For travelers, the silver lining in this weakened economy is the tidal wave of vacation deals we're seeing. Still, it's important to keep your giddiness in check and stick to common-sense travel strategies like our original 20 recession travel rules. Our latest lesson is about researching taxes and fees before you go. It's also the first time we've uncovered a deal that turned out to be too bad to be true. 

Atlantis, the megaresort on Paradise Island, the Bahamas, just announced a Winter SunScape promotion, which slashes prices on winter and early spring stays by as much as 35% below regular rates.  For stays between Sunday to Wednesday, the promo rate starts at $265 a night. For stays between Thursday to Saturday, the lowest rate bumps up to $319 a night. To take advantage of this offer, book a stay of two or more nights by December 31 and travel between January 4 and April 1, 2009.

When we priced out a three-night midweek stay for a family of four with two kids under 12, the least expensive option was a Terrace room in the Beach Tower, the most affordable of eight properties at the Atlantis resort. At a nightly rate of $265, our three-night total came to $795. Or so we thought until we glanced at the fine print, and this jumped off the screen:

"Add up to $144pp for mandatory taxes, mandatory housekeeping grats., & utility svc. fees."

Uh-oh. Up to $144 per person in taxes and fees?! We scuttled over to the Terms & Conditions page, clickable from the footer of the Atlantis web site, and scrolled down to the subhead "Additional Charges." And there it was:

"Atlantis guests are subject to $50 per night for each additional person, 12 years old and older; 6% guest room tax per person, per night; 3% Paradise Island Tourism and Development Association levy per person, per night; 3% Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board levy per person, per night and up to $24 per person per day mandatory housekeeping gratuity and utility service fee."

Holy moly—if that wording were accurate, we'd be looking at some crazy additional fees in the neighborhood of $670 for a three-night stay. This can't possibly be correct, we thought. And we were right. When we called Atlantis' reservation number (888/877-7525) and spoke to a reservations agent, we found out that the reality is far less nasty. Here's how the taxes and fees actually break down for our family of four for a three-night stay:

• 12% in taxes per room—not "per person" as stated on the web site ($31.80 x 3 nights = $95.40)
• For this level of accommodation, the housekeeping and resort fee is $19.50 per adult, per night—not "per person, per night" as stated on the site ($19.50 x 2 adults x 3 nights = $117)

So we're now talking about $70.80 per night in taxes and fees, which works out to $212.40 for the three-night stay.

The moral of the story: Always think of a promo rate as your base price until you verify taxes, resort fees, housekeeping fees, parking fees, and all the other charges hotels impose on top of their advertised rates. In this case, your true spend would be an additional 27% on top of the promo rate.