Survey Ranks the Most Expensive U.S. Destinations to Stay this Summer

Last Update: July 8, 2013

Provincetown, located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, has just earned the distinction of being the most expensive American city in which to lodge this summer. A new survey from CheapHotels.org revealed this key finding after comparing the hotel rates of all U.S. destinations during the main summer travel period of July 1 to August 31.

The average price of each locale's cheapest available room determined the rankings. As a result, all of the rates expressed by the survey are indicative of the minimum amount vacationers will have to pay to lodge in a specific destination this summer. Hotels had be rated two stars or higher to be considered by the survey.

The following table shows the 20 most expensive destinations in the USA. The prices shown reflect the average rate for each city's cheapest available double room for the time period spanning July 1 through August 31, 2013.

1. Provincetown $217
2. Cape May $204
3. Martha's Vineyard $202
4. Santa Monica $199
5. Old Orchard Beach $192
6. Calistoga $186
7. Kennebunkport $184
8. Ogunquit $183
9. Poipu $176
10. Boston $175

11. Laguna Beach $174
12. Waikoloa $169
13. Newport $167
14. Cambridge $166
15. Princeville $164
16. Kill Devil Hills $163
17. Rockport $157
18. Bar Harbor $154
19. Ocean City $152
20. Wildwood Crest $146

About the Methodology

For every destination in the USA with a minimum of 20 regular hotels, the price for the cheapest available double room was established for the following time periods: July 5–7, July 9–11, July 19–21, July 23–25, August 2–4, August 6–8, August 16–18 and August 21–23. Based on this data, an average price was calculated for each destination, resulting in the aforementioned rankings. Only such hotels rated 2 stars or higher and with a TripAdvisor rating of at least average were included in the survey. Moreover, only such hotels located in or less than one mile from the city center/beach were considered for the respective destinations. All prices were established between June 17 and June 28 via the hotel comparison website Kayak