'Tis the season for shopping and school concerts and holiday parties and frazzled nerves.  If the crazies have hit and you're dreaming about an escape, listen up:  Hilton Hotels is running The December Sale, which promises savings of up to 33% at participating Hilton properties around the globe when you book by New Year's Day and stay before January 8, 2012.

Turns out that "savings of up to 33%" doesn't mean you'll always be able to chop a third off your hotel bill. When we test-booked the offer at two family-friendly properties, we found actual savings hovering closer to 20%. At the Embassy Suites Washington D.C. at the Chevy Chase Pavilion, which boasts a location directly on the Metro Red Line, a two-bedroom suite runs $127 a night, which is a savings of 20% off the best available nightly rate of $159.  Want something warmer? Take a look at the Grand Vacation Suites at Sea World.  At that all-suite resort, we found December Sale nightly rates that were also 20% less than the best available rate: $119 for a one-bedroom suite and $199 for a two-bedroom suite (compared to best available rates of $149 and $249, respectively).    

As always, there's plenty of fine print. The rates are non-refundable, full payment is due at the time of booking, there's a seven-day advance purchase requirement, and blackout dates may apply. Book online or call 800/HILTONS.

IHG, a group of seven hotel brands from upscale InterContinental to the raft of family-friendly Holiday Inn properties, has introduced what is essentially a rebate program for guests this summer.  The "Vacation Pay" promo promises a $75 prepaid MasterCard when you stay two consecutive weekend nights at any of IHG's 4,400 worldwide properties before August 31.  Participating chains include InterContentental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.

Up to four rebates are permitted per household, so you could get back as much as $300.   There are some hoops to jump through (registering, filling out and mailing forms, etc.) but if you have plans to travel this summer and don't mind the legwork, you could enjoy a tidy windfall. 

Hotel deals that include breakfast are often a decent value—but be careful; sometimes you're really paying an inflated rate for some cold eggs.

The Hilton Garden Inn is tempting our inner pancake addict, however, with its summer Great Getaway promotion, which promises 15% off its regular Bed & Breakfast rate at US properties—and up to 40% off those B&B rates if you're traveling overseas.

The promo includes breakfast for two and kids 12 and under eat free. The only catch? You have to completely pre-pay your hotel bill, with no freedom to cancel or change your dates.

When we checked out some July dates in a few US cities, we did find a consistent 15% price break. In Savannah, Georgia, for instance, we found  a Hilton Garden Inn in the historic district—with a heated pool and a location just three blocks from the fried chicken and gravy at TV chef Paula Deen’s restaurant. With the offer, you could get a B&B rate of $119 a night for a room with two queens, which is a 16% break on the usual $141 B&B rate. The regular rate, meanwhile, was just $137 a night—which makes the B&B rate a great deal all on its own, since it includes breakfast for four for a whopping $4. Here's a case, if you don't want the restrictions of that advance-purchase, where the B&B rate is happily the best rate on its own. 

To take advantage of this promo, you must book at least 14 days in advance of your stay and travel by September 5, 2011.  Click on the Great Getaway box on the booking page, or mention the deal when calling the individual hotel's reservation line.

We've all been seduced by the promise of a rebate—only to have that unmailed rebate form wither away on the to-do pile until the promotion expires. But here's a vacation rebate offer worth making a priority: The InterContinental Hotels Group—which includes InterContinental, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo,  Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites—is offering a “Vacation Pay” promotion that rewards guests for weekend stays. Here's how it works: You stay at any of the 4,400 partipating hotels for  two consecutive weekend nights  (Friday, Saturday or Sunday). Afterward, you fill out a rebate form and Hoilday Inn will send you a $75 MasterCard gift card. You can use the two-night deal up to four times, to receive a max of $300 in rebates. 

The nice thing about a big-brand promo like this: The options are massive, running the gamut from the luxurious to the super-budget, and when searching destinations you can add sorting features such as hotels with pools, free meals for kids, or the company's family-friendly Kid Suites.

