Last update: November 21, 2012

A new survey has revealed the Ranch at Rock Creek to be the nation’s most expensive hotel. This luxury dude ranch, located close to the historic mining town of Philipsburg, Montana, easily snagged the number one spot. In coming up with the list, Luxury-Hotels.com focused solely on U.S. luxury hotels during the June through September 2012 time period.

A stay at the Ranch at Rock Creek set travelers back an average of $2279 nightly this past extended summer season. And that figure represents the cost of the most affordable double room. In a distant second place was the Lake Placid area Point Resort. An average price tag of $1848 per night made this Adirondack Park hideaway the country’s number two most expensive accommodation. Rounding out the top three was Bush Creek Ranch. This luxury establishment situated in South Central Wyoming's North Platte River Valley averaged an overnight rate of $1770.

Montana proved to have the greatest number of pricey hotels overall with two more establishments snagging spots in the Top 10 list. The Firehole Ranch in West Yellowstone and the Resort at Paws Up, in the Blackfoot Valley came in at number six and number 10 respectively, with average rates of $1414 and $1021 for a standard double room.

Following are the 20 most expensive hotels in the USA for the period spanning June through September 2012. The rates listed reflect the average price for a standard double room.

Please note:
Rates at hotels #2, #4, #10 include all meals.
Rates at hotels #1, #3, #5, #6 and #12 include all meals and certain activities.
Rate at hotel #7 includes certain activities.
Rates at hotels #8, #9, #11, #13-20 are for lodging only.

About the Methodology:
For all luxury hotels in the USA, the average rate for the most affordable double room was calculated for the period spanning June to September 2012. Only such hotels offering a minimum of 10 rooms were considered. The rates were established about one to two months in advance and were either taken from the respective hotels’ websites or drawn from the leading hotel-booking sites. In all cases, the lowest available price was used in tabulating the results.

Press Contact: Barbara Adams, press@luxury-hotels.com, 1-805-308-9660