Christmas has come early for ski bunnies: Heavy snowfall in Colorado has set the scene for a killer season. And two new packages at Telluride's Inn at Lost Creek can make it an affordable one. Sign up for the Pre-Season Ski Adventure and get four nights for the price of three, including transfers, breakfast, and two three-day lift passes, or nab the Altitude Adjuster, which is all that plus oxygen therapy and massages for two.

The homey-luxe inn has 32 suites (decked out with fireplaces, hot tubs, and steam showers), plus one of the most brag-worthy ski-in, ski-out positions in the San Juan Mountains. Oh, and did we mention the two rooftop hot tubs? Talk about taking it to the next level.

Pre-Season Ski Adventure from $1,809 (double occupancy), from December 1, 2011 through December 18, 2011; Altitude Adjuster from $2,301 (double occupancy), from December 1, 2011 through April 8, 2012

Photo: Courtesy of db2stock, Getty Images

In this era of austerity, nothing says excess like a private jet, right? California-based JetSuite, which runs a brand-new fleet of Phenom 100 planes, aims to change that perception by making the high life more accessible, even for those of us whose names don't start with Jay and end with Z.

Becoming a fan of the company's Facebook page gives you access to daily last-minute deals on flights such as San Francisco to Las Vegas and Austin to Houston. What kind of deals are we talking about? Try flights for as low as $499 one-way...for the entire four-passenger jet. SuiteDeals are released at the end of the business day Pacific time, typically for flights departing the next day. Spontaneous travel just got a whole lot more fabulous.

Photo: Courtesy of JetSuite

Putting on the Ritz is generally a pricey proposition. But on June 10, ten lucky travelers will be able to reserve a room at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne for a mere tenner. That's right, for less than the cover charge at your average Miami club, you could be curled up beneath Frette linens, soaking in a marble bath, or lounging by one of two oceanfront pools.

Interested? The offer--to celebrate the resort's tenth anniversary--is available for stays on July 5-7, 10-13, 18, and 25-26. If you want to keep the $10 theme going while you're there, try a $10 spa treatment, enjoy a $10 three-course dinner in the resort's Italian restaurant, or toast your good luck with a $10 bottle of Champagne.

Have your phone at the ready at 10 am ET on June 10, because the bargain rates are first-come, first-served. The all-important number to have on speed dial is 305-365-4582. Competition will be fierce, but who knows, sometimes life's a beach.

Photo: Courtesy of Kikor Photography / The Ritz-Carlton

 
From interactive wine lists to loaners in the lobby lounge, iPads are becoming de rigueur in top hotels. Only problem is, those shiny toys aren't yours to keep. Not so at the Sagamore in Miami Beach. Through September 30, the hotel's Chief Entertainment Officer package rewards penthouse stays with more than marble floors, sweeping ocean views, and bragging rights. South Beach CEOs also score a free iPad2 on checkout.

In the stylish suite, accessible by private elevator, crisp white-on-white decor is offset by framed curiosities from the hotel's lauded Cricket Taplin Collection of contemporary art. Three bedrooms and two baths offer enough space for you and five friends, while the whirlpool tub, 42-inch plasma TV, gaming systems, and fully stocked kitchen bar invite partying like it's your job. Being top brass comes with other perks, too: There's executive dining on an 1,800-square-foot terrace, corporate limo (complimentary from the airport), and an expense account (bottle of Moët on arrival, free breakfast buffet, daily beach chairs). Leggy interns? That's on you.

Sagamore CEO package starts at $1,300, two-night minimum. Book via e-mail or phone by May 31.

Photo: Courtesy of Sagamore, The Art Hotel

Summer vacation will be here before you know it. So if we said you could score a $16,000 Caribbean vacation and kick back in a luxury villa while someone else entertains your kids, you'd be interested, right?

Condé Nast Traveler's A-to-Z Family Travel Contest is your ticket to paradise. The flashy prize includes five nights' accommodation for two adults and two children in a two-bedroom villa at Grace Bay Club, a five-star resort in the Turks & Caicos; $2,000 toward four airline tickets; membership in the resort's Kids Town and Very Important Kids programs; a full breakfast for four daily; and a $100 spa credit.

For a chance to win, all you have to do is submit an awesome tip for making travel with kids easier or more fun, by 5 pm Eastern time on May 3, 2011. Yup, it's that easy.

Photo: Courtesy of Grace Bay Club

The Pacific Edge Hotel's new Endless Summer Ultimate Surf Package channels the spirit of the seminal 1960s travel and surf documentary by pairing you up with one of its stars, Robert August (pictured back in the day, far right), for a one-on-one day of surfing, searching out perfect breaks along SoCal's storied coast.

It don't matter if you're grom, random stander, or bona fide railer, you'll also get a place to crash overlooking Laguna Beach in the 129-room, brightly painted boutique property. Also provided: Endless Summer swag, including a six-pack of lager and a DVD box set. Plus, after a day in the waves, you're invited to chillax with August and his surfer son Sam over sundowners and appetizers on the beach. Righteous!

Photo: Courtesy of Pacific Edge Hotel

Leopard-print thongs, rollerblading grandmas, body-painted dancers...Miami's South Beach scene may be known for a lot of things, but cheap Art Deco beachfront living ain't one of them. Until now: Welcome to the waterfront, Waldorf.

