Winning tip: Style, perks and peaks, northern Italy
Rovereto is a town in the valley of Trentino, which has historically been the path between Italy and northern Europe. Casa del Pittore is on a cobbled lane above the old town and it’s always the cheapest place to stay. It may not look like much from the outside, but this B&B is run by an artist and her husband, so the inside is stylish and comfy. The three-star (feel like four-star) rooms have balconies with amazing views of the mountains (the Dolomites are nearby) and the breakfast is plentiful and fresh. Doubles are from €88 B&B but you make your money back on the Trentino Guest Card, which is free to guests at many hotels in the region. With this, visitors can explore the entire area for free on the train and gain free entry to all the museums and galleries, including the Trento Museum of Natural Sciences, natural history being a speciality of this valley.
• casadelpittore.it
eadred12
Terrific and Tyrolean, Austria
Baerhotel is a traditional, family-owned alpine hotel dating from the 12th century (don’t worry, there have been updates) with a warm welcome. Basic wooden-framed rooms are comfy, with spectacular balcony views across dramatic valleys shrouded in silence, save for distant cowbells. The hotel food was delicious – the mixed grill particularly. It’s a quiet village with a typical Tyrolean church itching to be photographed, but only seven miles from Innsbruck and less to the motorway. There is also a bus service to Innsbruck, which has the Nordkette cable car and other top touristy sites. For adrenaline junkies, the Olympic bobsleigh track is five minutes down the road. Local walks are spectacular. A double costs from €65 B&B in September.
• baerhotel.at
catchytitled
Ancient baths and great rooms, Almería, Spain
The Aire Hotel and Ancient Baths is perched in a picture-postcard position overlooking the Alcazabar in the pretty old town of Almería. Built in the early 19th century, it teems with history and character. It has a really warm rooftop pool where you can soak up the view, and gloriously relaxing ancient baths fed by thermal springs, including hot, cold and salt pools. Not impressed? You can also bathe in wine (an antioxidant, apparently) in an old marble Venetian well-head! Best of all, although it looks anything but budget, the hotel’s striking doubles cost from about €60 a night.
• airedealmeria.com
bowbank
Boutique Budapest
The Casati is an artsy boutique place with hidden charms characterised by the preserved well in the courtyard atrium. Of course, Hungary is unaffected by euro fluctuations. Behind Andrassy Avenue and less than five minutes’ walk to the Opera House, the hotel is ideally situated for sightseeing on both sides of the river. Two well-rated restaurants are only 10 minutes’ walk away. Our double cost about £80 B&B.
• casatibudapesthotel.com
stuartlhirst
No fungus on the walls in Barcelona
I booked a room in Guesthouse Barcelona Gotic, which was all I could find available and had some mixed ratings. In one review there was even a photo of a wall from which mushrooms grew – after booking, those mushrooms haunted my dreams. But I was speechless after getting in the room. It was very big, everything looked new and clean and we had a TV! We stayed there for a week and it was cleaned every day, we had fresh towels and our beds were made. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Another great thing about this guesthouse is that it’s right in the historical centre of the city, very close to two metro stations, grocery stores and only about 15 minutes from the beach.
• Doubles from about €80pn B&B, online deals available, on Facebook
Petra Holíková
Sun terrace, Florence
The Hostel Archi Rossi in Florence will put two people up for under £70 a night even in the high season, including a tasty breakfast with fresh croissants from the nearby baker and strong coffee, served in its leafy, shady courtyard. The family-run hotel has a good choice of simple, clean double, triple and family rooms plus super-welcoming staff. It’s right in the centre of Florence, so no need to spend money on transport, and just 250m from the station. Relax at the end of a day’s sightseeing on the rooftop sun terrace, where you can look over the medieval city and enjoy a jug of chianti brought up from the owner’s wine cellar.
• Doubles from €60 B&B, hostelarchirossi.com
TheCapeCruiser
Heaven and high water, Venice
A friend and I stayed at the small Ca’ Fontanea B&B during Carnevale in February. It turned out to be a great choice – we’d booked a double room, but got upgraded to a studio annexe on the top floor, which was really spacious, with a slanting roof and wooden beams that made it feel like a fancy treehouse. It also had a minibar with little bottles of prosecco for €1! The staff were friendly, even giving us plastic covers for our shoes when acqua alta (high tide flood) struck. The B&B is in a great spot on a quiet backstreet just a few minutes from the Cannaregio canal, and close to the Jewish quarter. We booked through booking.com and paid around £80 a night, but prices can be lower.
• Doubles from about €70 B&B, cafontanea.it/en
Laura Shanahan
History and comfort, Amsterdam
Budget travellers will know that finding good en suite rooms inside Amsterdam’s canal ring, with breakfast included, is no mean feat for less than £75 a night (winter rate). The recently renovated, contemporary City Hotel in a historic Dutch townhouse on Prins Hendrikkade, fits the bill exactly! It is 10 minutes’ walk from the main station and offers a generous continental breakfast. The bar is inexpensive compared with local prices, too. Beds are comfy and showers great, but the friendly, helpful staff are the best thing about the place. In the 17th century, the house belonged to Michiel de Ruyter, a famous Dutch admiral. I have returned several times.
• Doubles from about €90 B&B, cityhotelamsterdam.com
TrellBurton
Prince Charles’s retreat, Romania
Live like royalty (on a budget) Prince’s Retreat in Zalanpatak /Valea Zalanului or at Count Kálnoky’s Estate at Miklosvar /Micloșoara, which is said to be the oldest documented settlement of Szeklerland, dating back to 1211. The Transylvanian gem in Zalanpatak is jointly owned by our very own Prince Charles – who is said to have ancestral links to Vlad the Impaler, the 15th-century nobleman whose deeds inspired the vampire legend. The estates are, in fact, an ancient farm with an air of grandeur. Surrounding the villages are beautiful rolling fields and glorious mountains dotted with fortified churches and villages.
• Doubles from €118pp at both properties. At Count Kalnoky’s and at Zalanpatak (the Prince of Wales’s property), there is a €10 a night supplement for the Prince’s room and for the Prince’s & Butler’s room transylvaniancastle.com
leahlarwood
Lakeside views, Macedonia
Super-friendly Robinson Sunset House on the shores of Ohrid lake, Macedonia, is great value – doubles are from €25. Make sure you sample Michel’s home cooking: meals for €5 are shared with other guests around a large communal table. There are great views across the lake and guests can swim in the clear waters and borrow one of the hotel’s canoes for a gentle paddle.
• On Facebook, online deals available
Sue Bell
Pyrenees value
We discovered this little hotel while travelling through the Pyrenees a few summers ago. Hotel Bruxelles is well-positioned in the centre of Soldeu in Andorra. In the summer, there is hiking and mountain biking on offer and in winter, the ski lifts are 50 metres away. The views are stunning. Alpine-style rooms are an impressively good deal at £29 (summer) but prices increase in the skiing season. There’s a restaurant on site plus a terrace to lap up the Andorran sun.
• hotel-bruxelles.andorrahotels.net
clintongeyle
