operatio... Read Entire Review »
5. Hotel Plaza Athenee Paris Add to eGuidebook
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$933-$29,779 
Built: 1911 
Renovated: 2006 
25, avenue Montaigne, Paris, France
In the fashion-soaked "golden triangle" of the eighth arrondissement, 300 m from the Pont de l'Alma, this highly celebrated property is on a wide street shaded by chestnut trees, squarely in the hub of the city's most fashionable boutiques. This palace hotel represents the peak of Paris' pricey offe... Read Entire Review »
6. InterContinental Mark Hopkins Add to eGuidebook
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$229-$4,250 
Built: 1926 
Renovated: 2002 
One Nob Hill, San Francisco, CA
Situated at California and Mason, opposite the gleaming traditional Fairmont, this has long been the city's most famous hotel, and thanks to consistent maintenance and innovations, it proudly retains that reputation. Known to most people (at least since World War II) as the home of the Top of the Ma... Read Entire Review »
7. Hotel D'Angleterre Add to eGuidebook
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$433-$3,426 
Built: 1755 
Renovated: 2000 
Kongens Nytorv 34, Copenhagen, Denmark
This hotel is in an ideal location on the King's New Square near the north end of the Stroeget pedestrian street and next door to the new subway station and the city's biggest department store. This hotel remains Copenhagen's grande dame. The 250-year-old, five-floor institution was once a mansion.... Read Entire Review »
8. Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong Add to eGuidebook
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$549-$5,364 
Built: 2005 
15 Queen's Rd Central, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
This breathtakingly stylish hotel designed by American Peter Remedios boasts some of the largest guest rooms in the city, yet its intimate size allows for excellent customer-service standards and an instant response to any request. Situated near its sister property, this sleek lodging is striving to... Read Entire Review »
9. Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Add to eGuidebook
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$259-$3,225 
Built: 1990 
Renovated: 2006 
1500 Epcot Resorts Blvd, Lake Buena Vista, FL
Located inside Disney World, with direct access to Epcot by water taxi or tram, this place is its own megalopolis. Still considered separate entities, these two behemoths share all facilities and therefore create the largest hotel and convention center in Florida. The property is an extravagant mode... Read Entire Review »
10. The Balmoral Add to eGuidebook
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$568-$3,083 
Built: 1902 
Renovated: 1999 
1 Princes St, Edinburgh, Scotland
This establishment is one of the few grand railway hotels in the country-or in the U.K., for that matter-still going strong. Like its stellar siblings in Manchester, Cardiff and of course London, Sir Rocco Forte continually stokes these gems with money and fine staff. The latest changes here have be... Read Entire Review »
11. Copacabana Palace Hotel Add to eGuidebook
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$498-$3,435 
Built: 1923 
Renovated: 2002 
Av Atlantica 1702 Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
This property is the most famous hotel in Rio de Janeiro, and for traditionalists, it is the best. Those expecting world-class service and impeccable standards of maintenance and cuisine will not be left wonting. This opulent beach palace designed by the architect of the Negresco in Nice dates from... Read Entire Review »
12. Four Seasons Hotel Prague Add to eGuidebook
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$542-$7,750 
Built: 2001 
Renovated: 2007 
Veleslavinova 1098/2A, Prague, Czech Republic
Since its opening in 2001, this hotel has been the poshest address in Prague, but now the new Charles IV will present competition. The property unites three historic buildings that are in turn classical, Renaissance and baroque in style. The oldest of these, the baroque building, dates to 1737. All... Read Entire Review »
13. Amangani Resort Add to eGuidebook
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$565-$1,680 
Built: 1998 
Renovated: 2008 
1535 NE Butte Rd, Jackson, WY
Perched dramatically atop East Gros Ventre Butte, next to the Spring Creek Ranch, 1,000 ft above the Snake River, five minutes from town, lies Amanresorts' first venture in the New World. In accordance with the group's towering standards, this resort is meticulously designed to blend in with the loc... Read Entire Review »
14. Omni Royal Orleans Hotel Add to eGuidebook
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$109-$950 
Built: 1960 
Renovated: 2005 
621 St Louis St - French Quarter, New Orleans, LA
One block from Bourbon Street, in an area thick with art galleries and antique shops, this hotel offers fine commercial lodging in the heart of the French Quarter. The intensity of the foot traffic through the hotel can prove daunting and many guests opt for sitting in the peaceful courtyard to read... Read Entire Review »
15. Hotel de l'Europe Add to eGuidebook
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$426-$1,782 
Built: 1896 
Renovated: 1998 
Nieuwe Doelenstraat 2-8, Amsterdam, Netherlands
In a picturesque setting on the Amstel River and overlooking the Mint Tower, this place remains the best hotel in the city. The extravagant historical building provides a romantic setting, and an excellent staff keeps the operation running smoothly. Inside, time returns to the late 19th century as g... Read Entire Review »
16. Bellagio Add to eGuidebook
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$179-$8,000 
Built: 1998 
Renovated: 2007 
3600 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV
On the 120-acre site of the legendary Dunes, this landmark hotel continues to stand proudly at the top of the ranks here. That said, these days it shares some of the limelight with the newer Wynn Hotel, Mandalay Bay, revamped Caesars and Venetian hotels. By Las Vegas standards, the service here is e... Read Entire Review »
17. Vail Cascade Resort & Spa Add to eGuidebook
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$159-$1,500 
Built: 1982 
Renovated: 2004 
1300 Westhaven Dr, Vail, CO
This property is a full-service resort in Cascade Village, straddling Gore Creek at the base of Vail Mountain. It is a resort for all reasons, offering the copious meeting space of Marriott's Mountain Resort, the recreational facilities of Vail Mountain Lodge, and the high culinary standards of The... Read Entire Review »
18. Bauer Hotel Add to eGuidebook
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$421-$6,000 
Built: 1880 
Renovated: 1999 
Campo S Moise 1459, San Marco, Venice, Italy
In a terrific location near Piazza San Marco, this hotel feels like a bit like James Bond, a sexy foreigner in an exotic land. Perched above a romantic stretch of the Grand Canal, the hotel's boxy Bauhaus-inspired exterior can shock new arrivals, but like 007, once you're inside, it's a snaps... Read Entire Review »
19. Park Hyatt Zurich Add to eGuidebook
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$1,251-$2,213 
Built: 2004 
Beethovenstrasse 21, Zurich, Switzerland
The home of international celebrities, artists, musicians and corporate fireballs, this Park Hyatt is the first new hotel in the city in more than a decade. Locals have flooded it with interest, which adds even more pizzazz to the hotel's highly regarded image. The building's rather blocklike exteri... Read Entire Review »
20. Marquesa Hotel Add to eGuidebook
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$175-$430 
Built: 1884 
Renovated: 1994 
600 Fleming St, Key West, FL
Located one block from Duval Street and four from the gulf, in a location that will have some guests searching for their earplugs, this place continues to share the top of the ranks in Key West. Prices here have passed the point of value, but standards are generally very high; renovations have impro... Read Entire Review »