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Anyone looking for good budget accommodation in Edinburgh need look no further than Castle Rock! When this Edinburgh hostel says it has a good location it isn’t joking… there are views of the castle from inside and it’s about a minute's walk away from the city centre which is perfect for exploring day or night.
In addition, it’s a funky and fun place – I especially enjoyed the random art covering the walls!
www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/scotland/edinburgh/3358/
15 Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh, Lothian, EH1 2PW
Travelodge now charge for parking but don't inform you. We had booked to stay near Stansted airport at Great Dunmow - no mention on the booking confirmation - and when we arrived late at night there were no signs and reception didn't mention it. Next morning we found a parking ticket for £20 slapped on the windscreen. Complaints to customer services just received the brush-off reply that the parking area is nothing to do with Travelodge and run by a separate company. This makes for an expensive stay. Beware!!
First cocktail bar in Frederiksberg. Just been open for a year but is already established as a pearl on the Copenhagen bar scene. Great food as well - the kitchen serves classic French and Italian food.
I had always wanted to visit Rome (all that wonderful history and art to see), but was on a budget and didn't think I could afford a decent hotel.
Some time spent scouring Google came up with Italy Accom - a Rome-based firm who rent out apartments, villas and farmhouses across Italy for holiday tourists.
The owners (Jill & Leon) are Australian/English and they were wonderful with the help they provided me and my partner in finding a lovely place to stay for our two weeks in Roma!
We got a lovely studio apartment located on Via Vittoria. This is one of Rome's best streets, with lots of lovely cafes, bars and shops nearby.
The equivalent in a hotel room in this area was at least 60 Euros a night more expensive, plus we got privacy AND space to stretch out.
Being able to cook your own meal with fabulous fresh ingredients from the local market was a delight! It tastes a whole lot better than the "stuff" from Italian restaurants back home.
Thanks Jill and Leon for your help. We had a wonderful time in Rome, in no small part due to your great service (and the lovely studio Vittoria we stayed in).
Rome is the experience of a lifetime! But, we'll be back - one visit is just not enough.
We took a chance on all aspects of our Peak District 'adventure' tour in May: weather, accommodations, sites and proximities, near constant driving on the 'wrong' side of unfamiliar roads, not knowing any other North Americans who'd travelled there. But our primary purpose - to experience the contrasting landscapes and see-for-miles views was stupendously satisfied! Quite by accident we stumbled upon a listing for Bretton Cottage on the web, and booked it, as it was 'central' to all the areas we wanted to tour and visit. Little did we know that it was an extraordinary establishment, a 15th century listed but renovated farmhouse, in a hamlet of only three buildings, situated on an edge with endless views in three directions.
Creative local cuisine available on an expansive breakfast menu, and the faultless Barrel Inn cuisine 10 yards from the gate for dinner. We had one of two spacious suites with private entrances, ours with twin beds, a sitting area, kitchenette, fully modernised bath, and the softest of sheets and bathrobes. (The other suite is a king bed.) We simply made ourselves at home for more than a week! The cost was very reasonable at 80 quid, the privacy complete, and the gracious and welcoming hosts a joy! (Breakfasts stretched to two-hour affairs as conversation and shared laughter grew day by day.)
We both returned to the US certain that much of the success of the trip was due to the unexpected luck in finding such a fine 'base' for our travels. The proprietors also operate self-catering cottages throughout the district.
Bretton, Eyam, Nr Foolow
Hope Valley, Derbyshire
S32 5QD
Tel: 01433 631076 / 07900 192838
CitizenM offers affordable luxury hotels near or in European metropolitan locations. The hotel has a lobby with a check-in kiosk and offers “canteenM”, a bar/lounge for light food and drinks. The rooms are 13x10 and integrate cutting-edge technology represented by LED lights, black out remote curtain, and a Phillips mood pad and flat screen TV. The hotel is modular in that each room is built in a warehouse and is brought in by truck and dropped into the building infrastructure.
Centric Point has got to have the poshest address of, not just any hostel in Barcelona, but any hostel in the world! Slap-bang on the Paseo de Gracia alongside all the flash shops, but still a stone's throw from the Ramblas, it's amazing.
Inside things are no less grand, either. A beautiful spiral staircase leads up to a large and very lively bar, nice, clean rooms and a good time for all.
Passeig de Gracia 33,
Barcelona
www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/spain/barcelona/8144/
Very reasonably priced hotel in an excellent location – Earls Court Arena and Earls Court tube station are just one minute's walk away, and there are also lots of bars and restaurants close by. Breakfast was surprisingly good given the low cost of the room and included cereal, lots of toast, fruit, sausages, and bacon and eggs, as well as juices, milk, and coffee. The staff were also very polite, and the front desk was manned 24 hours a day.
11 Trebovir Road, London, SW5 9LS
www.hotels-london-hotel.com/brochure-pages/rushmore-hotel-110310.html
The apartment in Quito was fantastic. Everything was clean and lovely and the location was perfect. I really had such a beautiful stay in the apartment and the comfort and convenience of it made it all possible.
The centre of the city is not large, so it makes this place easy to visit in a day.
You can choose to visit Florence by bike, following the cycle tracks that reach the most famous historic sites.
What to see:
- Piazza della Signoria
- Piazzale Michelangelo
- Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square)
- The Bargello Museum
- Ponte Vecchio: To one side of the bridge there is the majestic bust of the most famous Florentine goldsmith, Benvenuto Cellini.
