If you’re looking for luxury when you’re traveling, then you're likely booking yourself a five-star hotel. There, you’ll surely find a spacious guest room, a gorgeous lobby, attentive staff and excellent amenities like spa-soft robes for after your shower. Such venues often have fantastic restaurants and spa services on site and curate optional experiences for guests. Overall, these hotels are more than just a place to plunk down your luggage; they can actually be the destination itself.
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However, according to Hotels.com’s 2025 Hotel Price Index, five-star hotels here in the U.S. are, on average, 27-percent more expensive than they are abroad. And, shhhh, the index shares the information that four-star hotels actually provide a better value. They’re significantly nicer than three-star hotels, and you only pay, on average, 38-percent more to move up that level. However, moving from four-star to five-star involves a 118-percent cost increase.
But if you are still intent on staying at a five-star property, Portland, Oregon is the cheapest city in the U.S. to book one, according to the index. There, you can find a five-star property for an average of $287 a night. That’s a pretty great price for an exceptional experience. For example, with a quick Google search, we came up with The Nines, a five-star Portland property for $246 a night. It’s lodged in a historic building but remade with contemporary stylings, and its name pays homage to the idea of being dressed to the nines.
The next most affordable city is San Antonio, Texas, where a five-star hotel experience can run $340 a night; followed by Las Vegas, where you can get a hyper-luxe stay for $341 a night (that extra dollar is a killer, but you can surely make it up at the craps table).
According to Hotels.com, these are the five most affordable five star stays in the U.S.:
1. Portland, Oregon: $287 a night
2. San Antonio, Texas: $340 a night
3. Las Vegas, Nevada: $341 a night
4. Atlanta, Georgia: $361 a night
5. Miami, Florida: $386 a night
Overall, across all price levels, U.S. hotel prices fell slightly, by two percent, to $174 a night, while international prices rose, by four percent, to $228 a night. Rest and relaxation don't come cheap!