Deal or No Deal: Cities that still have hotel deals for New Year’s Eve
What are you up to this New Year’s Eve, Cheapos? Hosting a whopper of a party? Running around town with friends? Showing off your boss karaoke skills with a non-stop Gangnam Style medley?
If your answer is “well, I’m not sure just yet” and you’re wondering if a spontaneous getaway could still be in the cards, we’re right there with you. We’ve been madly searching through our 10 most popular cities on EuroCheapo to see if any still have reasonable rates and the results are fascinating.
But first, our methodology and a necessary disclaimer:
To trying to establish where the deals are, we used EuroCheapo’s hotel search engine to compare “normal” hotel rates for this time of year (i.e., winter), with hotel rates for one night in a double room on New Year’s Eve.
Specifically, we wanted to know whether room availability plummeted in each city on New Year’s Eve and by what amount, how much availability remained in our two main cheapo price categories (under $100 and $100 – $200), and whether the hotels that do have availability for New Year’s Eve are centrally located.
That said, in general we consider “cheap” rates to hover around $75 – $100 / night. But New Year’s Eve gets special treatment and expands our definition a bit and we’re considering centrally located hotels for less than $200 to warrant a look.
So where are the deals? Read on…
Amsterdam
Iconic New Year’s celebration: Getting, um, “festive” at Dam Square‘s beer tents. For a calmer scene to view the fireworks, pick a bridge over one of the city’s many canals.
Typical hotel availability: 324 hotels; 229 for under $100; 201 for $100 – $200
New Year’s Eve availability: 39 hotels (12% of normal availability); 0 for under $100; 8 for $100 – $200
Deal or no deal: No deal. With only 12% of the normal hotel inventory available on New Year’s, the hotel options are sparse and are primarily located far from the action.
Barcelona
Iconic New Year’s celebration: Stuffing grapes into your mouth on Las Ramblas as the clock strikes midnight.
Typical hotel availability: 561 hotels; 500 for under $100; 239 for $100 – $200
New Year’s Eve availability: 242 hotels available (43% of normal availability); 15 for under $100; 180 for $100 – $200
Deal or no deal: Deal. No stranger to offering travelers low rates all year long, Barcelona still has plenty of rooms for budget travelers on New Year’s Eve. We recommend the Hosteria Grau in El Raval, where rooms are $170.
Berlin
Iconic New Year’s celebration: Germany’s biggest party, between the Victory Column and Brandenburg Gate, attracts more than a million visitors. Yowza.
Typical hotel availability: 605 hotels; 509 for under $100; 237 for $100 – $200
New Year’s Eve availability: 40 hotels available (7% of normal availability); 0 for under $100; 13 for $100 – $200
Deal or no deal? This is a toss up. Everyone seems to want to be in Berlin for New Year’s Eve – and we don’t blame them! – but this really drives down hotel availability. However, of the limited number of hotels that are available for under $200, several of them are in Kreuzberg and other fun neighborhoods, which sounds like a great place to be. So, okay…DEAL!
Florence
Iconic New Year’s celebration: Line the banks of the Arno to take in the city’s fireworks display.
Typical hotel availability: 461 hotels; 327 under $100; 296 for $100 – $200
New Year’s Eve availability: 76 hotels available (16% of normal availability); 0 for under $100; 11 for $100 – $200
Deal or no deal: No deal, since nearly all available hotels are located outside the center of town. But again, one small exception: the Hotel Globus, which is one of our Florentine faves, is available for $234 on New Year’s Eve. Sure, that ain’t super cheapo, but it’s the best deal in the city on New Year’s Eve.
London
Iconic New Year’s celebration: Catch the royally impressive fireworks display at the London Eye on the South Bank.
Typical hotel availability:Â 714 hotels; 90 for under $100; 596 for $100 – $200
New Year’s Eve availability: 206 hotels available (29% of normal availability);Â 1 under $100; 28 for $100 – $200
Deal or no deal: No deal. Sure, there are a couple dozen hotels that can be snagged for under $200, but nearly all of them are located on the outskirts of the city. This would make getting around town after midnight a frustrating (and pricey) experience for even the most patient Cheapo.
Madrid
Iconic New Year’s celebration: Once again, stuffing your mouth with grapes (it’s just a thing in Spain).
Typical hotel availability: 451 hotels; 407 for under $100; 169 for $100 – $200
New Year’s Eve availability: 261 hotels available (58% of normal availability); 93 for under $100; 173 for $100 – $200
Deal or no deal? Deal, deal, DEAL! There are tons of fantastic budget gems available in Madrid on New Year’s Eve. Have a look at the Cason del Tormes in the The Puerta del Sol where rooms start at $120.
New York
Iconic New Year’s celebration: Ryan Seacrest. Times Square. Laughably humungous crowds.
Typical hotel availability:Â 232 hotels; 2 for under $100; 77 for $100 – $200
New Year’s Eve availability:Â 23 hotels available (10% of normal availability); 24 hotels available; 0 for under $100; 0 for $100 – $200
Deal or no deal: Seriously? Let’s put it this way: An 3-star hotel in the Lower East Side (that shall not be named) that is usually $88 / night is charging $348 / night. And that’s the best deal we can find.
Paris
Iconic New Year’s celebration: Watching fireworks sparkle around the Eiffel Tower.
Typical hotel availability: 1,035 hotels; 153 for under $100; 930 for $100 – $200
New Year’s Eve availability: 233 available (22.5% of normal availability); 0 for under $100; 16 for $100 – $200
Deal or no deal? Deal. Sure, the number of available hotels shrinks dramatically on New Year’s, but there are still more than a dozen to choose from in central Paris for less than $200.
Rome
Iconic New Year’s celebration: Huge crowds, live music, fireworks and parties throughout the city, centered in Piazza del Popolo and near the Colosseum on Via dei Fori Imperiali.
Typical hotel availability:Â 1,068 hotels; 709 for under $100; 566 for $100 – $200
New Year’s Eve availability:Â 484 hotels available (45% of normal availability); 9 for under $100; 203 for $100 – $200
Deal or no deal: Deal. Rome’s hotel inventory is much less jarringly affected by New Year’s Eve rate spikes, compared to many of our other popular cities. Want to be a stone’s throw from the Colosseum and be in the center of the action? Have a look at the Hotel Paba, which still has rates for $198 on New Year’s Eve.
Venice
Iconic New Year’s celebration: Music and fireworks in St. Mark’s Square, then join locals to watch the sunrise and take a dip at Lido Beach.
Typical hotel availability: 325 hotels; 259 for under $100; 164 for $100 – $200
New Year’s Eve availability: 42 hotels available (13% of normal availability); 0 for under $100; 2 for $100 – $200
Deal or no deal: No deal. But there’s a hitch: one of the two available hotels for less than $200 is the Locanda SS. Giovanni e Paolo (say that three times fast), which is one of our Editor’s Picks, housed in an 18th century palazzo and has rooms for $183 on New Year’s Eve.
Where will you be for New Year’s Eve, Cheapos?
Let us know your plans! Tell us where you’ll be and what you’re up to!
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