Our latest giveaway is all about fabulous hotels in fantastic destinations. One lucky reader will win a three-night stay at the Gaylord Hotel of his or her choice, with locations in Kissimmee, Florida; Washington DC; Grapevine, Texas; and Nashville, Tennessee. Gaylord Hotels are known for their flawless service and wondrous interiors. 

The Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, Florida, is just minutes from Walt Disney World Resort. Inside the hotel’s four-acre atrium, guests can experience the wonder of Florida, from the old-world charm of St. Augustine to the island spirit of Key West to the mysterious waters of the Everglades.

Set on the shores of beautiful Lake Grapevine, the Gaylord Texan is located between Dallas and Fort Worth. From the festive restaurants and shops of the Riverwalk to the rugged canyons of Texas Hill Country, the Gaylord Texan brims with authentic Texas style and hospitality, proving that everything really is bigger and better in the Lone Star State.

Overlooking the monuments and skyline of our nation’s capital, the world-class Gaylord National is the crown jewel of the newly developed National Harbor, a dynamic waterfront community set along the historic Potomac River in Washington DC. Kids will love the nightly fountain shows and Potomac Playzone arcade. 

The luxurious Gaylord Opryland is located in Nashville, a city hailed by Travel+Leisure magazine as one of the “friendliest cities in the United States.” The nine-acre resort features lush indoor gardens, cascading waterfalls, and a killer location right next door to the world-famous Grand Ole Opry.

For a chance to win this vacation for your family, just follow directions on the giveaway page. You can enter once a day through September 14, 2010. Good luck!

Every super family vacation starts with a fabulous destination, and Kissimmee, the Heart of Florida has it all! To help you discover that for yourself, we’ll be giving away a total of four fabulous prizes through the end of September. Come back every day to enter and to find out what the next great prize will be!

The iPod touch 8GB is at the top of every wish list, whether you're vacationing in Kissimmee or anywhere there's family fun to be had! Got some time to kill at the airport? Watch movies and TV shows on the brilliant 3.5-inch display. Flick through your music using the revolutionary Multi-Touch interface. And anytime you need a little more entertainment, just tap iTunes to browse and buy on the fly.

For a chance to win an iPod touch 8GB, just follow the steps on the giveaway page. You can enter once a day through August 31, 2010. Good luck!

Every great family vacation starts with a fabulous destination, and Kissimmee, the Heart of Florida has it all! To help you discover that for yourself, we'll be giving away four fabulous prizes through the end of September. Come back every day to enter and to find out what the next super prize will be!

The Kodak PlaySport HD video camera is the season’s gotta-have-it travel accessory when your family is vacationing in Kissimmee or anywhere there’s splashy fun to be had! You can be as adventurous as you like when you bring the PlaySport to the pool, beach or waterpark, or when you’re going fishing, airboating or kayaking. The PlaySport can record your kids’ underwater antics in beautiful 1080-pixel HD, at depths of up to 10 feet.

For a chance to win a Kodak PlaySport HD video camera, just follow the steps on the giveaway page. You can enter once a day through August 17, 2010. Good luck!

The 530-room Hyatt Grand Champions Resort & Spa in Palm Springs makes for a great desert getaway (see our review), with seven pools—incuding a waterslide and spray zone—spa, tennis, golf, free bike rentals and a Camp Hyatt kids’ club. The only problem: It's so comfy that you'd be hard pressed to leave the edge of the pool, let alone venture off property and soak up the surroundings.

Yet the resort is enticing you to explore the local area for at least one day during your desert vacation. Its Living Desert Safari Package combines a stay at the desert resort with a VIP-level tour of the Living Desert, a zoo of 450-plus animals with a botanical garden, and exhibits and shows about the North American and African deserts. The package is advertised at a starting rate of $299 a night and includes:

• a stay at Hyatt Grand Champions ($239 for a standard room)
• three-hour private riding tour of the Living Desert, including lunch and a behind-the-scenes look at Amur leopards, giraffe feedings, a carousel ride, a tour of the wildlife hospital (VIP tour regularly $36/person, or $144 for a family of four)
  

This getaway is best saved for after October 1, when cooler temperatures allow the Living Desert to re-open many of its shows and exhibits. If paying regular admission to the Living Desert without the VIP tour, a typical family of four would pay $41 ($12.75/adult x 2 + $7.75/child ages 3 to 12 x 2). 

Deal or no deal? A great getaway, but no real savings. Frugal families will bypass the VIP tour and simply buy regular admission, thus shaving $100 off their spend.

We’re thrilled to be giving away a 5-day, fun-filled vacation in San Diego’s Mission Bay, including four nights in a bay-front suite at the Catamaran Resort Hotel & Spa; daily breakfast for four people; four tickets to the San Diego Zoo; four tickets to Wild Animal Park; and four tickets to SeaWorld.

