16.01.2012 / Food & Leisure
Cheap & chic
Just because you’re having a hard time reducing your expenses and consumption to make ends meet in spite of the crisis, that doesn’t mean that you must give up amusements completely.
It doesn’t necessarily take a fortune to treat yourself to a weekend city getaway – you just have to choose the right options. Why not sleep at a hostel, for instance?
Not any hostel, of course, but a veritable design hostel, with stylish commom areas, rooms with character, and great facilities at a good value.
No kidding, there are plenty of them all over Europe! Here’s a small selection.
Danhostel, Copengagen
Let’s begin with Europe’s largest hostel: it’s called Danhostel and it’s a big tower in central Copenhagen sleeping 1,020 guests in 192 rooms. The design style is essential, no-frills and nordic. Facilities include an open-air harbour pool, bike rental and a fitness and spa centre.
Shiado, Lisbon
A lovely hostel in the historic and super-central Chiado area, with red walls, cozy rooms with original touches and a breakfast room where you could easily spend the whole morning, if only the city was not so charming.
Oops, Paris
Wooden floors, Scandinavian furniture and… wallpaper. This hostel in the 13th arrondissement, at walking distance from the Quartier Latin, decidedly has a style of its own – contemporary with a retro touch. In other words, deeply Parisian. The view from the balconies is lovely.
Czech Inn, Prague
Modern and minimalist design inside a restored 19th-century building – that’s the mix that made Czech Inn one of Europe’s most famous hostels. Along with their comfortable beds and cool bathrooms. Plus, it is located at a stone’s throw from the centre, with great public transport options.
Ostel, Berlin
Seen from the outside it looks like a huge GDR-style building, and it actually is – straight from the pre-reunification era. Because that’s exactly what this amusing hostel aims at: nostalgically recreating a corner of former East Germany, from the furniture to the electrical appliances, from the tapestry to the wallpapers. Obviously located near Ostbanhof.
Photo: Czech Inn Hotel, Prague
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