A recent article in the New York Times by Frugal Traveler columnist Daisann McLane points out the up side of staying in cheap hotels. You can read it at:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?N3CB624B2

I admit to being one of those Ziners who likes the challenge of finding a great value in my accommodations. But I won't turn my back on an opportunity to stay at the Fairmont or Ritz if given the right circumstances. As Ms. McLane points out in her article the cheap way is not always the most comfortable which we can attest to after staying in the cramped Socialist-era worker's dormitory of the Hotel Tivoli in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The real treat in these inexpensive hotels, pensions, and guest houses are the people you meet. Sara and I will never forget the young German man who always stays at the Abel Jeno pension for his regular trips to Budapest for medical treatments. Nor will we forget the eccentric family running the Hostelling International youth hostel in Puerto Madryn, Argentina with their own natural history museum on the premises and their tame lapwing birds walking in the yard uttering their strange calls. We also were invigorated by the energy and enthusiasm of the Argentine school students who shared the Hostería Los Helechos in Puerto Iguazú. The list could go on and on.

Who else among you would care to share your experience, positive or negative, of staying in a cheap hotel?

John in San Diego