We take lots of photos while visiting hotels in Europe.  While most of them look fine and accurately capture each hotel, every now and then we notice something unexpected in the corner of the frame.  Something lurking in the shadows.  Something creepy.

That’s right Cheapos:  sometimes we take pictures of budget hotel ghosts!

Think we’re kidding?  Just have a look at the photos below and see if you notice anything peculiar… mwaaahaaahaaa!

#1.  Creepy toilet

This bathroom shot was taken on a sunny day, in a room filled with natural light. So why does this toilet give us the creeps? Because it’s haunted!

#2. Floating leg in shower!

Looks like a typical bathroom scene in a trendy London hotel, right? Everything looks up to snuff, until you notice the floating GHOST LEG in the shower!

3. Haunted London bedroom!

This was nearly a “hotel crush,” until we developed this shot and noticed the menacing ghost orb floating above the bed—and the greenish pillow stains of guests long gone… (Editor’s note:  This hotel did not make our final cut…)

 4. Phantom in Brussels!

This photo was taken by Meredith while making her rounds in Brussels last spring. So who’s that man in the corner? A G-H-O-S-T!

5. Ghost orb in Dublin bathtub!

Another orb appears… this time in a Dublin bathtub. We shouldn’t have been surprised. ORBS TAKE BATHS!

6. Pioneer man in Paris pension!

We swear, we were alone in the room when snapping this shot in the Latin Quarter. Who gave him a key? GHOSTS DON’T NEED KEYS!

7. Maverick looking out the window!

Imagine our shock when we studied this shot of an un-named London youth hostel (located “steps from the British Museum”). How did she get there? No wait, she’s just a figment of our imagination, VANISHING BEFORE OUR EYES!

SEND US YOUR CREEPY SHOTS!

Have any spooks shown up unexpectedly in your photos? Email them, we’ll post ‘em! Happy Halloween, Cheapos!

Popularity: 7% [?]

Cheapo newsflash! We’ve just launched a brand spankin’ new city guide and budget hotel primer for Brussels, Belgium! Turns out, you can sleep cheap in the land of waffles, beer, and all those bandes dessinées.

Our guide includes articles on transportation in and around Brussels, reviews of 27 centrally-located hotels, and more. Stay tuned as we’ll be adding more stuff soon. In the meantime, we hope you’ll enjoy getting to know the city of diplomats, bankers, cartoons, chocolate, and a little guy Belgians like to call Manneken Pis.   

As usual, let us know what you think!   

Popularity: 13% [?]

The Florence tourism office this month launched a Cheapo-friendly initiative to give Americans visiting Florence a 10% discount on hotels, restaurants, and museums in the city. The program, named the “Fiorino Effect” after the Florentine coin once used throughout Europe, is an attempt by the city to attract the attention — and business — of American tourists spooked by the weakened dollar abroad.

Launched on May 15 and continuing through December 31, 2008, the initiative offers:

10% discounts on stays in participating hotels, B&Bs, and apartment rentals. Hundreds of properties throughout the city are participating in the promotion. The tourism office has posted this complete list of hotels on their website.

10% discount on meals in participating restaurants. Click here for a complete list of restaurants, including links to their websites. 

Discounted or free admission to museums, including the Palazzo Strozzi (20% discount), Villa Bardini, Palazzo Medici (free admission), and other sights.

How to take advantage of this discount: 

1) When booking your hotel, you should notify the hotel that you are American and will be participating in the program.

2) Download the voucher from the tourism board’s website, and have the hotel validate it upon arrival in order to take advantage of discounts at restaurants and museums.

If you have already booked your hotel for Florence, download the voucher anyhow and get it validated at the main tourism office on Via Cavour (near the Duomo). You’ll still be able to get discounts at restaurants and museums, and may be able to score a discount on the hotel (if they’re nice).

More information on the program is available on the Florence tourist office’s website.

For a list of our favorite budget-friendly hotels in Florence, check out EuroCheapo Florence.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Some items of note that flashed across our screen this week…

Cheap eats in Roma

It turns out we’re not the only ones blogging this week about cheap eats in Rome (read our post). Budget Travel’s blog is talking up cheap lunches in the Eternal City. Erica Firpo writes from Rome that we should say “Basta! to pasta” and reach for something a little less filling for lunch. She recommends picking up some triangular tramezzino. We’ll take two.

