RING IN 2025 WITH GRAND REVELRY AT THESE POSH RESORTS, FROM THE SHORES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO THE YUCATÁN PENINSULA

BY AMBER GIBSON

New Orleans has known how to party since the city was founded in the 18th century. It’s famous for its ostentatious Mardi Gras celebrations, but the city goes big for New Year’s, too. And there’s nowhere more elegant and luxurious to bid 2024 adieu than the Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans, a modern new hotel in an historic riverfront skyscraper. Cocktails were invented in New Orleans and drinks are still notoriously strong, but at the Chandelier Bar, they’re perfectly balanced whether you’re sipping a classic Sazerac or a light and refreshing champagne cocktail with a splash of absinthe.

Both hotel restaurants are hosting special menus for the evening. Alon Shaya’s Miss River pays tribute to Louisiana’s rich flavors with shrimp-stuffed crab claws, black truffle celery root custard, short rib daube en croute, and banana pudding. Chef Donald Link presents a five-course feast at Chemin à la Mer showcasing fresh Gulf seafood and specialty steaks. Ring in the new year beneath the 15,000 sparkling crystals of Chandelier Bar while dancing to a live DJ and viewing the city’s extravagant fireworks display from the hotel garden.

The following morning, ease into 2025 with a relaxing spa treatment. The 100-minute Biologique Recherche Body Method is just what the doctor ordered after a long night of revelry, featuring lymphatic drainage, a firming massage, and full-body exfoliation to help you feel your best from head-totoe. Rates start at $495. 2 Canal Street, New Orleans, fourseasons.com/neworleans

FOUR SEASONS HOTEL

New Orleans

CHABLÉ MAROMA Riviera Maya

This oceanfront jungle sanctuary in Riviera Maya takes a uniquely spiritual approach to the festive season, with mandala workshops, classes in pre-Hispanic painting and drumming, a beach soccer tournament, and piñata decorating to close out the year. With just 70 minimalist stone villas nestled within a maze of greenery, service is remarkably personal and attentive. The adults-only spa is a highlight, whether you’re splashing around the hydrotherapy circuit or enjoying a soothing Mayan-inspired four hands massage.

For an authentic Mayan purification, trust your Mayan shaman guide to lead you through a two-hour temazcal ritual to cleanse your body and spirit. Close your eyes and deeply inhale the aromatic steam that rises from the clash of hot volcanic rocks and healing herbal waters, listening to the ancestral drums and chants, as you surrender to the universe’s energy and connect more intuitively with your inner self. Emerge feeling grounded, at peace, and ready to embrace the possibilities of a new year.

Sand sculptures greet guests on the beach on New Year’s Eve, for a beach dinner complete with live music, fireworks, and dancing barefoot in the soft white sand. Rinse off in the outdoor shower back in your serenity pool villa, complete with a private heated plunge pool on your outdoor terrace, and blissfully collapse amid the myriad pillows and plush bedding. Rates start at $1,660, inclusive of daily wellness and fitness classes and a la carte breakfast. Camino predio Punta Maroma Mz 002 Lote 006, 77710 Punta Maroma, maroma.chablehotels.com

FONTAINEBLEAU MIAMI BEACH

Miami Beach

Since opening in 1954, Fontainebleau has been a favorite winter getaway for everyone from Frank Sinatra to Lucille Ball. The resort is famous for its curvilinear shape along with the most expansive poolscape in Florida, with ten separate pools of all shapes and sizes, including the iconic bowtie pool. For New Year’s, the entire space is transformed into a stage, and this year Calvin Harris will be performing at midnight. Many of the 1,504 rooms and suites have private balconies that overlook the pool deck and ocean, so it’s possible to enjoy the concert from the comfort of your room in pajamas or a bathrobe if you don’t feel like joining the fray below. Just snag a miniature bottle of Moët & Chandon champagne from the lobby vending machine so you’re prepared for a New Year’s toast.

Recently renovated rooms in the original Château Tower have tranquil blue tones, while the newer all-suite Trésor and Sorrento towers include kitchenettes and oversized Jacuzzi tubs in marble bathrooms. With a dozen restaurants to choose from, ranging from authentic Cantonese delicacies at Hakkasan to coastal Italian fare at chef Michael White’s new Mirabella, there’s no need to leave the 22-acre property. Shuffle down in a bathrobe and slippers to bi-level Lapis Spa, where there are oceanfront massage suites for couples and mineral-rich hydrotherapy pools and showers. Rates start at $375. 4441 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, fontainebleau.com/miamibeach

WALDORF ASTORIA MONARCH BEACH

Orange County

Orange County’s most prestigious beach resort is ringing in 2025 in a grandiose way for hotel guests and members. Gather in the living room at 33 North and dance the night away with a live band and festive balloon drop across the dance floor at midnight. For a more intimate celebration, reserve your own fire table on the terrace overlooking the resort, and enjoy three bottles of wine or champagne, accompanied by sweet and savory small bites, or enjoy the festivities from afar on your own terrace with a private fire pit. After a recent $30 million renovation, all 400 guest rooms and suites have a lighter, brighter coastal color palette andnew floors and furnishings for a modern but stately feel. This 175-acre property has a private beach club and complimentary trams to help guests get around.

Start the new year with 18 holes of oceanfront golf on the Robert Trent Jones Jr. course, peaceful downtime at the expansive spa, or escaping reality with a good book courtesy of the resort’s partnership with Bedside Reading while lounging by the pool. Continue the revelry with a recovery brunch buffet at AVEO Table + Bar, where a carving station, seafood display, and made-to-order omelettes are accompa – nied by mimosas, coffee cocktails, and floor-to-ceiling ocean and resort views. Rates start at $700. 1 Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point, California, waldorfastoriamonarchbeach.com