Downtown Hostel

Budapest's Downtown Hostel, located just a ten-minute walk from most sights, is run by a hip staff with lots of in-the-know information. And, it offers some of the very cheapest beds in town.

Dorm-style rooms are impeccably clean, another impressive selling point. Walls are painted yellow and orange. Wooden bunks and bamboo window shades are standard fare. Even with parquet flooring, rooms have a warm, earthy feel. Colorful tapestries spice up otherwise large, stark walls. Bathroom fixtures appear relatively new and some are particularly large.

Rooms are short on amenities, but the hostel itself features several perks. The kitchen, for one, has newer appliances and a fully-stocked cooking space, which also functions as the common area and TV lounge. Wi-Fi is free, as is a daily afternoon tea service.

The very reasons carefree tourists love The Downtown Hostel are the same reasons that guests with fussy expectations run away screaming. Let's explain: Guests walk around in pajamas and hostel staff members have been known to hang out with resident backpackers after hours. Catch our drift? That caveat aside, the Downtown is, quite simply, fun—without a curfew.

One word of warning. The hostel has designated smoking areas. That said, the friendly receptionist who showed us around had the courage to admit that non-smokers have come to him with ventilation complaints.