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New Year's in Hip Daytona?
Dune buggies on the beach are so cute!
I know. You really want to be in South Beach for New Year's Eve. It's totally possible, if you're willing to spend about $500 for your flight from NYC to Fort Lauderdale (cheaper than Miami) and about that much per night for a hotel on the fashionable part of Collins Avenue.
But if you're looking for a deal, I'd say consider Daytona, Florida, instead. Sure, it's not nearly as hip as Miami, but it's got a wealth of the same mid-century architecture and sense of camp that made Palm Springs so desirable as a fixer-upper city a decade ago. And while some of the vintage 1960s-style cheap hotels like the Best Western Aku Tiki Inn are totally fun and kitsch, in Daytona you can actually afford to stay at the best hotel on the Atlantic Avenue strip: The Shores Resort & Spa can be had from December 28 to January 1 for just $159 a night. This is bargain basement for four-diamond accommodations anywhere, and a real steal considering the Shores (formerly a Noble House property) sits right on the beach, has a gorgeous oceanfront pool, two on-property beachfront restaurants, and the small but lovely Indulge spa. Also, each luxurious room has views of the Atlantic and Intracoastal Waterway, Italian marble bathrooms, and pillow-top beds.
And should you so desire, there's a 22 links-style oceanfront golf course nearby, or you could hit the delightfully camp Hawaiian Falls mini golf. And there's even some nightlife, like Razzles, with all the mod fixtures and furniture and blasting sound system of a South Beach nightclub, but none of the attitude.
The beach itself is a big, wide sandy wonder, though you should lie out with caution as dune buggies and other cars sometimes drive past the resort right on the sand (it's legal in Daytona). And there are waves for surfers, though the best waves in all of Florida are about fifteen miles away in Ponce Inlet.
But if you're looking for a deal, I'd say consider Daytona, Florida, instead. Sure, it's not nearly as hip as Miami, but it's got a wealth of the same mid-century architecture and sense of camp that made Palm Springs so desirable as a fixer-upper city a decade ago. And while some of the vintage 1960s-style cheap hotels like the Best Western Aku Tiki Inn are totally fun and kitsch, in Daytona you can actually afford to stay at the best hotel on the Atlantic Avenue strip: The Shores Resort & Spa can be had from December 28 to January 1 for just $159 a night. This is bargain basement for four-diamond accommodations anywhere, and a real steal considering the Shores (formerly a Noble House property) sits right on the beach, has a gorgeous oceanfront pool, two on-property beachfront restaurants, and the small but lovely Indulge spa. Also, each luxurious room has views of the Atlantic and Intracoastal Waterway, Italian marble bathrooms, and pillow-top beds.
And should you so desire, there's a 22 links-style oceanfront golf course nearby, or you could hit the delightfully camp Hawaiian Falls mini golf. And there's even some nightlife, like Razzles, with all the mod fixtures and furniture and blasting sound system of a South Beach nightclub, but none of the attitude.
The beach itself is a big, wide sandy wonder, though you should lie out with caution as dune buggies and other cars sometimes drive past the resort right on the sand (it's legal in Daytona). And there are waves for surfers, though the best waves in all of Florida are about fifteen miles away in Ponce Inlet.
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17:45 EST, 30.Nov.07