Scenic views:
- Bike along the romantic Viale dei Colli up to Piazzale Michelangelo to see the wonderful landscape of Florence
- Panoramic view of the Boboli Gardens
Bike rental estimated prices:
1 hour - about 3 Euro
1 day - from a minimum of 14 Euro to a maximum of 27 Euro
Strange name... nice restaurant. The Wet Fish is a small intimate place that serves excellent mezze, tapas, great Turkish food and other Mediterranean fare. Seafood is a speciality. The range of Turkish dips and bread is rather nice. Also nice too are the prices, this is a cheap eating experience. The service is excellent.
Shop 12
427 Hampton St
Hampton 3188
(in Hampton Village)
ph 9533 1666
free parking out front
Google map: tinyurl.com/qy5zl8
When this hostel advertised how close to sandy South Beach they were, I must admit I was sceptical – but when I arrived I was soon corrected!
A mere block from the fun and sun of the beach resort, they are also ideally situated for the shops, restaurants and nightlife in the Art Deco district which attracts travelers from all over the world.
Dorm beds are surprisingly cheap considering all rooms have their own bathroom and staff are friendly and helpful.
There’s also a lot going on here…tours in the day, events at night and other travelers chilling out in the bar. So much so that you could enjoy Miami without even leaving the hostel.
www.jazzhostels.com
321 Collins Ave Miami Beach, FL 33139
+1 (305) 672-2137
Google map: bit.ly/17qjFvF
www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/usa/miami/19690/
A great, cheap place to stay right in the centre of Toronto. This budget hostel has a fantastic community feel and is a fun, lively place to meet other travelers. As a girl visiting Canada on my own, I felt right at home here – especially on Saturday nights where the free barbecue attracts a large proportion of the guests for a beer and a burger!
It’s located in Kensington market, about five minutes from the entertainment and shopping districts – and there’s no curfew so you can stay out exploring as late as you please.
This is a friendly place but its real selling point is the combination of the low price of a bed of the night set against their great facilities…
175 Augusta Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5T 2L4, Canada
www.theplanettraveler.com
Usagui is a very reasonably-priced authentic Japanese restaurant. Much the best in the city, as evidenced by the numbers of Japanese that throng there on the weekends. It does not do Mexican/Japanese food, like some of the cheaper neighbourhood 'puestos' do, but the real deal. Closed Mondays.
The British owner/chef at Brasserie serves delicious, reasonably-priced Mediterranean food in an atmospheric old house with a beautiful terrace. A leisurely mojito recommended while you soak up the ambience. Open only Weds/Thurs/Fri for lunch & dinner.
Usagui: Manuel Acuña, 1&1/2 blocks from Avenida Americas, Colonia Sta. Teresita. Look for the big yellow rabbit on the right.
Brasserie: Priscilliano Sanchez #1171, immediately on the right hand side of the road triangle. Zona: Chapultepec/Centro.
A haven of a bar near the Rialto in Venice! Happy hour between 5 and 7.30pm makes the delicious cocktails very affordable.
This was actually recommended to me by another traveler and the fact that I'm passing on the tip says it all!
There may be tourists here but they are mostly backpackers and young people, giving the bar a fun international flavor.
The owners are super-friendly too and seem genuinely interested in their visitors, particularly those from elsewhere in Europe so be prepared to engage in some lively conversation!
San Marco 5546, Venice
www.bacarojazz.com/
Popping into this cheap little Venice restaurant near the train station on the way home bought an unusual surprise.
I've been told since that it's a chain but it's not like places in England. The dishes are simple but tasty and my pasta was cooked fresh to order while I watched.
The salad was also good quality and (another surprise!) we had a reasonably priced beer to accompany it too.
Lista di Spagna, Canneregio 124
I don't know what to say about this Venice hostel except that it's everything a good, cheap hostel should be.
The location is unbeatable, a five-minute stroll to Piazza San Marco and even closer to the Rialto Bridge. You really get the feeling that you're staying right in the heart of the city and on a typical Venetian street.
It's very reasonable for a private room – and a room that's nice and sunny, too!
They said they do special last minute deals that work out even cheaper, but, it's such a great place I can't imagine they've spare rooms all that often.
San Marco 3358, Salizada San Samuele, Venice, 30124
www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/italy/venice/25275/
Ostello Gallo D'Oro is a central, pleasant and extremely clean hostel in Florence, owned by the most remarkable couple: Massimo and Silvia.
They drive every aspect of this lovely Florence hostel, and are constantly on hand to make sure that their guests (and you really do feel like a guest rather than a customer!) have everything they could possibly need.
I didn't stay long enough to take advantage of the offer, but long-term guests are invited out to their Tuscan farmhouse for the night.
It was a real wrench to tear myself away.
No. 104 Via Cavour, Florence
www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/italy/florence/3711/
This is the MOST gorgeous little cluster of villas - my friends and family and I visit it every single summer. It's set in a quaint little Portuguese village, surrounded by orange groves and the owners, Beccy and Ron, are so welcoming. It's only 10 minutes from Faro airport and it has a pool and loads of character. I love the neighbour, Florentina - we always manage to communicate even when I cant speak a word of Portuguese!
Pizzas are a speciality but the menu is great. Rossopomodoro is a chain (Maybe think Pizza Express?) around Italy. This one is in Largo di Torre Argentina, west of Piazza Venezia and three blocks south of the Pantheon. Go upstairs after entering the Tardis-like front door to a large, frantically busy local gem.
Google Map: tinyurl.com/6lwk38
Largo di Torre Argentina
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