Get the same luxe vibes at budget-friendly prices at these U.S. accommodations
Sure, luxury accommodations have it all: picturesque locations, well-appointed guest rooms, full-service spas, and activities. But they also have enormous price tags to match.
From the hills of Massachusetts to the beaches of Hawaii, we scoured the U.S. for budget-friendly alternatives to some of the country’s top resorts. We sought accommodations with similar stand-out amenities, locales, and styles, but that clocked in around $250 a night (or even less). Here are some of our favorite resorts—at prices you can actually afford.
1. McCloud Mountain Lodge, TN
Family-run McCloud Mountain Lodge offers the kind of pastoral views and fresh cuisine you’d expect from the justly celebrated Blackberry Farm two hours to the south, but with a much smaller price tag, from $150/night. The adults-only McCloud Lodge perches on a cliff face above a valley dotted with farm fields, red barns, and the tributaries of nearby Norris Lake, one of the area’s recreational draws. Guest rooms’ private patios overlook this epic view—one only surpassed by the vantage from the restaurant’s glass gazebo, which cantilevers over the valley. At this restaurant you’ll savor house-smoked meats; the purveyor is a competitive barbecue master.
2. Liberty Hill Farm & Inn, VT
Liberty Hill Farm & Inn boasts peaceful surroundings, and offers an authentic real-life farm stay at a price—$142 per adult per night—that is literally less than 10 percent that of Vermont’s only luxury, five-star resort, Twin Farms. Guests at Liberty Hill lodge in a 1825 Greek Revival farmhouse with maplewood floors and country furnishings. Nearly 300 Robeth Holsteins graze on the farm, and their fresh milk goes into creamy butter and aged Cheddar used in many of the family-style meals served here. Hiking and cross-country skiing are close at hand; the farm connects to one of the best Nordic ski trails in the Northeast.
3. Ka’anapali Beach Hotel, Maui, HI
Ka’anapali Beach Hotel offers an activity lineup focused on Hawaiian cultural classes, including hula dancing kapa (cloth making), lei making, Hawaiian farming, and ukulele classes, to name a few. The resort’s oceanfront rooms and 11-acres of tropical gardens complete the island vibe, and the rates, from $256/night, are less than a third of those at Maui’s posh Montage Kapalua Bay Hawaii.
4. The Lafayette Hotel, San Diego
The Lafayette Hotel has one of the most iconic—and photogenic—pools in Southern California, designed by former Tarzan actor and one of the top competitive swimmers of the 20th century, Johnny Weissmuller, in 1946. Ever since, Hollywood royalty like Ava Gardner have gathered poolside. Colorful, chic guest rooms and private bungalows wrap around the pool. Don’t miss the chance to grab a cocktail at the bar; it was the setting for the bar scene in Top Gun. And raise a glass to paying a fraction—from $109/night—of what you’d pay at nearby Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa.
5. Jekyll Ocean Club, GA
South of the tony private beach of Georgia’s Sea Island, Jekyll Ocean Club is Jekyll Island’s newest addition. The modern suites are truly oceanfront; the only thing standing in between guests and the beach is the pool deck. Guests can opt for kayaks and stand-up paddle boards for tours of the island’s tidal creeks, a big savings—with room rates from $239/night—over nearby sailboat-focused, five-star The Cloister Sea Island.
6. Blantyre for Seven Hills Inn, Lenox, Massachusetts
Seven Hills Inn is set on 27 acres of stunning gardens. Guests lodge in a renovated Gilded Age mansion and enjoy small-plates and craft cocktails at the in-house Plunkett Lounge. It offers easy access to the best of the Berkshires from outdoor recreation to fall foliage viewing, from farm-to-table restaurants to art institutions, like the Norman Rockwell Museum. At $99/night, you’re getting Berkshires elegance for a quarter of the price of the nearby luxe Blantyre.
7. Lakeway Resort and Spa Austin, TX
Lakeway Resort Spa has great offerings: a full-service spa, three large swimming pools (one with a swim-up bar), and a restaurant with Southern comfort fare overlooking Lake Travis. In the heart of Texas Hill Country, Lakeway is a short drive—and, at $135/night, many dollars—away from the celebrated Lake Austin Spa Resort.
8. Sweet Grass Ranch, MT
At family-run Sweet Grass Ranch, guests join daily rides through big-mountain country and rolling meadows, as well as casting for trout in the ranch’s streams and lakes. It’s a working cattle ranch, so accommodations are decidedly country-style. Cozy rooms are available in the historic lodge or individual cabins. Enjoy the pinch-me views and the pinch-me rates—from $225 for riders, from $180 for non-riders—especially when compared with rates at the posh Ranch at Rock Creek nearby.
9. MacCallum House, Mendocino, CA
The boutique MacCallum House offers views of both the Pacific Ocean and the town of Mendocino comparable to those from the celebrated Brewery Gulch Inn, but with rates starting at a more affordable $199/night. Guests book into a charming Victorian home with a nearly wrap-around porch or rooms in the surrounding cabins or restored barn. The MacCallum House restaurant is rated one of the best on the coast, and stays include gourmet breakfasts, as well as in-room mini bars stocked with local wine.
10. The Standard Miami Beach, Miami, Florida
Steps away from South Beach, The Standard features clean, modern lines and peaceful, tropical gardens. Many of the guest rooms have private terraces overlooking the beachy pool area. The spa channels the best of global wellness with a Turkish-style hammam, Roman waterfall hot tub, Finnish sauna, and an Arctic plunge pool, to name a few of the offerings. All this from $180/night, a big savings over Miami Beach’s posh Setai.