Press Release – Hotels.com

As the countdown to 2012 begins, join Hotels.com in discovering how New Year’s Eve is celebrated in different cities around the world. Whether it’s cleansing the home for the year ahead, sipping champagne or watching fireworks, there’s something …The countdown to 2012 begins – New Year’s celebrations around the world
Auckland, 21 December, 2011 – As the countdown to 2012 begins, join Hotels.com in discovering how New Year’s Eve is celebrated in different cities around the world. Whether it’s cleansing the home for the year ahead, sipping champagne or watching fireworks, there’s something for everyone, regardless of the time zone.

1. Nuku’alofa, Tonga (Time zone – GMT +13)
As the first country in the world to bring in the New Year, the tiny kingdom of Tonga puts on a big party to celebrate the start of another year. Known as ‘Uoke Lotu,’ the first week of the New Year involves local priests leading prayers and visiting the homes of local residents, where the celebrations continue with music and dancing.

Hotels.com recommends the Likualofa Beach Resort, with rooms starting at $248* per room per night on December 31, 2011. To book, visit: Hotels.com or call 1800 846 835.

2. Auckland, New Zealand (Time zone – GMT +12)
Welcoming in the New Year just one hour later than Tonga, New Zealand’s major cities are lit up with fireworks and large street parties. The most spectacular attraction is the pyrotechnics display atop the Sky Tower in Auckland – the tallest freestanding structure tower in the Southern Hemisphere.

Hotels.com recommends the SkyCity Grand Hotel, with rooms starting at $439* per room per night on December 31, 2011. To book, visit: Hotels.com or call 1800 846 835.

3. Honiara, Solomon Islands (Time zone – GMT +11)
The natives of this tropical paradise welcome the New Year in a far more relaxed fashion than many other nations. The fireworks and swarming crowds are nowhere to be seen. Instead, travellers can spend time relaxing by the beach before watching the sun set on 2011.
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Hotels.com recommends the Heritage Park Hotel, with rooms starting at $353* per room per night on December 31, 2011. To book, visit: Hotels.com or call 1800 846 835.

4. Sydney, Australia (Time zone – GMT +11)
Widely regarded as having some of the most impressive New Year’s celebrations in the world, a New Year’s Eve in Sydney is one to remember. Firework displays light up the city skyline at midnight but the fireworks display from Sydney Harbour Bridge is always the star and sets the standard for the rest of the world. Revellers watch on in wonder from boats, bars or one of the many prime spots on the harbour foreshore.

Hotels.com recommends the Hilton Sydney, with rooms starting at $1,184* per room per night on December 31, 2011. To book, visit: Hotels.com or call 1800 846 835.

5. Tokyo, Japan (Time zone – GMT +9)
Just four hours behind New Zealand, the Japanese have a spiritual approach to the New Year, using December 31 (Omisoka) as a day to clean the home and tie up loose ends so they can have a fresh start each year. It is also common for Japanese to send family and friends a New Year card. As the clock strikes midnight, Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times to free mankind of the 108 sins.

Hotels.com recommends the Mitsui Garden Hotel Ueno with starting at $244* per room per night on December 31, 2011. To book, visit: Hotels.com or call 1800 846 835.

6. Beijing, China (Time zone – GMT +8)
Although the celebrations of the Lunar New Year are not until a few weeks into the New Year, the Chinese celebrations of the Gregorian New Year are becoming increasingly popular, with fireworks and rock concerts lighting up the capital, Beijing.

Hotels.com recommends the Peninsula Beijing, with rooms starting at $278* per room per night on December 31, 2011. To book, visit: Hotels.com or call 1800 846 835.

7. Ko Phangan, Thailand (Time zone – GMT +7)
It’s hard to avoid the end of year festivities in Thailand, with the New Year celebrated three times – traditionally on December 31, then the Chinese New Year (according to the lunar calendar) and the date of year changing on April 13 for the Buddhist New Year. Travellers from around the world flock to Ko Phangan for its famous beach party on December 31, many staying up long enough to witness the first sunrise of the New Year.

