The definition of luxury is the state of significant comfort and extravagant living — as well as a condition of abundance or great ease in a sumptuous environment — although luxury itself usually does not come cheaply; and that especially applies to hotel and resort properties…
The Least Expensive Luxury Hotel in Every State in The United States
…but what are the least expensive luxury hotel and resort properties in every state in the United States?
To find out the answer to that question, Hotels.com was used to search for a stay of one night on the same date for each state at least ten weeks in advance of the stay. Using the filter feature, hotel and resort properties were isolated with a five-star rating in each state.
When no five-star hotel or resort properties were found for a state, four-star hotel and resort properties were searched. For states without a state-wide search option, the five most populous cities to find a hotel or resort property were searched instead. In addition, the ten most populous cities in the United States were identified; and the process was repeated to identify the cheapest five-star hotel in each city.
The data was gathered from July 2022 to August in 2022.
This article — which was written by Matt Pelkey from SavingSpot — gives more details about the least expensive luxury hotels in every state in the United States; and I have been given express written permission to use the graphs and the verbatim text from the aforementioned article in this article. While CashNetUSA has endeavored to ensure the information provided is accurate and current, it cannot guarantee it, as this information is general in nature only and does not constitute personal advice. Neither CashNetUSA nor The Gate accept any liability — and assume no responsibility — for any and all information which is presented in this article.
With that disclaimer out of the way, here is the article — with bonus graphics after the conclusion.
What Is The Cheapest Luxury Hotel in Every State In The United States?
You deserve it. After months of pandemic-induced confinement, things are getting back to normal — and you need a break. But after so long ensconced in the comforts of home, an ordinary hotel isn’t going to cut it. It’s time to go luxury.
A luxury hotel room is no longer just for rich folk. Industry shake-ups, tech advances and sheer market saturation have made it easier to find an affordable four- or five-star hotel. So whether it’s a big trip you’re looking for or just a random night in opulent comfort, there are top rooms available for well under 200 bucks.
Designer furniture. Arty surroundings. Authentic local flavor. The personal touch. All can be found cheaply within state borders. But it takes some searching to find a bargain, so CashNetUSA has gone ahead and identified the cheapest luxury hotel in every state and 10 major cities. And we’ve even created a roadmap to help you get to the best-priced four- or five-star hotel in each state one after another.
What We Did
CashNetUSA searched Hotels.com to find the cheapest one-night stay in a five-star hotel in each state. When we couldn’t find an available five-star hotel, we included four-star hotels in our search as well.
Key Findings
- The cheapest luxury hotel in our study is the DoubleTree by Hilton Deadwood at Cadillac Jack’s in South Dakota, where we found a room for $73.
- The cheapest big-city luxury hotel is the Signia San Jose in California ($309).
- It would cost $17,581 to spend a single night in every state’s cheapest luxury hotel.
America’s Cheapest Luxury Hotels and Where to Find Them
When you just need to get away (and you also just need luxury), you might be guided on your tour by the route, the local attractions… or the price. First up, we’ve highlighted America’s 10 cheapest luxury hotels in the interactive gallery below — please scroll through to read more about each one.
Next, we mapped the cheapest hotel in every state (a regional breakdown follows below). The bargains you can find from place to place vary immensely. The cheapest overall is a four-star Hilton DoubleTree in South Dakota for $73, while we couldn’t find a five-star hotel in Wyoming for under $2k.
Even though there were no five-stars available in some states and Wyoming’s offering is outlandishly expensive, the price variation remains significant. The cheapest five-star is the ARIA Resort & Casino in Vegas at $179, while we found a trio of states whose cheapest five-star is between $850 and $999 (Louisiana, Hawaii and New Mexico).
Historic Idaho Mansion is the Cheapest Luxury Hotel in the West
The cheapest luxury hotel in the West is the four-star Blackwell Hotel in Idaho (no five-star hotels were available). We found a room for just $103. There are just 10 suites available at this historic Coeur D’Alene site, several of them graced by local artwork and clawfoot bathtubs. The mansion was originally commissioned as a wedding present, making it ideal for a romantic, luxurious and affordable getaway.
The region’s cheapest five-star is the ARIA Resort & Casino on Las Vegas Boulevard in Nevada. Sleek, spacious and serene, the ARIA is a more modern take on the Vegas experience. With over 4,000 rooms and suites, prices vary according to amenities — but we found a room for just $179, the cheapest five-star stay in our study.