With its sensational location right on Mission Bay, the Catamaran Resort Hotel & Spa lets families experience the very best of San Diego and the Southern California lifestyle. The resort grounds are a tropical paradise, featuring hidden gardens with over 1,000 types of eclectic plants and flowers, exotic birds, 100 varieties of palm trees, and 30 types of hibiscus. At the Catamaran, you can try any number of beach and water-related sports and activities, from boat cruises and sailing to surfing, kayaking or waterskiing—or cool off at the pool or spa. Your family can also enjoy biking, skating, or strolling along the beautiful waterfront.

Mission Bay is the West Coast’s largest aquatic man-made park, covering over 4,000 acres and offering a wide range of recreational activities. Swimmers and sunlovers are drawn to the calm water and warm sand that Mission Bay offers. Mission Bay also offers boat docks and launches, sail and motorboat rentals, bike and walk paths, basketball courts, and playgrounds for children. It’s one of San Diego's most fun-filled spots to visit.

For a chance to win this vacation for your family, just fill out the form on the giveaway page. You can enter once a day through August 31, 2010. Good luck!

Sure, there are a gazillion websites out there promising to find you a fantastic hotel deal. Problem is, despite their slick metasearch engines and fancy ranking systems, very few have considered whether you're traveling with children. So parents still have to spend hours of sifting and cross-checking on other sites before they can be sure they've found a property that fits their needs.

That's why Travel Ticker is one of our go-to sites. The clean, intuitive design is set up so that you're in, you find a great deal (or several), and you're out in no time flat. You'll see some deals from other big travel booking sites, such as Expedia, but Travel Ticker's big strength is its knack for offering insider deals we don't see on other sites, such as limited-time offers at non-chain upscale properties. You can search by location, interest (we head straight for the Family Travel page), or price. We routinely check out the Hotels Under a Hundred page, where every hotel is priced under $100 a night.

Check out the fantastic family-friendly deals we spied this morning:

• Palm Springs, CA: One-bedroom villa at Desert Oasis Resort, $69 a night midweek, $79 a night on weekends. Villa features a king-size bed, living/dining room with sleeper sofa, full kitchen, and balcony. Resort features two pools, golf course, complimentary WiFi. Plus, get discounted tickets to Knotts’ Soak City at the concierge desk. Book by July 7; travel through September 30.
• Miami, FL: Save 50% off at the 4.5-star Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club, named to Travel+Leisure's World's Best List in 2008. Land a room for just $99, including unlimited golf(!) on two courses. Valid through September 30.
• Mackinac Island, MI: Save up to 35% at the historic Island House Hotel. Rooms $159 a night midweek, $179 a night on weekends. Plus, get discounted ferry tickets, breakfast coupons, and room upgrades from $25. Book by July 7; travel July 1-31 and August 16-31.

Spend your vacation in a town with a lot of kid-friendly attractions—theme parks, museums, zoos—and you'll blow a good chunk of your budget on overpriced, concession-style meals. So we were intrigued by the Experience More Paradise package at San Diego's Paradise Point Resort and Spa, which works on a sliding scale: stay three nights and you get a $300 resort credit; four nights earns a $400 resort credit; five nights comes with a $500 credit.  You can use it at the resort restaurants, shop and spa—and, according to the reservations agent we spoke to, also at the kids' club and bicycle rentals (online, the site says the credit is only for dining). But even if you do only use it for dining, $100 a day would cover at least one meal a day at the resort.

And this is just the kind of resort that you would want to log some good time at, and not just as a base camp for area attractions. The 44-acre, 460-room resort, set on the edge of San Diego's Mission Bay, feels nicely isolated, thanks to the bay on one side, and the lush, tropical vegation that surrounds the rest of the island-style resort (proof: they call the patios “lanais”). It has a bayside beach; five pools (one for adults, one for little kids); tennis; an 18-hole, kid-friendly putting course; water sports rentals and a summertime kids' club for ages 4-12.

The resort is also blessed with a fantastic location, just a couple-minutes’ drive into the heart of Mission Bay and funky, neighboring Pacific Beach, with an ocean beach, restaurants and a small, Coney-Island style amusement park. You're also within a half-hour drive of the San Diego Zoo or Legoland and, best of all, within walking distance of SeaWorld.

Now for the bad news: The Experience More Paradise offer is only good on the Garden Bungalow or Bayside Bungalow suites, one-bedroom-plus-living rooms accommodations priced at $645 a night on the dates we checked. The good news: We quickly saw a better deal, good for all room types: a Summer - 4th Night Free promo which offers a 25% break on rooms that start at a more modest $279 a night for standard digs with two double beds and a garden view.

The offers are based upon availability for stays through August 21. To book the Experience More Paradise or 4th Night Free promo online, look next to rates after you punch in dates. Alternatively you can book by phone at 800/344-2626 and mention the offer by name.