Hotels.com recommends the Imperial Boat House Beach Resort, with rooms starting at $300* per room per night on December 31, 2011. To book, visit: Hotels.com or call 1800 846 835

8. Rome, Italy (Time zone – GMT +1)
Italy celebrates New Year’s Eve in style with La Festa di San Silvestro. Distinctly Italian in nature, the festival brings together friends, family and great food before everyone fills the streets for the countdown to midnight to witness firework displays above some of the city’s iconic landmarks.

Hotels.com recommends the Hotel Veneto, with rooms starting at $279* per room per night on December 31, 2011. To book, visit: Hotels.com or call 1800 846 835.

9. Reykjavik, Iceland (Time zone – GMT 0)
In Iceland, locals experience less than six hours of daylight in the peak of winter so it is a world away from a Kiwi New Year’s Eve. To brighten up their New Year’s festivities, Icelandic folk typically gather for a meal with friends or family, before sitting around a bonfire to take in their local fireworks display.

Hotels.com recommends the Grand Hotel Reykjavik, with rooms starting at $282* per room per night on December 31, 2011. To book, visit: Hotels.com or call 1800 846 835.

10. Buenos Aires, Argentina (Time zone – GMT -3)
Regardless of the sweltering heat often experienced over the festive season, Argentinians traditionally greet the New Year with a large family meal, before taking to the streets to enjoy the local firework displays, bars, nightclubs and street performances.

Hotels.com recommends the Unique Art Elegance Hotel, with rooms starting at $258* per room per night on December 31, 2011. To book, visit: Hotels.com or call 1800 846 835.

11. Santiago, Chile (Time zone – GMT -3)
Experiencing the New Year at the same time as Argentina, Chile is an equally enjoyable place to be on December 31. With an average January temperature of over 20 degrees, visitors to Santiago can enjoy a balmy evening of local food, wine and live music before watching the fireworks on the Entel Tower in the city centre.

Hotels.com recommends the Radisson Plaza Santiago, with rooms starting at $250* per room per night on December 31, 2011. To book, visit: Hotels.com or call 1800 846 835.
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13. New York, USA (Time zone – GMT -5)
Perhaps the most iconic location of New Year’s celebrations around the world, Times Square is the epicentre of the Big Apple’s spectacular celebrations. Laser shows, confetti and streamers set the scene, before the famous countdown on the big screen and the descending New Year’s Eve ball as the clock strikes midnight.

Hotels.com recommends the Excelsior Hotel, with rooms starting at $739* per room per night on December 31, 2011. To book, visit: Hotels.com or call 1800 846 835.

13. Acapulco, Mexico (Time Zone – GMT -6)
Just an hour later, Mexico is the next to bid the year farewell. Although celebrations are on a slightly smaller scale to those in Times Square, the streets of Mexico are still abuzz until the early hours, filled with dancing, food and, of course, Tequila!

Hotels.com recommends the Copacabana Beach Hotel, with starting at $391* per room per night on December 31, 2011. To book, visit: Hotels.com or call 1800 846 835.
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15. Juneau, Alaska (Time zone – GMT -9)
Almost an entire day behind New Zealand, Alaska is one of the more remote locations towelcome in the New Year. Limited daylight doesn’t affect the local revellers, with fireworks lighting up the night sky on December 31.

Hotels.com recommends the Westmark Baranof, with rooms starting at $153* per room per night on December 31, 2011. To book, visit: Hotels.com or call 1800 846 835.
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16. Hawaiian Islands, USA (Time zone – GMT -10)
One of the last countries to pop the champagne on New Year’s Eve, Hawaii is a great place to savour the final hours of the year. For those wanting to avoid the Northern Hemisphere chill and have a relaxed New Years Eve, there are fireworks displays and parties across all the islands of Hawaii.

Hotels.com recommends the Aston at the Executive Centre Hotel, with rooms starting at $230* per room per night on December 31, 2011 To book, visit: Hotels.com or call 1800 846 835.

* Offers and example prices are inclusive of fees and taxes, subject to availability and change, and are valid as at 6 December 2011.

-ENDS-

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