Top Spots for Cheap Luxury Hotels

Why: Not just for B&Bers anymore, the Green Mountain state has both skier- and family-friendly options.

What We Found: With guided hikes, a kids’ program, and four waterslides to boot, Smugglers’ Notch Resort is very popular with families, as we saw on RedWeek.com. A two-bedroom unit was renting for as little as $136 a night. Likewise, we also saw resale for the über-family-oriented Trapp Family Lodge for $4,000, or $171 a night for weeklong rentals in May 2008.

Reality Check: Smuggler’s Notch sells new units, depending on size and number of weeks, for anywhere from $12,000 to $90,000. Trapp Family Lodge offers its own new timeshares for $8,000 to $14,000 but also offers its own, competitively priced resales, with tags typically under $5,000. Regular rooms we priced started at $281 a night.