From Stansted for £4?

Checking in with “Less Than a Shoestring,” poetloverrebelspy has landed in London and is full of Cheapo-advice. First off, book that coach trip from Stansted into the city early, and use either easyBus or Terravision. On easyBus it’s possible to snag a seat (booked in advance) for as low as £4.25 each way!

Furthermore, we’re reminded that the Tate Modern and Tate Britain are not only free, but they offer free guided tours. Join in!

Dinner in London for £5

Meanwhile, Olivia from “High Culture on a Low Budget” is thinking London budgets, too. In this week’s installment of “Ask a Local“, she asks Mike from London where he would find dinner for £5 and £10. (Hint: The Best Turkish Kebab or an Amy Winehouse haunt.) Nice job with this series, Olivia!

Athens in 36 hours

Sunday preview: The New York Times takes us along for “36 hours in Athens.” We’re impressed by how much Joanna Kakissis can fit into a day and a half, including museum hopping, brunch taking, ruin walking, sunset strolling, restaurant sampling, bar hopping… But we have some better ideas for affordable hotels in Athens.

And, regarding our “Name that celebrity” quiz on Wednesday: We still can’t figure out who she is. Stay tuned for the answer and our winner.

Happy Friday, Cheapos! Should we all just head to Athens for the weekend?

Popularity: 18% [?]

Hotel Dali
Via Dell Oriuolo, 17 (near the Duomo)

The Hotel Dali has been one of our favorite hotels in Florence since we created our Florence hotel guide in 2001. For the first in our “Checking In” series, we’re posing some questions to the owners of the Dali, Marco, 42 and his wife Samanta, 38 (pictured above).

EC: How many years have you owned and run the Hotel Dali?

HD: 10 years.

EC: What advice do you have for those traveling on a budget in Florence?

HD: Good question! In Florence, things are typically only free during culture week. This occurs during a different week each year and all the public museums are all free for seven days. During the summer time, there are some free tours of private gardens and the like. We recommend checking with the “associazione amici dei musei” office, located inside the Prato Museum.

EC: Where can I buy a great bottle of wine without spending too much money?

HD: If you want a good wine, but not a rare bottle, the supermarkets have a wide range of wines for lower prices. If you are looking for something really special (get ready to spend from €30 and up), spend a day in the countryside and visit the farms.

We recommend Castello di Brolio, Castello di Volpaia, Castello da Verrazzano, Capezzana, and Villa di Artimino. It’s a beautiful day trip and you can buy their wares at the end of it.

EC: Where can I eat a cheap, but wonderful meal in Florence?

HD: We suggest “Zio Gigi” on via Folco Portinari and “La Casalinga” on the other side of the river. For a fast italian meal, go to the corner of via de’ Macci e S. Ambrogio and try the kiosk selling “Trippa and lampredotto,” a typical florentine sandwich. Don’t forget a glass of wine!

EC: What’s your favorite free (or cheap) thing to do in Florence?

HD: Walking, walking and more walking. It’s the best way to get to know the city, to smell the food, enjoy the arts and, the best part? It costs nothing! Florence IS an open museum.

EC: “Don’t leave Florence without…”

HD: Visiting the church of San Miniato al Monte, behind Piazzale Michelangelo. The view from up there gives you a great understanding of the city layout. 

We also recommend walking through the indoor food market in the San Lorenzo area. It’s such a wonderful, typical Italian scene. There you’ll meet screaming sellers, people bartering for food, and you can buy all kinds of Florentine specialties without paying a lot.

EC: What souvenir should I bring home from Florence?

HD: Florence is known for its straw work, the typical handcraft of the city. Then, next to straw is leather, but look at the quality. Unfortunately, with leather, cheap is not always possible. Make sure to try our wines and Sbriciolona (a kind of salami).

EC: Any other tips for travelers in Florence?

HD: Don’t expect the Anglo-Saxon service and standards. We live in an old city with oftentimes old structures, so just enjoy your holiday, whatever it ends up entailing. 

Don’t forget, you are on holiday and you are learning to understand a very different country and culture. You may be confused by Italians. We talk loudly, moving our hands. We’re crazy drivers and are mad about food and fashion. But when you return home, we’re sure you’ll miss all the history and the quality of life you experienced. So open your mind and get ready!

Popularity: 11% [?]

