Winter is when hotels get extra creative, boosting business with packages that contain a lot of amenities and, sometimes, a clever gimmick. Usually they last to the middle or end of March. Here are a few:
New York City's annual Paint the Town promotion offers savings on hotels, restaurants, museums, and shows through March 31. Packages start at $105 per person, include a night's hotel stay, tickets to a Broadway or Off-Broadway show, a restaurant dinner, discounted parking, and hundreds of ''do-it-yourself" discounts. There are one-, two-, or four-night travel packages, with hotels ranging from affordable to luxury.
For a Paint the Town guide, call 800-NYC-GUIDE or go to www.nycvisit.com.
Through March 31, the Providence Getaway Package features one or two nights' hotel accommodations, breakfast for two at the hotel, vouchers for four attractions of your choosing, a coupon book worth up to $300 in savings at the Providence Place Mall, a 15 percent discount at selected restaurants, and a Providence coffee mug, along with Rhode Island-made biscotti. Prices vary according to the hotel, the length of stay, and when the trip is taken, but can range from $140 to $518.
(The fine print: Rates are per room, excluding taxes and tips.)
Call 800-233-1636 or visit www.goprovidence.com, where participating hotels are listed.
Philadelphia wants you, too. With more than 70 hotels participating, a Philly Overnight deal starts at $149 and offers the second night of a hotel stay free, along with complimentary parking both nights. An Incredible One-Night Rate (minus the free parking) is available any night. The offers are good through March 28.
Visit wwww.gophila.com.
To mark the 100th birthday anniversary of Dr. Seuss (Theodore Seuss Geisel) next year, the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square, Cambridge, offers a whimsical winter weekend getaway.
The ''Get Loose With Seuss" package, available through March 31, features overnight accommodations for two in a newly renovated room; Green Eggs and Ham, Ten Apples Up on Top, or Scrambled Eggs Super breakfast for two in Henrietta's Table; a copy of ''Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book"; two tickets to the ''The Cat in the Hat" movie (or another movie if ''The Cat in the Hat" is no longer playing locally); a DVD of ''The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," starring Jim Carrey; and the Cat's classic stovepipe hat. Prices start at $269 per room per night, double occupancy.
(The fine print: Taxes and tips are not included. The package is offered seven days a week, based on availability. Reservations are required.)
Call 800-882-1818 or visit www.charleshotel.com.
The Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa in Lake Placid, N.Y., has a ''three for two" ski package through Feb. 10 and Feb. 22-March 16. For $625 per couple, guests get a three-night stay and two three-day lift tickets for Whiteface Mountain.
(The fine print: Taxes and gratuities are additional. No lift ticket refunds will be issued for cancellations; instead, credit will be issued by Whiteface for future use.)
Call 518-523-2544 or visit www.mirrorlakeinn.com.
Here's a neat gimmick: Guests who reserve a ''Frosty Fridays" package at Boston's Colonnade Hotel pay the temperature for their room on Friday night and a special rate of $239 for Saturday night. So, if the outside temperature is 19 degrees on Friday night, the guest pays $19 for the room. The package includes a double-occupancy room, a choice of either two tickets to the Old Town Trolley Tour or admission and skating rentals for two at The Boston Common Frog Pond Skating Rink, complimentary hot chocolate for two at the hotel's Brasserie Jo restaurant, and free overnight parking. The package is available until March 29.
(The fine print: Friday night's temperature will be based on the 5 p.m. reading by the National Weather Service. The offer is subject to availability.)
Call 800-962-3030 or visit www.colonnadehotel.com.
This one is for movie buffs. The Westin New York is opening the curtain on Movie Marathon Weekends, running Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights Jan. 9-March 31. Costing $239 a night, the package includes a night's accommodations and unlimited movie passes for two. Participants won't even have to put their coats on since the passes are for the 13-story Loews Cineplex, downstairs from the hotel's upper-story lobby.
Call 888-627-7149 or visit www.westinny.com. If booking, ask for the movie-rate plan.
Ski free
Park City, Utah, has launched a promotion called Quickstart. The program lets vacationers convert their airline boarding pass into a free same-day-of-arrival lift ticket to Park City Mountain Resort, the Canyons Resort, or Deer Valley Resort. Park City is 36 miles from Salt Lake International Airport.
Visit www.parkcityinfo.com/skiing/quickstart.
