Palm Springs hotel? 7 Springs to mind

Given that Palm Springs motels are virtually redundant given the low rates offered their hotels & resorts, I wasn't really surprised to see the 7 Springs Inn & Suites offering rates as low as $58. In fact, the 7 Springs is actually a 1960s motel which has been renovated and upgraded into a decent modern hotel.

The 7 Springs offers rooms, suites and 2 bedroom town homes. With the San Jacinto Mountains in the backdrop and the hotel's two courtyards in the foreground, and with their pool, spa tubs, sauna and BBQ grills waiting for you, the 7 Springs is ideally suited (and situated) to help you enjoy all the pleasures and wonders of Palm Springs vacations.

The $58 air-conditioned room offers a queen bed with 500 thread count sheets, down comforter (bedspread), feather pillows, and pillowtop mattress. You get complimentary high-speed internet access, DVD/CD player, television, microwave, refrigerator, marble bathroom with pedestal sink, and shower/tub combination. There's also an in-room safe.

The hotel is pet-friendly, with a $20 charge per pet per day. The pool is 30x12, one of the two spa tubs can accomodate 6 people and the other one 12. The BBQ facilities comprise of charcoal grills and umbreall tables set for picnics.

The 7 Springs is within 1 mile of the Spa Casino and other downtown Palm Springs attractions. Additional facilities and amenities include free parking, concierge and business services, and dry cleaning. The hotel's lobby offers free coffee and complimentary wireless internet, so it's a good place to set up base with your laptop, if you're in need of extended internet usage.

Info: 950 N. Indian Canyon Drive Palm Springs CA 92262; (760) 320-9110

Re-LAX at the Travelodge Airport Hotel in Los Angeles

You can spend the entire time you're in Los Angeles hunting for cheap Los Angeles motels offering rooms at $64.95 per night, which are somewhere in the vicinity of LAX (that's Los Angeles International Airport), with a 24 hr airport shuttle, heated pool, free breakfast, in-room brewed coffee, free incoming faxes, access to a gym, morning newspaper, a 24 hr restaurnat and lounge (Denny's), rooms designed for kids, weekly discount rates, package deals for 'park & fly', pet friendly, and so on and so forth.

Think you can find accomodations in Los Angeles for $65 which offers all this? Only place you're going to it is at Travelodge Hotel at LAX. It's minutes from LAX, and close to southern California beaches and within driving distance of all the major Los Angeles attractions including Beverly Hills, Disneyland, Hermosa Beach, Hollywood, Magic Mountain, Santa Monica, UCLA, Universal Studios and Venice Beach.

The free breakfast offering includes fresh fruit, sweet rolls, bagels, cream cheese, muffins, breads, cereals, hard boiled eggs, milk, juices, coffee & tea.

Amenities, in addition to those listed above, include meeting rooms, a gift shop, guest laundry and same day valet service. Additional in-room amenities include cable TV with HBO, ESPN, CNN and otehr channels, pay per view movies, nintendo player, hair dryer, and iron & board.

They'll also help you out with plans for your Los Angeles vacations, including car rentals and a sight-seeing tour bus which leaves from right outside the hotel. Oh, and they have half-day discount rates. Like I said, the Travelodge LAX is the best thing since sliced bread was invented. Well, maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but...

Info: 5547 W. Century Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90045; (310) 649-4000; www.travelodgelax.com/

Enjoy Luxury & Comfort inn Central Park West

New York's Upper West Side holds some of the best tourist attractions in New York, including including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Central Park, American Museum of Natural History, the Broadway Theater district, world-class shopping on Fifth Avenue and Radio City Music Hall entertainment venue.

And the Comfort Inn Central Park West is located in the heart of this vibrant nook in the Big Apple. It's also convinient if you want to go further afield, in terms of access to the subway and buses. And it's going to be way better than any New York hotels you'll find for the same price, if at all.

Amenities offered include free deluxe continental breakfast, free high-speed internet, free weekday newspaper, coffee maker and free coffee, an exercise room and concierge desk. You also get copy & fax services, guest laundry, refrigirator, cable/satellite TV, in-room safe, hair dryer, and iron & board. Rates from $289.99.

