South Florida hotels prepare for NYE celebrations

MIAMI (WSVN) -- We're just days away from ringing in the new year, and South Florida is busy planning the perfect party.

Christmas is behind us, but the celebrating hasn't even begun. "We've set up for private tables," said Director of Food & Beverage at the SLS Hotel, Luke Mathot. "We're gonna have a giant stage in the back with a big LED wall and all kinds of great performances going on."

The countdown for New Year's is already ticking away. The Fontainebleau Hotel on Miami Beach has set up the stage to party pool-side with Drake. "South Florida style," said Food & Beverage Vice President of the Fontainebleau, Jeffrey Klein. "Where else could you celebrate New Year's Eve at a 22-acre resort, outdoor poolscape with Drake?"

In South Florida, the party never stops. The SLS Hotel has shaken up a signature holiday cocktail, the Noel Sling, to bring in 2013. "You have the cognac," said Assistant General Manager of The Bazaar at the SLS, Jimmy Pumarol, "you have the flower. It's beautiful. You have the maraschino, which adds a little more strength and then you have the rosemary, which as you drink it, your nose picks up the rosemary." The thirst quencher costs $16.

From fireworks to La Gran Naranja rising up to the Hotel Intercontinental Miami, to Pitbull playing at the American Airlines Arena in Downtown, there's something for everybody. And if you'd rather celebrate with a great meal, at the Dutch Restaurant at the W Hotel, they are serving up a plate that is a party for your palate. "The courses are inspired by South Florida," said Chef Conor Hanlon. "We slice it very, very thin, so it kind of melts in your mouth. It's crudo with a local avocado chutney, some Florida citrus, farmed micro greens."

So if you want to spend a night out at the hottest club, "they're show stoppers," said Klein, "from the LEDs to the lights to the music." Or dinner and drinks outside while you enjoy the South Florida weather, "you can't shovel sunshine," said Mathot. Or just watch the neon orange climb to the top. There's something for everyone when the ball drops.

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