I’ve talked about this before in my blog, but since readership has increased since last year (averaging just under 300 visits a week these days), I want to issue a word of caution to people making New Year’s Eve plans: Avoid the Peabody!
I went 2 years ago with a group, and it was absolutely ridiculous. The line at the lobby bar was five-deep all the way around, and the Peabody managers didn’t have enough sense to staff it with extra bartenders. There were additional bars set up in the back ballroom, where bands were playing – these were the “short” lines, with only about a 25-minute wait. If I remember correctly, domestic beer was 5 bucks, import beer was 6-7, and wine was 7. I bought three glasses of wine and slammed them within about five minutes, hoping that would do the trick – I did NOT want to stand in that line again! So, combined with my $30 entry fee (it’s $35 in advance, $40 at the door this year), I spent $51 at that miserable party. Never again.
I also remember the lines for the bathrooms being 10-15 minutes, and that’s for guys. No idea how long the women had to wait. That was another disincentive to buy their ridiculously expensive drinks – I didn’t want to stand in another line to recycle them.
Even the fact that there were a lot of young, hot girls there didn’t make the party worthwhile. (I’d guess that the average age of the attendees was 20; make of that what you will, since they’re not supposed to be letting in people under 21.)
Could’ve been a great party, but it was terribly, horribly managed, and I have absolutely no confidence that they’ve taken steps to improve it in the two years since. Strong recommendation to avoid, if you’re looking for something to do New Year’s Eve. If you want to pay too much for drinks at the Peabody, wait until April when the rooftop parties start back up.