Where to Ring in the New Year
Although Chinese New Year’s celebrations may hold greater cultural significance in Hong Kong, the Western New Year is certainly not forgotten, with an immense fireworks display, centred around the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, lighting up the buildings all around Victoria Harbour at the stroke of midnight on December 31st. The best vantage points for this can be found around Central, Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay regions of the city. Another celebration takes place at the Times Square shopping mall, which unsurprisingly mimics the iconic ball drop that takes place at its New York namesake, with live music and entertainment rounding out the party.
Where to Party
Those looking for a more raucous New Years Eve should head over to Lan Kwai Fong (lankwaifong.com), the city’s most popular nightlife district known for housing many of Hong Kong’s best bars and clubs. Keep in mind that many of the more high-end venues in this area will impose a hefty cover charge to get in on New Years Eve, but the price of admission is generally all-in, meaning free flow drinks and perhaps food. Also the small area gets completely packed on December 31st, so get there early or be prepared to fight the crowds to get to your destination. Some of the most popular clubs in the area include Club 97, Fevar Club and Volar Club.
From street level to the top of the city, you can also spend New Years Eve partying at the highest bar in the world Ozone (International Commerce Centre,The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, 1 Austin Rd W;+852 2263 2263; ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/HongKong/Dining/ozone), which is located on the 118th floor of the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong. In addition to an outdoor terrace with spectacular views of the NYE action on Victoria Harbour, Ozone also features an ultramodern and chic club environment perfect for sophisticated partiers.
Where to Stay
The poshest party-centric accommodations in the city has got to be in the W Hong Kong (1 Austin Road West, Kowloon Station, Kowloon; 852 3717 2222; w-hongkong.com), which has been offering up the brand’s special brand of wow for the last five years. All 393 of its rooms offer sweet skyline views, many of Victoria Harbour, as well as all of the high-tech amenities the W is known for. The hotel’s signature bar and club, WooBar, is known for its top-notch line-up of details, as well as throwing exceptionally over-the-top New Years Eve fetes, and this year should be no different.
The hotel that is closest to the fireworks action on Victoria Harbour is the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong (1 Harbour Rd, Hong Kong; 852 2588 1234; hongkong.grand.hyatt.com), as it is located adjacent to the centre of the show, the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. The hotel’s 549 luxurious rooms and suites each feature floor-to-ceiling windows, though only some overlook the Harbour so be sure to check when you book. The hotel has nine restaurants and bars, with most doing something special for New Years Eve. This includes Tiffin, a restaurant known for its sumptuous New Years Eve buffet spread featuring favourites like foie gras, lobster and prime rib at the ready, as well as a 17 piece band that plays festive jazz tunes on the nearby Mezzanine to serenade you into the New Year.