South Dakotan DoubleTree is the Midwest’s Best Luxury Bargain
South Dakota is home to the cheapest luxury hotel in the Midwest and our whole study. With no available five-star rooms, our trawl of the Mount Rushmore state’sluxury hotels zeroed in on DoubleTree by Hilton Deadwood at Cadillac Jack’s. Some rooms at this casino hotel even boast their own roaring fireplace.
The top five-star bargain in the region is the InterContinental Minneapolis at St. Paul Airport. Air passengers with carry-on bags can step directly from the airport to this adjoining hotel via the sky bridge. The hotel’s peculiar “folded curtain” wall is designed to evoke the Minnesotan lakes, a biomorphic touch that is echoed in the generous use of stone, wood and glass interiors.
Riverboat Casino is Top Feature of the Southern Region’s Cheapest Luxury Hotel
We found a room for $100 for a night at the Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg, the cheapest luxury hotel in Mississippi and the Southern U.S. While classical interiors and luxurious fittings mark the hotel itself, the biggest selling point here is the adjacent casino — a riverboat venue featuring 1,500 slot machines, 36 table games and a 10-table poker room.
For a bargain five-star stay, try the Edwin Hotel in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where we found a room for $271. Part of the Marriott’s Autograph Collection, the Edwin offers funky interiors and curated artwork. The hotel’s Whitebird restaurant gives indigenous and traditional Chattanoogan cooking a modern twist.
Beachside Connecticut Hotel is Best Bargain in the Northeast
You might forget you’re near the beach at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich; such is the appeal of the venue’s whirlpool, indoor saltwater lap pool and atrium sundeck. We found a room for just $173, making it the cheapest luxury hotel in the Northeast.
Two hundred miles south of the Hyatt Regency Greenwich, you can find the region’s cheapest five-star hotel: The Water Club in Atlantic City. A two-story spa looks out over the Atlantic Ocean, while seven exotically designed pool areas will give you the beach resort feel even out of season. The Water Club is designed to give a unique members club feel to the casino district, and it is the cheapest five-star hotel in the region.
A Road Trip Via the Cheapest Luxury Hotel in Every State
Serious about low-budget luxury hotels? We worked out the most direct route you can take to the cheapest luxury hotel in every state (apart from Hawaii).
It’s a 17,476-mile road trip which will cost $17,581 for accommodations if the 49 hotels in question happen to charge the same figure we identified for our control date. If you prefer to be guided by your belly, here’s our fastest route to the best breakfast spots across the States.
Californian Locations Boast Cheapest Luxury Hotels Among Busiest Cities
We narrowed our search to the country’s 10 most populous cities, and here’s what we found. Three of the top 10 are in Californian cities, and three are in Texas, while NYC’s cheapest is the WestHouse on West 55th, where a room can cost as little as $399.
The cheapest major-city five-star hotel is the Signia San Jose in California, from $309. The Signia was formerly the Fairmont but reopened under Hilton’s Signia brand in April 2022, following a $35 million renovation.
How to Find an Affordable Luxury Hotel
When looking for a cheap luxury hotel — whether it’s one of the above or something in a specific destination you had in mind — there are ways and means of ensuring you get the best price possible.
Flexibility is key since prices vary by season and even from day to day. Use a comparison site to identify the best bargains on your preferred date. But don’t book straight away — call the hotel first to see if they have an offer that the comparison site missed or if they’ll make you a deal for booking directly. You’ve got nothing to lose but your cobwebs!
Final Boarding Call
The perception of luxury is subjective and can vary from person to person…
…but luxury is usually a state of unnecessary excess, in my opinion; and I rarely want or require it. After all, do I really need a suite of three rooms with expensive fabrics, advanced technology, and fancy furniture? That can be nice to have once in a while — and to enjoy luxury at a lower cost is a bonus of which many writers of travel constantly strive to achieve.
I can hear it now: how in the world can no fewer than ten DoubleTree hotel properties be included on a list of luxury lodging in the United States? I would agree, as I like staying in DoubleTree hotel properties — but I certainly do not consider them to be luxury hotel properties.
Which hotel and resort properties do you believe should have been included on this list of the least expensive luxury lodging options in each state in the United States?
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
