TAKE 3: Farol Design Hotel, Portugal
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A traditional fishing village 30km west of Lisbon, Cascais has long been a resort of regal respite, especially for European kings and queens. The hotel was built for the Count of Cabral, no less, in 1890. Taking advantage of its maritime setting, parts of the hotel are over the sea – the pool deck and saltwater pool – and some rooms have but glass walls between guests and the briny. At New Year it is offering three nights for the price of two. From €423.
Hotel Brunelleschi, Italy
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Hotel Brunelleschi incorporates one of the oldest buildings in this already historic city. The hotel, overlooking a small square a marble’s chuck from the Duomo, Palazzo della Signoria and Uffizi Gallery, has a 6th-century tower built by the Byzantines. Its three-night New Year deal, with festive food, is from €1,088 per person.
Hotel de Rome, Germany
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This hotel is in a classical-style 1889 building of grand proportions, kept cavernous when the building was recently updated with a contemporary twist. Hotel de Rome holds it own with its neighbours on Bebelplatz, off Unter den Linden, which include an opera house, cathedral and university building. There’s a New Year’s party down by the nearby Brandenburg Gate. The hotel is offering three nights for the price of two. Doubles from €400 a night at New Year.