How much do New Years Eve parties in Times Square locations cost?

For some it’s the biggest night of the year on which celebrating in style is must. For others, it’s a night like any other, except for overcrowding and overpricing. If you’re part of the first group, the prospect of spending New Year’s Eve in Times Square in New York may be an attractive one, although there’s a chance you may change your mind when you discover how much hotel and restaurants charge for NYE party packages.

Around a million people are expected to fill one of the Big Apple’s most famous spots to bring in 2024 and get a glimpse of the famous New Year’s Eve ball drop with their very own eyes. The vast majority will do so from the sidewalks, but a select few will populate Times Square’s most exclusive spots, paying handsomely for the privilege.

According to CBS News, revellers can expect to pay anywhere between $450, at Olive Garden, and $12,500, at the Marriott Marquis hotel, as they search for the perfect New Year experience.

But how much bang do you get for your buck?

New Year’s Eve party packages in Times Square

Olive Garden

$450 will get you access to the Italian restaurant’s complimentary buffet, open bar, live entertainment and a complimentary champagne toast at midnight. However, according to the event organiser’s website, “SEATING AND VIEW OF BALL DROP NOT GUARANTEED”, which may explain the lower price.

AMC Times Square

Tickets cost a minimum of $649, with “specific/VIP tickets” offering “the best view of the ball drop live”. As well as the usual mix of food and drinks, and the compulsory champagne toast, there is a live DJ and, as you might expect from a movie complex, “movies playing all night long”.

Applebee’s

Starting at 7:00 p.m., the restaurant chain offers an all-you-can eat dinner buffet, an assorted desserts table and a “premium top shelf open bar”. Tickets, starting at $799, include an “escort to the street for a live view of the ball drop at Midnight”.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co:

$1,015 covers access to an open premium bar all night, passed & stationed hors d’oeuvres, a full entrée buffet, dessert stations and party favours. There is also a live DJ and entertainment, as well as a champagne toast at midnight.

R Lounge

There are various options at this Times Square bar, with $1950 getting you gala admission with an inside ball drop view, while prime VIP seating, also with an inside ball drop view, sets you back $5000. There is a live DJ and dance floor, performing dancers and singers, a premium open bar, and food stations, including “lavish passed appetisers” and “sumptuous desserts”.

Knickerbocker

One of “The Leading Hotels of the World”, paying between $1,995 and $3,995 gets you into The Knickerbocker Hotel’s NYE rooftop party. Expect a cocktail party, a dance floor with a DJ, a banquet dinner with caviar, seafood and roasted meats, as well as a champagne toast, of course.

Marriott Marquis

You can pay as “little” as $1,350 or as much as $12,500 to spend New Year’s Eve at the Marriot Maqruis hotel. The latter price is for the VIP Couple’s package, which guarantees an “unobstructed view of the world-famous New Year’s Eve Ball as it drops”. Also included are a bottle of champagne, butler and coat check services, hors d’oeuvres and access to an open bar and dinner buffet.

Which one would you go for?