Solo travelers are still probably better off in hostels $wise, but if you have to pay for more than two beds, there are a couple of other options that can work out cheaper.

The Etap hotels are a really good deal - they have bunk beds (double below, single above), private bath, a little desk/TV stand, and that's about all, usually for between 30 and 50 Euro/night. Sometimes there is a supplement for more than one person in the room, sometimes not. The ones we stayed in, in Vienna and Salzburg, were about 40 Euro/night, including the multiple person supplement. We have to pay for 6 beds at youth hostels, so two rooms works out to less than 15 Euro/pc, with the advantage of private bathrooms and, well, privacy! They're usually a little out of the way, but ours were very easy to get to by public transit. We didn't pay for the breakfast, cause it was cheesy, but never had a problem finding something to eat nearby.
www.etaphotel.com

We haven't stayed in the Formule1 hotels, which are basically the same rooms but with shared bathrooms in the hall, from what I can gather. These are even cheaper, (usually around 30/night, for up to three people/room) and I've no doubt we'll be checking some of them out this summer, too. www.hotelformule1.com

Both of these chains are totally no frills (there's not even a reception desk), but they were inexpensive and clean, what more do you need?

Another option: we sometimes rent apartments if we're planning on staying someplace for three or four days, which gives a lot more space and privacy and also gives us the option of cooking in, which saves $$$ too. And it's nice to have a little room to spread out at the end of the day. Longer stays usually net a discount, and the apartments are often centrally located. The one we stayed in in Budapest was across the street from the main train/metro/bus station.

:tumbleweed:

I have a coworker who swears by Hotel Formule 1. the only problem I see with them is they're never near the city center. For instance, around Paris, most of them are outside the Peripherique, which often isn't the nicest of areas...

We ended up just staying inexpensive hotels since it was cheaper for us as a couple.

Yeah, the Formule1s aren't terribly convenient (okay if you're travelling by car, which is our plan for this summer) but the Etaps are usually fairly close to public transit. Our experiences there have been that they are in industrial parks reasonably close to the city centres - in Vienna we had to walk about 5 minutes to a metro station, and then rode just a few minutes in to the centre, and only a stop or two from the Gaswerk entertainment complex. In Salzburg, it was just about a 10 minute bus ride from the centre, so nothing terribly strenuous. The other advantage for us was that it took us out of the tourist centre to the light industry/discount warehouse part of town, where we were able to pick up some necessary items for a lot cheaper than in the department stores downtown. And in Salzburg there was a Burger King with a kids play area where my husband took the kids to burn off some excess energy before the long train ride to Bratislava.

Jamie, it's interesting that even for a couple travelling together the hotels can work out cheaper. That's good for lots of tpunks to know, I think.

:tumbleweed:

Yea, I often find the same thing, and its much more comfort for your buck. Hotels are also worked wonders on more than a few tpunk meet-ups :blink: