Nabbing a free night at any hotel can be a great deal. Nabbing a free night at a luxury hotel is arguably better, because those per-night savings can run into the hundreds of dollars. Take the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, a bastion of understated luxury located on a quiet expanse of beach in one of Florida's toniest communities.

For stays through April 3, the resort is running a  Stay Longer,Third Night Free offer that translates to a 33% discount on a three-night stay. Since nightly rates for a moderate garden-view room start at $479, that’s no small savings. More good news: The offer is good for all room categories, so the higher you go, the more you save. A three-night stay in an ocean-view room with two double beds (normally $679 a night) will cost $1,358 instead of $2,037. If you're up for a splurge, this is a fantastic way to get it for less. Want even more good news? There is no limit to the number of free nights you can get. Book a six-night stay, and you'll get two nights free—still a 33% discount, with savings potentially reaching four digits.

The resort's 210 guest rooms boast private balconies and marble bathrooms. The pool is staffed by attendants at the ready with towels, lemon water, popsicles, chilled face cloths, Evian spritz and fresh-cut fruit.  There’s an 11,000-square-foot spa and tennis courts—not to mention a multilingual concierge who can arrange for you to go deep sea fishing, sailing, snorkeling or horseback riding on the beach. Does it sound like you'll be reaching into your wallet all day? Not true. Four Seasons offers an impressive line-up of complimentary services and activities, including a 24-hour fitness facility, yoga classes, full-day children’s program, and dining for kids ages 5 and under in The Ocean Bistro. For the duration of the third-night-free offer, the resort is hosting special “spring break” activities, including baseball-themed evenings with ballpark fare and baseball-related games and entertainment.  The sports theme continues on the weekends with supervised, family-friendly games on the beach such as flag football, ring toss and softball. 

With the Sandestin's “Spring to the Beach” promotion, you get a fourth night free when you pay for three. When we test-booked a four-night stay in April, we were pleased to see that the promo rates (starting at $96.75 a night) are identical to the resort's regular rates. (This is important, since resorts often jack up the nightly rate on a promotion to recoup some of the cost of the "free" night. Not the case here.) More good news: The deal delivers a 25% savings across the board, so you could also nab a two-bedroom beachfront condo for $232 a night (instead of $309) or a two-bedroom golfcourse townhome for $180 a night (instead of $239).

We test-booked this offer for a family of two adults and two kids between 3 and 9 years old on a late-April stay at the Doubletree Hotel at the Entrance to Universal. The package includes:

• Five nights in standard double (worth $174/night x 5 nights = $870)
• Four four-day base tickets to to the two Universal Orlando theme parks, valid for one park per day  ($134.99 x 2 adults + $117.99 x 2 kids = $506)
• CityWalk Party Pass ($11.99 x 4 people = $48)
• Scheduled shuttle transportation between hotel and Universal Orlando (always free to hotel guests)
• Early admission to Islands of Adventure theme park (normally available to guests at higher-priced on-site hotels)

If booking these components independently, a family of four would pay a total of $1424, or $356 per person. By comparison, the package price for this stay comes to $905, for a savings of $519 and a hefty 37% discount. It works out to just $226 per person, which actually beats the advertised starting price by $28 per person. 

Deal or no deal? Muggles, rejoice! This is a great deal for the hotel we tested. Note, however, that the amount you save will depend on your travel dates and the hotel you select.

Book by March 31. As usual, some blackout dates and other restrictions apply.

If you've been dithering about whether to head to Disney World this summer, a brand new sale may give you a push. At Disney's official hotels, prices are slashed 25% to 40% below peak summer rates for most dates between June 4 and August 15. You can expect savings of:

• 25% at Value Resorts (such as Disney's All-Star Movies or All-Star Music resorts)
• 30% at Moderate Resorts (such as the Coronado Springs or Port Orleans resort)
• 35% off Deluxe Resorts (such as the Polynesian or Grand Floridian resort)
• 40% off Deluxe Villas (such as Beach Club Villas or Saratoga Springs Resort)
  

When we test-booked a two-night weekend stay in early June across several price categories, we found that the sale prices consistently delivered the promised discount. In the Moderate Resort category, our test at the Coronado Springs Resort landed a rate of $143.50 a night, exactly 30% less than the regular weekend summer rate of $205 a night. Similarly, in the Value Resort category, the sale rate of $100.50 a night for a standard double at the All-Star Movies Resort is exactly 25% less than the regular weekend summer rate of $134 a night.

