Holidays are hard to sell at the moment — and if you’re a hotelier launching a luxury resort this spring, that’s scary. One failsafe solution: introductory offers so knockdown amazing that they’ll tempt even the most cash-strapped traveller.

From the hottest new hideaways in Thailand to country-house cribs in the Cotswolds, hotels are slashing rates by as much as 60% to ensure that when they open, they’ll have some guests to fuss over. We’re talking five-star finery at three-star prices. Here is our pick of this year’s best big-launch bargains.

Unless stated, prices for all foreign hotels include flights from London. Ask the operator for regional departure options

Town Hall Hotel, London

Bethnal Green will get quite a bit cooler this May, when its imposing Edwardian town hall reopens as a supersexy design hotel. The marbled corridors and mile-high public galleries have been sensitively restored, and cutting-edge touches include a gym where you can take a “virtual run” around the world’s most lavish landscapes. The Town Hall opens on May 12 (020 7871 0460, townhallhotel.com), and a special room rate of £174 applies until September 7 — that’s a £116 saving.

Wyck Hill House, Cotswolds

Just outside Stow-on-the-Wold, Wyck Hill House is a stout Cotswold manor in the grand style, with honeyed gables, rolling lawns and an orangery. It opens on April 1, and you’d be a fool to miss the introductory half-price deal — rooms start at £85, B&B, rising to £165 after the first month (0870 423 3550, bespokehotels.com). Elsewhere in that parish, one of the area’s sexiest bolt holes, Barnsley House, near Cirencester, unveils a total revamp on March 22. It is offering a midweek room rate of £234, B&B, until April 30, a £41 saving (01285 740000, www.barnsleyhouse.com).

The Cornwall, Cornwall

Newly opened in Tregorrick, near the Eden Project and Mevagissey, the Cornwall is every bit as splendiferous as it sounds. Rooms have Victorian shuttered windows, four-poster beds and drench showers — there’s also a smart spa. The hotel is set on a sylvan hillside a mile back from the beach, and is wooing guests with opening rates from £129, B&B, until the end of June, a saving of £91 (01726 874050, thecornwall.com).

Martinhal Beach, Portugal

Set in Costa Vicentina Natural Park, a secluded corner of the Algarve, this five-star boutique hotel is all about barefoot luxury. It opens on April 12, with rooms designed by Conran & Partners. Until July 1, three nights, B&B, cost £195pp, a saving of £65 (00 351 282 620026, martinhal.com). Flights are not included; airlines serving nearby Faro include Flybe (0871 700 2000, flybe.com) and EasyJet (easyjet.com).

Bordubet, Turkey