Karmel is one of the most gorgeous small hotels in Krakow. Located up a stairway in an impossibly cute corner of Kazimierz, the 10-room Karmel is a Krakow favorite.

The eight-room Pensjonat Trecius is one of our favorite pensions in all of Krakow. Hidden away in a gorgeous building on Św. Tomasza near the Old Town's Rynek Główny, it's a quiet and special little place.

Hotel Logos gingerly straddles the line between impersonal Eastern Bloc monstrosity and quirky, retro Eastern Bloc artifact.

Rooms are dorm-like, with light wood bunkbeds, naked walls, and utilitarian duvets. That said, while there's no question that these rooms are barebones, they're also quite new and clean.

One of Krakow's best theme-driven hostels, Goodbye Lenin Hostel takes the aesthetics of pre-1989 Poland as its focus.

Orange Hostel matches promotional materials with the hostel's namesake. The hostel offers extremely simple private rooms, with matching duvet covers and pillowcases.

The RT Regent, one of four RT hotels in the city (three of which are located in central Krakow), is a 39-room property situated on a quaint, crowded Kazimierz street.

City Hostel is that unusual beast, a hostel put together at an aesthetic level that few hotels manage. The entire hostel is beautiful if austere, like a super glamorous monastery.

Hotel Astoria, a 33-room hotel in the heart of Krakow's Kazimierz 'hood, is a fairly unremarkable midrange hotel with better than adequate rooms.

Occupying a bewitchingly charming corner of Stare Miasto, Hotel Saski carries itself with the sophistication of a faded, grand old hotel. The century-old elevator is a showpiece, and the expansive, empty lobby calls to mind vanquished grandeur.

Kazimierz's 35 rooms are basically run-of-the-mill, with a number of dainty touches that veer into fussy aunt territory, such as lacy curtains and a pink-orange color palette.

The eight apartments in the Kazimierz Apartments family are run by the same management team that organizes Old Town Studios. Expect lush flats with huge bedrooms, roomy kitchens, and equally large common spaces.

Hostel Atlantis, one of Krakow's many hostel-hotel hybrids, is an unassuming, basic place with 19 rooms on offer.

Pollera's exquisite reception area is an art nouveau masterpiece. Rooms, as is so often the case, do not live up to the grandeur of the reception area, but they have their antique charms.

The 23-room Fortuna Bis is a good, even pretty, tourist-class hotel option. Room verdict: midrange standard achieved; design points withheld.

Hotel Eden is a medium-sized, 27-room hotel in Kazimierz dedicated to serving a highly observant Jewish clientele. Located in the heart of Krakow's old Jewish neighborhood on a cramped cobblestone street, Hotel Eden occupies a restored row of 15th-century buildings.

Business hotels like PTTK Wyspianski may be a bit antiseptic for those chasing charm or authenticity. For the rest of us, sparklingly clean rooms, a bar on the ground floor, and proximity to Krakow's Main Square do the trick.

Kadetus Hotel is yet another of Krakow's many friendly, slightly down-at-heel hostels. The nine-room Kadetus is located close to the action in a modern, bustling area of Krakow, west of Stare Miasto.

One of three RT hotels in our Krakow listings, the 59-room RT Rezydent arguably has the best location of the mini-chain: It's a 30-second walk from Rynek Główny, Krakow's Main Market Square.