Doubles € 105-155
Neighborhood: La Rambla

The Sant Agusti is one of our favorite hotels in Barcelona, and it just happens to be the oldest hotel in the city, too. Built in 1880, the hotel is named after the nearby church of Sant Agusti and was a working convent in the 1700s. Many of the rooms still feature original wood beams and stone walls.

We especially adore the attic suites at Sant Agusti (eight in all), replete with their cutesy little tables and chairs and fun views of the square below. Rooms are decorated with modern furniture. The breakfast room, where an old cast iron stove takes center stage, is large and airy.

The only thing we found lacking about Agusti was its location. While it’s near La Rambla and close to pretty much all the sights, its neighboring streets are a frequent stopping point for the area’s homeless and tend to be more unkempt than other areas of Barcelona.

Other than that, Sant Agusti is a unique, family-run hotel with tons of charm!

Read our full review.

Popularity: 18% [?]

At EuroCheapo, we’re all about hotels with a little extra flavor. And when in Rome, why settle for a normal night’s sleep?

These three hotels in Rome have traipsed through history, from ancient history to 19th-century, but all of them today offer modern amenities so you can sleep comfortably.

1) Casa Banzo
Campo de’ Fiori
Doubles from €110

This bed and breakfast, with just three rooms, screams, “location!” Housed in a 15-century palazzo near Campo de’ Fiori, this family-run establishment is far enough from the crazy Campo crowds, but close enough to easily walk to the Vatican, Spanish Steps and other Roman highlights.

Each of the Casa’s rooms are chockablock with vintage accoutrements. Think oil paintings, mahogany surfaces, and lots of marble. And, we haven’t even mentioned the frescoes! Just keep in mind, book early if you want to stay here. With only three rooms, the hotel fills up quickly.

If you do stay here, tell Antoinette (the owner) and her husband we say hello!

2) Hotel Navona
Piazza Navona
Doubles from €135

If you’ve ever dreamed about sleeping in ancient Rome (and who hasn’t?), this is your chance. The ruins underneath the spick-and-span rooms and bathrooms at Hotel Navona are literally the baths of Agrippa and date back to 33 B.C.!

Stucco walls, terra-cotta flooring, a family-run feel, and plenty of 18th and 19th-century antiques (many taken from the family’s palace in Venice) give the rooms a top-notch vibe. Near Piazza Navona and the Pantheon, you can start off your day by touring the hotel (whose main structure is a 13th-century palace). And yes, this hotel has frescoes, too.

3) Suore di S Elisabetta
Santa Maria Maggiore
Doubles from €64

The quiet Suore di S Elisabetta is a convent that offers low-priced rooms on a peaceful street south of Santa Maria Maggiore. If you don’t mind an 11 p.m. curfew or a bedroom ornamented in crucifixes and the like, then get thee to this nunnery!

Rooms are as simple as a nun’s habit. For example, none of them have televisions. But, the breakfast room sparkles under light of hanging chandeliers and a dome of painted frescoes. An added bonus? The rooftop terrace—with inspiring views of Rome—is quite simply, divine.

Also see:

Our favorite theme hotels in Amsterdam

Popularity: 11% [?]

Maybe it’s Van Gogh’s trippy sunflowers or that wacky, tacky Red Light District. But there’s something about Amsterdam’s love of the unusual that pops up in its hotel offerings. We’ve weeded out the ho-hum hotel experiences to bring you a few of our favorite joints (so many puns, so little space!):

Hotel de Filosoof
What: Three-star hotel near the Vondelpark
Doubles: From € 80
Theme: Enlightenment

Each room here is dedicated to a philosopher. You could stay in “Clouds” and pay homage to Aristophanes and Socrates, drifting to sleep in a bed with a blue, velveteen comforter. Or, opt for Confucius, which lifts up the ideals of Taoism and showcases an array of strong, ancient-looking (intentionally) purple décor. Neitche’s room just plain scared us. (Not surprising, considering the whole “God is dead” thing. Sweet dreams!) Thankfully, the hotel has 38 rooms to choose from, a spacious outdoor garden, and an art gallery.

