Sopot
Hotel Maryla
If the idea of slumming it in another hostel makes you cringe, but the Hilton’s out of the question, head to the seaside playground of Sopot, in Poland’s far north.
For the price of a dodgy hotel room elsewhere, you can spend a night 200m from the beach at Hotel Maryla — a 40-bed Secesian villa that was once the home of Wilhelm II, King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany.
Its royal charm, comfy beds, deep bath tubs and free cooked breakfast offer a break from the usual bunk bed and won’t blow the budget.
The hotel is a 15-minute walk from Sopot’s main street, Monte Cassino — a place for people watching, sunbathing, consuming gelati or a walk along Europe’s longest wooden pier.
From £19 per night. See www.hotel.sopot.pl.