Info: 31 West 71st St. New York NY 10023; (212) 721-4770; website

Finding Liberty inn Atlantic City

I just read an article which says that people outside Vegas find it hard to believe that Vegas residents are not interested in the incredible pleasures that Sin City offers - The implication being that the casinos and hotels in Las Vegas are enjoyed only by visitors. The situation in Atlantic City is somewhat similar.

Only people who stay in Atlantic City are those who hit the jackpot, or those who are stinking rich. For the commoners, the affordable facilities of Atlantic City motels would be less a vacation than like some punishment.

But there's a way to get around this. You can have fun in the casinos, check out the attractions and the boardwalk and the rest of the routine, and then enjoy a nice drive out alongside the New Jersey beaches. There's plenty of cheap and decent lodging within a 10 mile radius of AC. Take for example, the Liberty Inn at Galloway Township, near Absecon, 5 miles from Atlantic City.

Liberty Inn offers Jacuzzi Suites with DVD players and DVD movies along with Playstation, HBO, cable, high speed internet with computer rentals, unlimited local and long distance phone calls, personal Microwave/fridge, hair dryers, and iron & ironing board.

Services and amenities include free parking, guest laundry, free Ice, tea & coffee with newspapers. They also have vending machines for cigarettes, soda, chips & fast food.

Best part is that you get all this for rates starting from $39. In short, you have everything you need to wrap up Atlantic City vacations on the cheap, without suffering the indiginities that AC heaps on those whose pockets are empty.

Info: 252 E. White Horse PikeRoute 30 - GSP Exit 40 Galloway NJ 08205; (609) 748-8700; www.atlanticcitylibertyinn.com/

River Park Motel suites budget Chicago travelers

Most visitors give this part of Chicago a wide berth, but if you're willing to accept a 15 minute drive down Lake Shore to Michigan Ave and all the world famous attractions of Chicago downtown, then the River Park Motel on Lincoln Ave in Chicago's Northside is pretty much a good deal.

There are no other Chicago motels which will offer you, for $60, an airconditioned guest room with a king bed, cable television, shower and bath, and free wifi internet. It's not exactly cutting edge state-of-the-art luxury, but if you're looking to 'do' Chicago on a budget, then you'll find the River Park Motel suites you just fine.

Rooms are clean and relatively spacious, but not much in the form of decor. Plain wite walls, with a faded poster on the cream wall behind and above the bed. Dinky wooden shelf with some drawers and the television set on top. Lampshade on top of the TV, and a mirror on the wall next to it. Bathroom with a basin and a curtained shower is garishly lit in bright yellow light, but again - the facilities are quite adequate, if not pleasing to the eye.

The bed is just about the biggest thing you'll see in a motel, and nearly stretches out from wall to wall. You could easily accomodate an entire girl scout camp on that bed. You can get a 5% discount if you use a coupon which you can print off their website.

Info: 6060 North Lincoln Avenue Chicago IL 60659; (773) 539-4800; www.riverparkmotel.com/

North by Northgate to the El Cajon Motel San Diego

Tired of getting ripped off by the expensive beach-front San Diego motels and hotels? Head north to the El Cajon Motel, located on Interstate 8 by Northgate in El Cajon.

It's a good 15 miles to the San Diego Zoo, 19 miles to Sea World San Diego. But the drive down to the attractions in San Diego is more than made up for by the El Cajon Motel, in terms of amenities and price. Complimentary amenities include a continental breakfast, guest parking, daily newspapers, and local calls.

Hotel amenities include wireless internet, safe deposit box at the 24-hour front desk, and a business center with fax and photocopy services. Public areas are air conditioned.

In-room amenities include direct access from exterior to each of the motel's 18 air conditioned rooms, blackout drapes/curtains, cable/satellite TV, climate control, coffee/tea maker, cribs available at desk, direct-dial phone, electronic/magnetic keys, extra towels and bedding, fax machine and free local calls, hair dryer (on request), in-room safe, complimentary internet access, and wireless internet, iron/ironing board (on request), private bathroom and shower/tub combination, refrigerator and rollaway beds.

Best part is, you get to use all this for $50 (plus tax) per night. Go to San Diego downtown, and you'll end up paying anywhere between $100 to $300, depending on your preferences and needs. Saving at last 100% per night on lodging, and possibly more, allows you to spend that much more on enjoying your vacations in San Diego.

Info: 461 N Magnolia Ave El Cajon CA 92020; (619) 579-6110; www.northgatesd.com/