Hemp Hotel 
What: One-star hotel in the southern canal ring
Doubles: € 65 - 70
Theme: Baked not fried

Proclaiming itself “a unique specialty hotel for the hemp-aware traveler,” the Hemp Hotel is on our top ten list of favorite hotel visits (for purely professional reasons, natch). We were awed and amused by the various hemp-themed rooms decorated with eclectic furniture and a host of hemp-a-riffic accoutrements: hemp curtains, towels and plants.  The hotel is owned by a prominent marijuana activist and inventor of the Pollinator, a device that extracts hash from hemp leaves. With a coffee shop downstairs, the Hemp is a bit of a time vortex and many guests remain on for long, strange trips. (One guest, in fact, never left — and became one of the hotel’s managers!)

Winston Hotel
What: Two-star hotel in the Red Light District
Doubles: € 60-105
Theme: Artist madhouse

After spending a couple nights at the Winston, we labeled it ”The Winston Museum of Contemporary Art,” as each room was designed by a different artist. Décors range from simple opaque canvases to large-format paintings that resemble Spirograph creations. Many rooms also have their own distinct genres. For instance, the Heineken room enjoys a green, bottled-up effect (Note: See also Smirnoff Button room.).  Maria’s Room is furnished entirely in white, producing an immaculate, yet oddly Clockwork Orange feel. We bunked in a dominatrix-themed space. And liked it.  

The Greenhouse Effect
What: Two-star hotel in the Red Light District
Doubles: € 95-130
Theme: Out of this world

At this diamond in the snuff (it’s situated in the heart of the red-light district), themed rooms run the gamut from the plain and proper (”City Oasis” suite) to the downright surreal (”Turkish Delight” and ”1001 Arabian Nights”).  A trance-inducing club downstairs features live music each weekend and looks sure to provide oodles of Kerouac-ky observations for postcards and personal diaries.

Lloyd Hotel
What: One-star to five-star hotel in the Eastern Docklands
Doubles: From €90 (see Website for special offers)
Theme: Pick a star (rating)

Offering its guests a range of rooms from a one-star to a five-star rating, the Lloyd really knows how to shake up hotel classification systems! This sophisticated and chic hotel, located in a fashionable area, displays architectural majesty—1920’s art deco mixed with modern flair, and lets you pick a room, any room, via various star ratings. However all rooms provide the same amenities (free WiFi and satellite television) and all guests (even the Cheapos) enjoy the same 24-hour service. Furthermore, all have access to the fancy “Cultural Embassy,” a space that serves as an art gallery, entertainment space, and lounge.

A 1-star room offers less space and shared bathrooms, while a 3-star, for example, has noteworthy 1920s furniture designed by De Bazel. We’d likely opt for a 2-star, deemed “surprising” by the hotel on its Website, as you get your own bathroom with “plenty of room to take a shower” (insert joke here), and some even provide water views. On a search we did for February, we found double rooms from €90 (one star) to €210 (five stars). What a range!

We’d say all of these hotels are worth the trip.

Did we miss a themed hotel in Amsterdam that you know about or would recommend? Tell us below!

Popularity: 16% [?]

Directly outside of the Saint Peter’s Metro station is the delicious Federici B&B. Aside from the fabulously convenient location, rooms are big and bright, ranging from €80 to €120 for a double.

Francesco and Roberta (an adorable couple) run the the place with their son, Fabio, who speaks a smooth Australian English. The hotel is located inside a giant palazzo, with an entrance from within an inner courtyard.

They’ve also got apartments at negotiable, reasonable rates near the Vatican and in Trastevere. Our recommendation: check Federici out!

Popularity: 13% [?]

Okay, so they’re not always that cheap. But if you sign up for The Hoxton Urban Lodge’s newsletter, you’ll be alerted when they do have room sales. Just click here, and get on the mailing list to be alerted when £1 rooms are up for the taking. Hell, even when rooms aren’t a pound, they usually hover between £59 and £79—cheap in London.

The Hoxton is on Great Eastern Street in London’s hip (if a bit too trendy) East End. Some of the best nightlife in town is within a ten minute walk. All rooms have super soft Frette sheets, free Wi-Fi, coffee, milk, water, and tea, and a heavenly waterfall shower head (plus soft towels and Pears soap.)

Room Service is reasonable and there’s a 24-hour shop in the lobby just in case you’ve forgotten anything. Rooms come complete with mini-breakfast so you won’t be starving before you leave either. And newspapers are free, to boot. Sign us up.

Popularity: 11% [?]