We’re so excited to be giving away a four-night stay at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs! The prize includes a stay in a suite for a family of four; daily paddleboat and bicycle rental for four; daily breakfast for two adults and two children in Lakeside Terrace; one-day passes for two adults and two children to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo; and dinner for two adults in Penrose Room, Colorado’s only five-star, five-diamond restaurant, with complimentary access to the children’s program (ages 3-12) for that time.

The Broadmoor is the longest-running consecutive winner of both the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star and AAA Five-Diamond awards. It is named on both Conde Nast Traveler’s Gold List and Travel+Leisure’s Top 50 Resorts in the US and Canada.

The historic Colorado Springs resort is located on 3,000 lush acres under the shadow of Cheyenne Mountain. The pool complex offers three swimming pools, including an 11,000-square-foot outdoor infinity pool and “Slide Mountain” waterslide, kiddie pool with waterspout, three outdoor hot tubs, and one lap pool. The resort also features an award-winning spa, fitness center, 54 holes of championship golf, six tennis courts with tennis camps, children’s programs for ages 3-12, 24-hour room service, valet parking, and 24 specialty retail shops. Other fun activities for the whole family include horseback riding, rafting, fly fishing, hiking, biking, and a trip to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

For a chance to win this vacation for your family, just fill out the form on the giveaway page. You can enter once a day through July 31, 2010. Good luck!

As much as we love the Bay Area's plethora of chic, modern, urban hotels, it's also nice to soak up the history and elegance of one of Northern California's grande dames. The 279-room Claremont Hotel, in the Berkeley Hills, first opened in 1915 and still exudes a classic, old-style-resort vibe yet offers a lot more than croquet on the lawn.  It has three pools, tennis, a spa and a kids’ club that offers guests two to three hours of free childcare every day (two hours for kids ages 6 months to 2 years; three hours for kids ages 3 to 10). The hotel also puts on special events such as Friday night movies, tequila tastings for the grown-ups and yoga master classes. 

The Claremont is offering a Family Fun in the Sun offer this summer, with rates starting at $299 for a family of four. A family booking a three-night stay in July with this package would get:

• lodging in a a deluxe room, with taxes included (normally $269/night x 3 = $807)
  
• $100 resort credit, which you can use at the spa, kids' club (day-long camps cost extra) or on tennis or swim lessons
  
• daily breakfast for two adults and two kids at the Meritage at the Claremont ($80 x 3 days=$240)
• in-room movie and popcorn (worth about $15)
• free daily parking and waived resort fee ($24/day for each, or $48 x 3 days = $144 for three days)

When we price-checked a stay for a family of four in July, the package rate was quoted as $399 a night for a non-view room with two double beds, or $1,197 for a three-night stay. Meanwhile, if booking without the package, the best available regular rate was $269 a night. Once you figure in the resort credit, parking, resort fee, breakfast, and movie, your total spend would come to $1,306 for three nights before taxes, meaning that the package offers a mere 8% savings. Still, don't forget that free childcare (a half-day can easily cost $40 per child at comparable resorts), which definitely boosts the family appeal.

Deal or no deal? Eh. It's definitely not what we'd call a blockbuster deal, but shaving 8% off your bill is better than nothing if you've been dreaming of a stay at the Claremont. The Family Fun in the Sun package is good for stays through September 6. When entering dates online, look for the Family Fun in the Sun package or mention the deal when calling  800/551-7266.

Heading to  L.A. area this summer? The beach towns of Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan Beach provide easy access to major draws (Hollywood, Disneyland) while offering a laid-back base away from the tourist throngs. In Redondo Beach, the 161-room The Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club is intimately scaled and qualifies as family-friendly for its pool, firepits and free bicycles to borrow. Plus, you have easy walking access to the beach, a festive pier, and the sea lions in nearby King Harbor. 

This summer, the Portofino is offering a $50-a-night credit when you stay at least two nights, up to a maximum credit of $200 when you stay four. While we love the idea using that credit toward a free or cheap breakfast for four each morning (one stack of blueberry pancakes=$10), we wanted to be sure it was the best deal available.

Room rates during the summer start at $239 on weeknights and $329 on weekends, so you can think of the $50 credit as added value to the tune of 21% on weekdays and 15% on weekends. Keep in mind, however, that you'll still pay full price for the room. 

The Portofino is also offering a Sizzling Summer Savings promo that works on a sliding scale: Save 10% when you stay two nights; save 20% when you stay three nights; or get your fourth night free (25% off). And yet another offer—the advanced purchase rate—may trump them both, if you don't mind committing some money upfront. If you book at least 14 days before your arrival and pay for one night (room and tax) at that time, you can save 30% off a four-night stay. Keep in mind, though, that you'll lose your deposit if you cancel within eight days of your arrival.

The 4th Night Free offer is available for stays through September 30; enter promo code SIZZLE.  The $50 credit and advanced-purchase rate are open-ended; enter promo code PROMO or ADVANCED. Or book by phone at 800/468-4292 and mention the offer of your choice.