Room Mate Hotels' latest budget boutique, opening this spring, was renovated from the bones of the 65-year-old Waldorf Towers (no relation to Astoria). The 44 Art Deco rooms have been given a funky overhaul, with an airy Miami vibe that hits the right balance between comfy and sleek.

The spunky Spanish chainlet attracts a young, hip set willing to trade large rooms for prime location, free breakfast and Wi-Fi, and comfy beds at affordable prices (from $139)--kind of like crashing in the (very cushy) guest room of a savvy friend. And like a good friend, Room Mate is giving you a break: 25 percent off Web rates on five standard and five deluxe rooms from the hotel's opening through October 15, 2011 (minus Memorial Day weekend). Book using code rmwaldorf, and tell 'em we say hola.

Photo: Courtesy of Room Mate Hotels

 
There's no such thing as a free lunch. But there is such a thing as a free vacation--at least if you're a kid. Thanks to St. Lucia's new Go Bananas summer family program, luxe resorts like Coco Palm, Cotton Bay Village, and Discovery at Marigot Bay are inviting your offspring to stay, eat, and play for free.

We dig the idea of an island-wide program that goes beyond your average hotel deal to include perks like a special line to speed families through immigration and complimentary excursions such as zip-lining, horseback riding, and whale watching. And since St. Lucia knows who is paying the bill, they throw a little indulgence toward the parentals, including room upgrades and a complimentary night of babysitting. Happy parents, happy kids. We have a new contender for "Happiest Place on Earth."

Photo: Courtesy of the St. Lucia Tourist Board

So, let's say--hypothetically, of course--that you forgot to get your special someone a present for Valentine's Day. Well, lucky for you, in Provence they like bad behavior. The Hotel Crillon le Brave will even reward your negligence by taking it off. But because she's a lady, she's taking it only half off ("it" being her rates, of course).

Book now for March or April, and you'll get 50% off your stay at this 32-room storybook hideaway of restored 16th- and 17th-century stone houses. Use these bargain prices for a romantic weekend of truffle hunting or a steamy cooking course. Or just hole up with your lucky Valentine and a bottle of local wine. Now that beats a diamond heart pendant any day.

As the clock strikes midnight this New Year's Eve, some of us will be making resolutions of abstinence for 2011. ME by Meliá, on the other hand, will be celebrating self-indulgence and the launch of Complete ME--the scene-y Cancún hotel's all-inclusive model.

The new format allows you to indulge your every vacation whim without the nickel-and-diming you encounter at some of Cancún's all-inclusives. That means accommodation at the South Beach-style, 448-room property as well as alcoholic beverages, meals, and admission to ME's famous beach parties and clubs are all included in rates starting at $194 per person per night.

So go ahead, have another tequila--or four. It's on the house.

A lot can happen in a New York minute. Broadway theater tickets can be available at a 50 percent discount one minute then sell out the next. Which is why, if you're visiting NYC and planning to catch a show, you should download the Theatre Development Fund's new TKTS iPhone app (free through March 2011).

Check the app for real-time listings of all Broadway and Off-Broadway shows for which discounted same-day tickets are available at TKTS booths. (The big one under the red glass steps in Times Square is hard to miss, but there's another in Lower Manhattan at South Street Seaport and a third at 1 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn.) The app also provides show descriptions, performance schedules, theater locations, and accessibility info.

Now give yourself a round of applause for saving time and money.

Download the TKTS iPhone App at the iTunes app store or TDF.org.

Photo: Gary Burke, Flickr

Little-known fact: The term "Stockholm Syndrome" (referring to the psychological phenomenon in which captives feel sympathy for their captors) dates from a 1974 bank heist at Stockholm's Kreditbanken. But since there's no such thing as bad publicity&Welcome to Nobis, a design hotel opening December 1 in the former Kreditbanken building. The bank vault where it all went down? Well, that's the hotel's Acne flagship store now.

The dramatic transformation from crime scene to cool scene didn't stop there, of course. The 19th-century building is an imposing presence at the center of the city's business, shopping, and entertainment neighborhood, but inside, things take a softer, contemporary turn, with natural materials (wool, wood, stone, leather, and glass) used throughout the 201 high-ceilinged rooms. The light and airy feel is most apparent in the cathedral-like atrium topped with a modern fresco, pictured above.

Book a room now for 15 percent off the opening rate: Now that's a steal.

Photo: Courtesy of Design Hotels"

Aloft Harlem has been a long time coming (and we're not just talking about the delays with the opening). The last time there was a hotel in this neighborhood was back in the 1960s, when the Theresa hosted the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Muhammad Ali.

The 124-room property, which opens its doors next Thursday, is bright, modern, and confident enough about its other attributes--like a funky bar, w xyz--to offer only a grab 'n' go menu (and, really, you should be out there tasting what the neighborhood has to offer, anyway).

With room prices starting at $239 through December--approximately 10 to 15 percent lower than rates at similar properties in Midtown--we think Aloft Harlem might just be leading the charge above 120th Street.

Photo: Starwood Hotels and Resorts