Haute 5 Places in Miami to Bring in the New Year: Warm Weather and Stylish Celebrations

Finding a place to party in Miami isn’t really challenging. What can be challenging is finding the most exclusive and coveted way to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Miami, which is where we come in. Read on for our Haute 5 coverage of some of the highly anticipated ways to ring in 2010 in the Magic City.

Mr. Chow’s Luxuriously Delicious Celebrations

One thing is for certain; planning to spend your New Year’s Eve at Mr. Chow’s Miami location in the W South Beach is a perfect way to ensure your evening is luxurious and festive. Mr. Chow’s is known as the spot for Miami’s tastemakers, VIPS, and celebrities like Drew Barrymore, Lenny Kravitz, Naomi Campbell, A Rod, Jewel, Simon Cowell, and Kim Kardashian. Priced at $600 per pair, guests can enjoy a New Year’s Eve dinner with a set menu that features signature items such as Chicken Satay and Ma Mignon—perfectly matched with an exclusive bottle of Cristal champagne. Booking a table for 7pm will ensure you’re able to enjoy all the wonders that Mr. Chow has to offer and even make it in time for your after party to countdown the seconds until 2010. If you’d rather make your evening an entirely Chow-filled experience, book your table for 9:30pm and enjoy dinner followed by dancing with music by DJ Scott Oster until 2am. Now there’s a very happy new year.

Mr. Chow’s is located in the W South Beach Hotel at 2201 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139; (305) 695-1695

W South Beach’s Musical Countdown

You won’t have to travel far if you dine at Mr. Chow’s prior to joining the W South Beach’s fantastically vibrant New Year’s Eve celebration with performances by Kid Cudi and a musical interlude by John Legend. Annalynne McCord will be hosting the evening which starts at 9 p.m. all the way through to 5 a.m. the next morning and guests can enjoy Grey Goose cocktails all evening. Tickets for this event cost $300 per person and include an open bar from 9 p.m. until midnight with a midnight toast. VIP table reservations are starting at $2,000 if you’re really looking to start your year in South Beach style.

The W South Beach is located at 2201 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139; (305) 531-5535

Fontainebleau’s Celebrity Celebrations

For $25,000 you and your friends can sit front and center as Lady Gaga wows the crowd at the Fontainebleau Miami for New Year’s Eve. Guests will be able to witness the pop sensation’s live performances of her chart-topping hits and unexpected theatrics around the hotel’s pool deck. There will also be guest DJ’s David Berrie and Jus Ske. A premium bar will be available from 9 p.m through midnight but make sure you bring a valid photo ID because this is a 21 and over event. General admission tickets are $425, and go all the way up to $25,000 for Gaga Magnum Stage Front Tables for 20 guests and Grand Oasis Pool Cabanas for 25 people.

The Fontainebleau is located at 4441 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33140; (305) 538-2000

The Setai Hotel & Resort’s Celebration for the Senses

If you’re looking for an evening of relaxed sophistication in a luxuriously divine setting, there’s one place in South Beach that stands out in everyone’s mind: The Setai. The Asian-inspired oasis of style is one of the best places to enjoy the cool lines of Asia and the heat of Miami. For New Year’s Eve, The Setai will be entertaining their guests’ senses with the sounds of Friends of the New World Symphony, the flavors of an utterly decadent six-course tasting menu, and the sights of the elegantly infamous Courtyard. An intimate orchestra ensemble will be serenading the elite crowd with music ranging from the classics of the 18^th century all the way to today’s favorites. Upon arrival, guests will enjoy endless champagne and hors d’oeuvres in The Courtyard before enjoying dinner delights specially created by Executive Chef Jonathan Wright while being serenaded by duos and trios of strings and woodwinds. As the clock strikes midnight, the sounds of Friends of the New World Symphony will be joined by jazz vocalist Rebekah Diaz, trumpet soloist Sam Hyken, and DJ Danny Carreras. Jazz sensation Carmen Lundy will MC the countdown to midnight and perform a selection of her famed songs. Tickets cost $450 per person and include a six-course dinner with wine pairings, unlimited beverages and live musical performances from 8:00pm-11:00 p.m. (cash bar from 11:00 p.m.-2:30 a.m). For out of town guests, The Setai Experience package is available for booking with a minimum 5-night stay. This package includes welcome bottle of champagne, daily breakfast and a choice of round-trip Range Rover airport transfers or two 60-minute spa treatments per stay. Rates begin at $1,200 per night.

Chef Jonathan Wright told Haute Living, “Our culinary team has planned a special New Year’s Eve tasting menu, and hand-selected the finest ingredients from Scottish smoked salmon to Maine lobsters to insure that the meal is as memorable as the music and the extraordinary surroundings.”

The Setai is located at 2001 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139; (305) 520-6400

Fontainebleau’s Savory Dining Options

Also at the Fontainebleau in Miami, you can cozy up with friends and family to celebrate the New Year at one of the hotel’s three restaurants which are each featuring exclusive savory dining options for the evening. The hotel’s restaurants Scarpetta, Gotham Steak, and Hakkasan, are all offering an INSPIRATION Four Course Dinner option that is $150 per person and an ANTICIPATION Five Course Dinner option that is $275 per person and includes a Champagne toast.  The hotel is famously the former playground to stars like Sinatra, Elvis, and the Rat Pack, and this New Year’s Eve couture crowds will surely be flocking there to celebrate the evening in the iconic hotel.

The Fontainebleau is located at 4441 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33140; (305) 538-2000