Suite Deals: Luxury Hotel Stays on a Budget
Learn how you can live large on a budget during your next vacation.
Oct. 5, 2007 Special to ABCNEWS.com — -- Stay at the Ritz-Carlton in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and you'll bed down in a 430-square-foot room with a large marble bath and deep soaking tub, a flat screen television, and skyline views of the city.
When it's time for breakfast, a butler will serve you an omelet made to order, piping hot toast and freshly squeezed orange juice. Since the property is situated in the heart of the city, you can walk to all the major shopping and sightseeing.
But perhaps the best part about shacking up here? It's cheap. The room described above costs $200 a night.
Put down your glasses. It's true: Bargains can be found even at upscale, pricey chains like the Ritz-Carlton.
Check out some wallet-friendly lux hotels at our partner site, Forbes.com.
What's more, while you can score good deals on deluxe properties by visiting them off-season, the kinds of hotels we're talking about have lower prices all year round. After all, who wants to visit the Caribbean in summer — the heart of hurricane season — or stay at Kuala Lumpur in June, when temperatures can surpass 90 degrees?
"No luxury hotel is going to advertise itself as having low prices, but if you dig, you'll find that luxe hotels without high price tags do exist," says Adam Weissenberg, head of the tourism, hospitality and leisure practice at Deloitte & Touche. "In countries where the currency rate works out in favor of the U.S. dollar, deals can be found at upscale chains."
While a room at the Tokyo Ritz-Carlton is $460 a night, for instance, a comparable room at the Kuala Lumpur Ritz is far less, thanks to the strength of the U.S. dollar against the Malaysian ringgit.
Another a weaker currency, the peso, is driving down prices at the Four Seasons Resort in Carmelo, Uruguay, which is situated on the banks of the Rio Plata River.
For $200 a night, travelers stay in 1000-square-foot bungalows with hand carved beds, terraces, private gardens with outdoor showers and baths with heated floors and deep soaking tubs.
Guests can occupy themselves swimming in the property's huge pool, playing golf at the onsite 18-hole course, indulging in a four-handed massage at the spa, visiting Colonia, a UNESCO World Heritage site, or checking out local wineries such as Cerros de San Juan.