Set on 20 lushly landscaped acres along a spectacular seven-mile stretch of beach, the resort offers a wide array of fun activities for the whole family. Take your pick of five heated pools, explore the grounds by paddleboat along a meandering river, or head to the white-sand beach for water sports and a ride down a giant inflatable waterslide. You can play tennis, have a round of mini golf, take in a dive-in movie, or simply kick back in a cabana or hammock and sip your umbrella drink. Then let the kids play at the supervised KONK Club while you enjoy a massage or a romantic dinner.

For a chance to win a beach escape at TradeWinds Island Grand Resort for your family, just fill out the form on the giveaway page. You can enter once a day through March 16, 2010. Good luck!

Need a rental car for Presidents' Day weekend—or any other weekend through May?  Enterprise Rent-A-Car is running a 50%-Off Special for weekend rentals through May 21. The deal applies to three- to five-day rentals and on cars ranging from economy to full size—though alas, no super-kid-friendly SUVs or minivans. The only real drawback we see is that the deal doesn’t apply to any airport locations.

When we checked in San Diego, the deal was available at most area locations, including tourist-friendly Old Town. And it's hard to argue with the savings. For the upcoming Presidents' Day weekend, a full-size car was going for a regular rate of $43 a day at one of San Diego’s downtown locations, but only $20 a day in Old Town, a short trolley ride away.

To book the deal, start on the specials page, punch in your city and dates, and look for the orange “special” button next to participating locations. The discount is good through May 21, and doesn’t apply to charges such as taxes or the damage waiver.

More good news: To get your attention, the hotel has put a very nice introductory offer on the table. Stay before April 30, and you can snag a nice 15% introductory discount plus a $50 daily resort credit that can be used toward any on-site activity, including dining, Camp Hyatt, and spa treatments.  When we test-booked a weekend stay in late February, the intro rate for a premium room with two queen beds came in at $305 a night, which is indeed 15% less than the regular rate of $359.  But the real sweetener here is that resort credit, which will cover the Hyatt’s $15-a-day resort fee and leave you with $35 to spend as you like. 

The Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau has put together a winter Whale Watching package that includes two nights of lodging at one of 20 participating hotels, tickets for a whale-watching cruise, plus admission to the Virginia Aquarium and tickets to a film at its IMAX theater. Prices start at $83 per person, but can go higher depending on which hotel you choose.  To find out if this package is a good deal for families, we crunched the numbers on a two-night March weekend stay for a family of two adults and two kids under 12 at the Courtyard by Marriott, one of the participating hotels.

The package includes:

• Two-night stay in a double room (worth $159/night x 2 nights = $318)
• Four tickets to two-hour whale-watching cruise (normally $28/adult x 2 + $24/child x 2  = $104)
• Four tickets to Virginia Aquarium (valued at $17/adult x 2 + $12/child x 2 = $58)
• Four tickets to IMAX film at the aquarium (worth $8.50/adult x 2 + $7.50/child x 2  = $32)

If you booked these elements on your own, you would pay $512 for a two-night stay at the Courtyard by Marriott in March.  The package price works out to $97 per person, so a family of four would pay $388. This translates to a savings of almost 25%. 

It's worth noting that there are plenty of variables with this offer and the savings is different for every property.  For example, at the Virginia Beach Hotel & Conference Center, the differential between the package and non-package prices works out to just 12%.  In addition, availability differs from hotel to hotel, so it pays to persevere to find a hotel with availability for your desired travel dates.  The promo indicates that breakfast is included at some properties, but that's the case only at hotels where a complimentary breakfast is always provided.

Deal or no deal? Grab your windbreakers and binoculars—it's a deal! Just keep in mind that the savings will vary depending on the property, so do the math and choose your hotel carefully.

The fine print: The promotion runs through March 12, with a minimum stay of two nights. The package must be booked and pre-paid at least three days before the stay, and there's a 72-hour cancellation policy. 

Kingsmill has just put a tempting Early Bird special on the table: Stay for a minimum of two nights before March 15 and you can save 30% off the resort’s best available rates. When we test-booked this offer on a two-night weekend stay in March for a family of two adults and two kids, we landed a nightly rate of $90 for a double room overlooking the resort.  That is, in fact, 30% less than the best available rate of $129 a night for the same room category and travel dates.

Since the discounts apply across all room categories, you save even more when you upgrade. For example, you could snag a two-bedroom suite for $181 a night, 30% less than the regular price of $259.

There are a limited number of rooms available for this deal, so you need book fast.  Call 800/832-5665 and mention promo code EB10. To book online, click the “Corp/Promo Rates” tab and enter the promo code.