Is it a paradox wrapped in an enigma to say that we want to stay in a luxury hotel, but we want it to be inexpensive?
According to CashNetUSA, many factors have made it easier for people without a gold card to access stays in four and five star hotels. Luxury is more in reach—and upscale rooms can be had for under $200. And there’s now a helpful list of the cheapest one-night stays in a five-star hotel in each of the 50 states, as well as 10 bonus big cities. Sounds like a fun way to build a road trip! Before we get to the nitty-gritty of the list, here are some of the interesting takeaways.
The cheapest luxury hotel in the US, coming in at a mere $73, is the four-star DoubleTree by Hilton Deadwood at Cadillac Jack’s in South Dakota. Phew! Based on that name, bring your ammo. The cheapest luxury hotel in a big city is the five-star Signia San Jose in California, where you can snag a fancy room for $309. The list is pretty eye-opening: we see a Ritz Carlton and a few Four Seasons locations on the list, many DoubleTree chains, and a dotting of singular hotels like The Breakwater Inn and Spa in Kennebunkport, ME (four stars, $218) and the Topnotch Resort in Stowe, VT (four stars, $350).
Some states, alas, do not have five-star hotels (including, gasp, Connecticut), and so four-stars pad out the list. On the other end of the spectrum, Wyoming’s cheapest luxury lodging was quite expensive—check out (since you may not be able to check in) the Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hotel at (cough) $2,805.
If you’re looking at the bright lights of Vegas, the five-star ARIA Resort & Casino comes in at $179, and if you’re curious about Hawaii’s deals, the five-star Fairmont Orchid Gold Experience is $909. So there’s a lot of fluidity in these prices!
As for that fantasy road trip, hitting each hotel on the list, you’d only need $17,581 to be pampered until it (pleasantly) hurts—and interesting, the best route between the hotels is 17,476 miles… so your miles and dollars are about the same. But of course, gas will set you back.
Without further tiresome talk, let's get you to your hotel spa date. Here are the top 10 cheapest five-star hotels in the US:
1. ARIA Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, NV ($179)
2. Intercontinental, Minneapolis, MN ($181)
3. Conrad, Indianapolis, IN ($195)
4. Sentinel, Portland, OR ($229)
5. The Water Club, Atlantic City, NJ ($251)
6. The Edwin Hotel, Chattanooga, TN ($271)
7. The Nines, Portland, OR ($278)
8. Pendry, Park City, UT ($294)
9. Mansion on Sutter, San Francisco, CA ($295)
10. The American Club, Kohler, WI ($299)
To see the full list and read about the methodology, click here.