And while a $75 rebate for two nights only works out to a theoretical $37.50 discount each night, that can make a decent dent, depending where you stay. In Boston, for instance, the Intercontinental goes for about $360 a night in summer but we also found a Holiday Inn Express with easy access to downtown and Fenway Park, for $153 a night—where $37.50 amounts to a 25% discount. In Los Angeles we found the retro-hip-looking  Holday Inn Universal Studios - Hollywood—near the theme park, the  Hollywood Walk of Fame and Grauman’s Chinese Theater—with a rate of $239 a night for a Kids Suite, which features  a partitioned area with bunk beds, games and a DVD/CD player (regualr room rates start at $204 a night). 

The rebate is available for weekend stays through August 31, 2011. You can book online or call hotels individually, after completing the registration page; next, you you download a rebate form from IHG’s online rebate center, and mail it in after your stay. 

It's ba-ack!  Club Med's "Kids Stay Free" deal has returned for 2011, and this time the money-saver is valid at all of Club Med's 32 family resorts around the globe.  For families looking for a resort that delivers a relaxed yet active vacation, Club Med delivers plenty: all-inclusive pricing, good food, great kids' programming (including, at some properties, cooking classes and a circus school with trapeze workshops), and an impressive array of sporty and learning activities. (See our reviews of Club Med's Sandpiper, Cancún Yucatán, and Ixtapa Pacific properties.)

When you book a seven-night stay at one of Club Med's family resorts, one child 15 and under can stay free for every paying adult. On average, this deal will shave about $1,500 off the bill for a family of four. To take advantage of this offer, book by February 28 and travel before October 28. As always, there are some restrictions and blackout dates. Book online or call 888/WEB-CLUB and ask for the "kids stay free" offer. 

Ready to book a cruise for next year? Think about booking tomorrow or Thursday—September 29 and 30—when Royal Caribbean is having a 2-Day WOW Sale. The sale is good for cruises and cruisetours (its cruise-plus-land-tour packages) that depart after January 1. While it didn't wow us with any deep discounts on sailings, it does include:

• Up to $200 onboard credit
• 50% off your deposit

To boost your savings potential, check out Royal Caribbean’s Hot Deals page, where you can find the lowest available fares, such as a 7-night Mexican Riveria cruise starting at $639 per person for a February sailing. Meanwhile, your onboard credits can be used toward spa treatments, casino games,  shows and more. The line’s new Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas offer kid-friendly water park zones, kid gyms, ice shows, and even character breakfasts featuring familiar faces from Shrek, Madagascar and other DreamWorks movies.

The 50% reduced deposit and onboard credit offer is only  applicable to online bookings. Take note: the online booking confirmation won't reflect your reduced deposit or onboard credit. The WOW Sale Onboard Credit and 50% Reduced Deposit offer is good until September 30, 2010, 11:59 pm, local time.

For families looking for a resort that delivers a casual yet active vacation, Club Med delivers a lot of positives: all-inclusive pricing, good food, imaginative kids' programming (including, at some properties, a circus school), and a wide array of family activities.  

Club Med is offering all of that at a substantial discount during its Fall “Wow” Sale,  with rates starting at $399 per person for a three-night stay.  When we test-booked three nights in September at Club Med Cancun Yucatan (see our review) for a family of four, we landed a price of $1,298 for a club two-bedroom suite (the standard lodging option). That's a savings of nearly 60% off the regular price of $3,152.

And that's not all. When you book a deluxe room or suite at Club Med resorts in Mexico or the Dominican Republic, you'll get either a free massage at the resort spa or a local excursion for two.  (A three-night September stay in a deluxe two-bedroom oceanfront room would run $1,578.)

The catch? You have to book by August 30, and travel between September 1 and October 31.  Stays of seven nights or more qualify for the discounted "wow" rates through April 29, 2011, including holidays. Book online or call 888/932-2582 and ask for the "wow" sale.

Ready to commit to your summer vacation plans? Hilton is launching a Great Getaway sale, which is advertised at up to 30% off hotel rooms for stays between May 28 and September 6.  Good at 2,800 hotels around the world—including Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, and Homewood Suites—the offer often includes free breakfast, too, for at least two people.

