No Mints on Your Pillow
Some Thoughts on Europe's Budget Lodgings
Dateline: 5/21/00
If you're the sort of person who insists on "turn down" service and those little pillow mints, you probably should stop reading right here. You don't need me anyway. You'll have no trouble finding hosts around the world who will provide these services and others at extravagant prices.
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Europe's Budget Hotels |
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Budget Hotels are not Hostels. You have a private room, and these days, private toilet and/or shower facilities in many places. Expect prices to vary. Copenhagen and London might charge twice as much for a budget room as an innkeeper in small-town Germany. General rule: expect to pay $30-$90 USD/night. A few will be above or below this range. No frills. There will be no concierge, probably no elevator, and likely a number of staircases. Most will serve a buffet breakfast. Fewer Stars. In many countries, budget hotels will have 1-3 Stars on the 5-star rating system. More stars=more money. |
But if you're interested in clean, safe but reasonably-priced hotel rooms in Europe this summer, you're home. Falling currencies and our advice will have you enjoying bargain rooms and a few other fringe benefits.
A Tale of Two Hotels
The Maritim Pro Arte provides some of Berlin's finest lodgings. As the name implies, the lobby and hallways are filled with beautiful, even avant-garde art objects. The staff is multi-lingual and attentive. The rooms are spacious and comfortable.
You'll meet Yanks and Brits in the lobby at the piano bar. You can shop for $150 ties in the trendy stores of nearby Friedrichstrasse.
Across town is the Arco Hotel. You'd miss its unpretentious entrance if you weren't looking carefully. It has no Internet presence. Arco sits in a quiet residential neighborhood, but only a five-minute-walk from Germany's largest department store.
The rooms are small but clean. The staff is friendly, but speaks mostly German. The patrons are from Eastern Europe or other cities in Germany. There's no piano bar, just a small room where the staff serves breakfast each morning.
I stayed in both of these places during a 10-day visit to Berlin. Each provides a pleasant, friendly lodging experience.
But Arco forced me to employ my broken German language skills, an experience far more enjoyable (and perhaps comical) than it seems on paper. Arco made me feel as if I resided in Berlin. The people I met there painted a tapestry of life in one of the world's most interesting cities -- at least when we could understand one another.
Get Closer to Everyday Life
Rick Steeves and Arthur Frommer have been saying it for years: Budget travel brings you closer to the people and places you visit.
You won't be surprised to learn that the cost of one night at the Maritim Pro Arte will buy several at Arco Hotel. The savings can pay for admission to some of Berlin's 180 museums, finance a day touring castles in Potsdam, or some delicious meals in the little restaurants of the Nikolaiviertel.
I credit one of Frommer's volumes for helping me find Arco Hotel. Any of the other guidebooks could direct you to good places, too. There are literally hundreds of them in cities like London, Paris, Rome or Berlin. Some will take your fax reservation.
Others can be recommended for a small fee at information centers in train stations or airport terminals. Look for the lowercase , blue-and-white "i" sign.
Here are a few basics of choosing budget lodgings abroad:
"Budget" is not a synonym for dirty or dangerous.
As in business, "time is money" in the vacation world, too. Don't waste time commuting every day to the attractions on your itinerary. It's worth paying a little more to be near those places.
If you're staying for a week, management won't have to worry about an empty room for seven nights. That's worth something. Ask about a discount before you agree to a rate.
Even budget haunts have larger suites that come at higher prices. If you ask for an available room, often you'll be shown the most expensive first. Find out how to ask the question "is this the least expensive room available?" in the destination language.
Guidebooks are an outstanding resource, but they're updated perhaps once a year. Make them a starting point. After you collect names and addresses, check out those selected lodgings on travel message boards and forums. The results can be interesting.
Leave Your Countrymen at Home
The cardinal sin of travel is to insist that your destination resemble home. Realize that budget lodging in Europe probably means small rooms. It might even require a trip down the hall to the facilities.
It also means fewer chance meetings with people from back home. You'll run into them on the subway, but why stay in the same hotel with them? And why should they have to see you when they came to visit Europe and her people?
Choose a place where Europeans are likely to stay, and you'll find more than just a good deal. You could save enough to purchase a year's worth of pillow mints, too. Just plan on placing them yourself.
Helpful Links
Bed and Breakfasts in Europe 
A nice selection of offerings from About.com B&B Guide Elizabeth Arneson.
Go Europe Travel Planner
Not everything here is budget, but there are plenty of areas to start looking, from Go Europe Guide Durant Imboden.
Guidebooks
Start with our links to guidebooks. Any of these will help you search for budget hotels.
Hostels
If you want to supplement your budget with some hostel stays, we've got links to help you start the research.
We'd love to hear about the great budget hotels you've found in Europe, or anywhere else. Post your experience in the forum section, or email me: budgettravel.guide@about.com
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