Looking for hot deals for your summer vacation? Look no further than the desert, where the high temps bring low rates.  The Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain, which  opened in Tucson in late 2009, is luring families to its Sonoran locale with its new Family Escape package.  To be fair, Tucson is a slight exception to the summer desert rule: sitting at a higher altitude, it stays about 10 degrees cooler than places such as Phoenix.

And while that means 100-degree days are still pretty typical, the Ritz-Carlton does offer a lot of nice ways to play and stay cool: three swimming pools, a four-story water slide, a splash area for kids and the acclaimed Ritz Kids activity programs. The 209-room hotel also has miles of hiking and biking trails, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and after-dusk activities such as sunset trail rides and stargazing.  During the summer there are daily family and kids’ hikes, nightly s’mores, a Friday evening Cosmic Slide party, Saturday-evening dive-in movies and desert animal meet-and-greets.

The Family Escape package, which starts at $199 a night, includes:

• All three meals daily for two kids 12 and under, per room (worth $50/day x 2 kids=$100/day)
  
• $50 resort credit per night (or $100 resort credit per night at rates starting at $239 per night)

Deal or no deal?  Hello desert living. Even though the regular summer rate is  now just $179 a night, the Family Escape plan is a better deal even if your kids never eat a bite. You can easily use the $50 credit toward grown-ups’ meals, the spa or golf.  And to highlight how nice the seasonal break is: Come back in January and you’ll spend $289 a night.