Tips for Sleeping in Europe
In Europe, many budget hotels and most dorm-style accommodations don't provide soap. B.Y.O.S. Towels, like breakfast and people, get smaller as you go south. In simple places, you won't get a washcloth, and bath towels are provided per stay, not per day. Hang to dry and re-use. Increasingly, environment-minded hotels — even fancy ones — post a sign explaining that they’ll replace towels left on the floor, but not those that are hanging to dry.
Room prices can vary tremendously within a hotel according to facilities provided. On their websites and near their reception desks, most hotels post a room summary that lists each room, its bed configuration, facilities, and maximum price (for one and for two people), sometimes broken down by season (low, middle, high). Also read the breakfast, tax, and extra-bed policies. By studying this information you'll see that, in many places, a room with a double bed and shower is often cheaper than a room with twins and a tub. Be snoopy. Hotels downplay their cheap rooms.
In Europe, hotel ratings and prices are based not on room quality but hotel amenities: a new building, classy lobby, 24-hour reception desk, elevator, and shower-to-room ratio. Budget travelers choose family-run older hotels with hall showers, stairs, and local character.
When checking in, pick up the hotel's business card. In the most confusing cities, the cards come with a little map. Even the best pathfinders get lost in a big city, and not knowing where your hotel is can be scary. With the card, you can hop into a cab and be home in minutes.
"C" can mean "hot." Most of the cold showers Americans take in Europe are cold only because they don't know how to turn the hot water on. Study the particular system, and, before you shiver, ask the receptionist for help. There are some very peculiar tricks. In Italy and Spain, "C" is caldo/caliente, or hot. In many British places, there's a "hot" switch at the base of the shower or even in the hallway. In Croatia, look for the switch with an icon of a hot-water tank (usually next to the room's light switch). You'll find showers and baths of all kinds. The red knob is hot and the blue one is cold — or vice versa. Unusual showers often have clear instructions posted.
Anywhere in Europe, beat the high cost of hotels by staying in rooms in private homes. You'll pay about $25–50 a bed. Ask for a B&B in Britain (includes breakfast), a casa particulare in Spain, quarto in Portugal, chambre d'hôte in France, soba in Croatia and Slovenia, and Privatzimmer in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Scandinavia's best-kept secret are its luxurious B&Bs. They're incredibly cheap at about $30 a bed, but they can't advertise. At tourist information offices in Sweden and Norway, ask for a rom or hus rum, and in Denmark, a værelse.
Here's the key to keys in European hotels: Always turn the top of the key away from the door to open it. While you sleep, leave the key in the door (so you can get out quickly if there's an emergency). When you go out for the day, leave your key at the reception desk. Confirm closing time. Some hotels lock up at night and you're expected to keep the key if you stay out late.
Many European hostels are as memorable as the sights you'll see. Stay in a castles (Bacharach, Germany), cutter ships (Stockholm), alpine chalets (Gimmelwald, Switzerland), huge modern buildings (Frankfurt), lakefront villas (Lugano), former prisons (Ljubljana, Slovenia), medieval manor houses (Wilderhope Manor, England), former choirboys' dorms (St. Paul's, London), country estates (Loch Lomond, Scotland), and former royal residences (Holland Park, London). Survey other hostelers and hostel employees for suggestions.
Hostels provide "no frills" accommodations in clean dormitories. Hostels were originally for hikers and bikers, but that isn't the case these days — some newer hostels are downright plush. Still, expect humble conditions. At official hostels, the sexes are segregated, with 4–20 people packed in a room full of bunk beds. Many independent hostels have both segregated and mixed dorms. Hostels often have a few doubles for group leaders and couples, and rooms for families are increasingly common (and affordable). Strong, hot showers (often with coin-op meters) are the norm, but simpler hostels have cold showers or, on rare occasion, none at all.
Bedding can cost extra. Pillows and blankets are provided. Sometimes sheets are included in the cost, but often you have to pay extra to rent them (about $5). For about the same price, you can sometimes buy sheets made of paper that last about three nights. Another option is to bring your own sleep sack — a sleeping bag–type sack made of lightweight sheet material. You can make your own (fold over a queen-size sheet and sew it up), purchase one before your trip, or buy one at your first hostel in Europe. Because of concerns about bedbugs, some hostels now require you to rent sheets, even if you have your own. Because of this, and because a sleep sack takes up a fair amount of space in your luggage, I wouldn't bring one unless I knew I'd be staying at several hostels.
Hundreds of Alpine huts provide food and shelter to hikers. I know a family who hiked from France to Slovenia, spending every night along the way in a mountain hut. The huts are generally spaced four to six hours apart. Most serve hot meals and provide bunk-style lodging. Many alpine huts (like independent hostels) require no linen and wash their blankets annually. I'll never forget getting cozy in my top bunk while a German in the bottom bunk said, "You're climbing into zee germs of centuries." Hut-hoppers hike with their own sheets.
Every European town has a campground with good showers, washing facilities, and a handy bus connection into town, all for just a few dollars per person per night. Camping gives you a priceless opportunity to meet Europeans doing just what you're doing — traveling, relaxing, and seeing Europe the affordable way.
Updated for 2009. For lots more tips, check out our best-selling Europe Through the Back Door travel skills guidebook.