More Deals from smartertravel.com

My friend Marian sent me several other interesting articles from this Website, which I inadvertantly spelled wrong in the previous post and will correct as soon as I get back to my own computer. One lists non-chain hotels in a number of expensive European cities where a room costs less than $100a night--places like Geneva, Amsterdan and Barcelona, and from the pictures they all look good. This particular story is from another site that is very useful for those travelling to Europe, www.eurocheapo.com.
Now $100 a night may seem pricey to you (it certainly does to me) but inflation in Europe has meant that in many places in Europe now it is relatively inexpensive for a decent, non-hostel room. Strange that a continent suffering an economic crisis also seems to have a high rate of price increases. Just a few summers ago I found quite nice room at a Holiday Inn Express in Berlin for well under $100, but apparently Berlin is now among the cheaper European cities. The previous summer, a pleasant room in downtown Helsinki was similarly inexpensive (but the price included a free wake-up call from patrons leaving the bar downstairs at 5 a.m.)
Smartertravel.com also has suggestions on how to avoid certain budget-busters while travelling, how to navigate on public transit in Europe, and how to avoid looking like an Ugly North American, should you care. This is definitely a site worth checking frequently.