The discount varies a little by brand name: You’ll get a full 30% off at Doubletree hotels; 25%  at Hilton properties;  and 20% at Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, Hilton Grand Vacations, Hilton Garden Inn, Waldorf Astoria and Conrad. The deal is available at only select Embassy Suites.

Sounds pretty good, right? No so fast. The discount applies to the Bed & Breakfast rate, which is always higher than the lowest regular rate and the regular advance-purchase rate. And the offer comes with some big restrictions: You have to book at least seven days ahead of your arrival and pay in full upfront, with no possible refund.

We shopped at some family-friendly spots to see how the special offer played out. At the Hilton Garden Inn in Williamsburg, the special offer rate was $112 a night, down from the Bed & Breakfast rate of $141. Now comes the comparison pricing: That's 21% off the B&B rate but just 15% off the best regular rate of $129. Meanwhile, the regular advance-purchase, no-refund rate was $105. Think of the special offer as getting a free, cooked-to-order breakfast for each family member for just $7 in total. Rooms at the hotel, less than two miles from the city center, have fridges and microwaves, and the hotel has the obligatory pool.

At the Hilton Los Cabos resort in Mexico's Cabo San Lucas—which has a beach, pool and kids' club—the special offer shaves 25% off this property's B&B rate. The special offer rate for an ocean view room with two queen beds was $194 a night, compared to $259 for the B&B rate, which includes two buffet breakfasts for the grown-ups each morning and free meals for kids 5 and under. When you figure in those free meals, the special offer probably has the edge over the regular advance-purchase rate of $179 a night—but just barely, and only if your kids are very young.

Verdict: This is a great example of how marketing spin can make a just-okay offer sound much better than it is. And it's a good reminder of why you need to follow recession travel rule no. 1 and always do the math. Sometimes this special offer beats all the hotel's other rates—and sometimes you can do better by choosing another rate from the menu. On the upside, this offer usually delivers a free breakfast, so long as you can also stomach the non-refundable risk.

Look for the Great Getaway rates when entering dates online, or mention the deal when calling 800/446-6677. You must book before July 15. Some brands  have their own twists on the rules, such as a three-night minimum and no breakfast at Hilton Grands, or two-night minimum night stay for Wednesday arrivals at Homewoods Suites. As usual, other restrictions may apply.

This winter is turning out to be a great time for a weekend getaway, thanks to big sales at two of the largest hotel chains. Last week we posted about Hilton's mega January sale, which offers winter weekend savings of up to 33% across its chains. 

Now Marriott has stepped up to the plate with a  Global Rate Break promo that lets you save 20% on weekend rates stay at many of its hotels—and claims to up the ante to a 40% discount at a few resorts. The deal applies to various Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard, Fairfield, SpringHill, Residence Inn, and TownPlace Suites hotels all over the world. 

We checked rates at several properties and found that, indeed, the deal typically delivers a 20% price cut. At Desert Springs, the JW Marriott in the Palm Springs area with requisite pool, lawn games and kids club, we found rates of $327 a night for a room with two beds and a balcony—down from the desert’s high season rate of $409. In Hawaii, the deal offered up the Kauai Marriott  for just $194 a night, down from $240.

But don’t get your hopes too high on the 40%-off lure that's said to be available at select resorts in the Caribbean, Latin America and Hawaii. When we test-booked a stay at a handful of properties for a February weekend getaway, we couldn’t find any availability at the 40%-off rate.  More commonly, we found that this deal led to a 20% discount.

The sale applies to weekend stays (Thursday to Sunday), and some hotels require a two-night minimum. You must book by January 22 and complete your stay by March 21. Use promo code F5X when booking online.

Compare prices and dates at various properties carefully. Plenty of hotels have blackout dates. At some hotels, this deal is only available through January 18, while other hotels are keeping it on the table for stays as late as April 25.

To get this deal, you must book by November 10. Use the promo code LTNOVN when booking online, or mention the deal when calling 888/625-5144. Rates are pre-paid and non-refundable.