While our Travel-Expert-in-Residence, Rudy Maxa, may be talking to us from overseas locales in Europe for the next three weeks, he still has found time to summon up deals right here in the good ol' U.S. of A. Apparently, there's no place like home.

A Web site called travelzoo.com, where more than 180 travel companies post sales and specials, features some incredible deals in popular destinations like Vegas, New York City and New Orleans.

How about a room for two nights for two at the Paramount Hotel, one of Ian Shrager's first designer hotels in midtown Manhattan, for $145 through the end of August? While you'll have to add 13% in taxes, it's still a bargain, and the price is good Sunday through Thursday. On the weekend, it will cost you a little more -- like $195 or $225, depending on demand. But you're going to find small rooms with Phillipe Starck-designed furnishings, which means the rooms are edgy, not cozy.

And, how about $49 a night at the Rio, the all-suite hotel just off the Strip in Vegas? Or, $59, through mid-August, for the Prince Conti French Quarter Hotel, just off Bourbon Street in New Orleans?

Other "give-away prices" on hotels in other desirable burgs are on travelzoo.com as well.

Savvy Resources: For general info. on hotels, and other deals from more than 180 travel suppliers, browse http://www.travelzoo.com New York City: For specific information on the offer by the Paramount Hotel in mid-town Manhattan (rates as low as $145 for two nights, Sunday through Thursday, until the end of August), call 800-225-7474. New Orleans: For details on the $59 per room, mid-week offer ($79 on weekends) by the Prince Conti French Quarter Hotel, click on www.princecontihotel.com. The lowest rates end in mid-August. Las Vegas: Rooms begin at $49 a night at the all-suite Rio Hotel & Casino, though prices can spike up on certain nights when there are large conventions in town. Click on http://www.harrahs.com/last_minute_deals/rio_deals.html to view available dates and rates through the end of September. Or, call 888-396-2483 and mention Deal Code RLMD2.