Escape to W Seattle for the New Year

Usually, I try to stay away from chain hotels, and stick to reviews of the boutiques. Theory behind it is that if you've seen one outlet of a chain, then you've seen em all. I mean, a Marriott is a Marriott is a Marriott. Sure there'll be superficial changes, but the 'experience' is basically the same.

New Year's Eve parties and celebrations are a different matter. End of the day (make that night), you can hardly remember your own name, let alone what kind of room and shower and curtains and mattress the hotel has. Just need to find a good deal. Doesn't really matter if its a hotel chain or a padlock or a hammer. Or a W. In Seattle.

After poking around for some decent Seattle hotels which had good deals plus a fair bit of entertainment lined up for ringing in 2009, I bumped into this special offer from the W Seattle called 'Ring in 2009 With a W Escape to Remember'. Includes a W Hotels Limited Edition 2009 CFDA Calendar to fill with the year’s festivities, bottle of bubbly for a 2009 toast, W Camera for in-the-moment memories, Bliss® Spa baggage handler to keep you bright-eyed and bag-free, and a 2pm late checkout so you can sleep it all off.

Book and stay by Jan 25. Book online or call 1-877-WHOTELS and use promo code WNC. More details here.

The baggage handler is a nice touch, and the bubbly is a good deal, New Year or not. A camera is ... well, a camera, and the late checkout is absolutely a life-saver on Jan 1 to get over the hangover. So all said and done, not so shabby for rates from $265. And they do have a lot going on, in the form of events and parties and such.

But if that's not enough for you, the only place to really party hard in Seattle on New Year's Eve has to be the Indulgence party on the waterfront. You won't find any other New Year's Eve attractions in Seattle as attractive as this downtown party, with 5,000 party animals expected to fill up 6 areas of live entertainment, 5 dance floors and more than 35 bars.

Info: 1112 4th Avenue Seattle Washington 98101; (206) 264-6000; Website.