Marseille, May 12

L'hotel du Corbusier, room B2

How could an architect resist the opportunity to stay a night at Le Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation? You can stay in Marseille for less, but not in such a notorious building, with easy access to all the building spaces. However the reception staff don't make it easy, with their slack responses to emails and unhelpful attitude on the phone. We booked a small studio, which had a small double bed and desk. If you are a large person (or people), you might want to upgrade to the next size room.
Bathroom: shower inside, toilet shared and outside.
View: Building grounds and the main street
Price: 59 euros
Recommended: Yes, for architecture buffs
Contact: L'hotel du Corbusier, tel 04 91 77 18 15

Avignon, May 10-11

Hotel Monclar, room A1

We'd originally intended to stay in Nimes, further south, but an influx of tourists for a bullfight fiesta put paid to that plan. So we drove a few km north to Avignon, where we got a room in this charming old hotel, just outside the old town, near the train station (Lonely Planet warns that noise from the station could be a problem, but we didn't hear a thing). We had a room at the top of the annexe, also an old building (although the stairs could be tricky for those less mobile).
The well-travelled and amiable Fred runs things here, and he keeps a huge array of local maps and information to help his guests make the most of their stay.
The hotel charges for parking, but we easily found free parking behind the station.
Bathroom: private shower but shared toilet
View: rooftop
Cost: 40 euros per night
Recommended? Definitely
Contact details: www.hotel-monclar.com email:hmonclar84@aol.com Address: 13-15 Avenue Monclar, Avignon tel: 04 90 86 20 14

Toulouse, May 9

Hotel Anatole France, room 13


We found ourselves stuck in Toulouse on an evening when most places were either full, or priced too steeply for our limited budget. Otherwise we would not have stayed at this hotel. Our room was skanky, with peeling wallpaper, an old bed and a vinyl floor (if you pay close attention to the photo you can see a raised bit under the bed). There was an all-pervasive smell of mildew, and the bathroom had flaking paint and unidentifiable debris in the shower. There were constant sounds of high heels walking in the corridor during the night; it's possible that we were sharing the hotel with prostitutes and their clients. On the positive side, the reception staff were friendly.
View: Our room looked out onto a lovely old building; if renovated properly, this hotel could be very nice; right now, the view alone does not make staying here worthwhile.
Cost: A ridiculous and reluctantly parted with 42 euros
Recommended? Only if you're desperate, or this hotel is thoroughly renovated.

San Sebastian, May 7 - 8

Pension Easo, room 6


We checked into this pension after the train ride from hell, and it was like entering heaven. The room was quite new, with minimal furnishing, crisp white bed linen and a comfy bed. The owner is helpful and there's a resident cat who shows his face occasionally, if you're lucky. The only detraction was that our room looked out onto an internal courtyard, so there wasn't a lot of fresh air. Oh, and there was a fire exit sign in the room that was too bright at night. However, for the price, this represents great value in expensive San Sebastian.

View: Covered internal courtyard
Bathroom: Shared, but spotless.
Cost: 35 euros
Recommended: Definitely

Porto to San Sebastian, May 6

Sud-Express train seat (8 berth compartment), Coach 21, seats 24 and 2


This was a reasonably expensive train journey (via Coimbra) that we needed to make to get to San Sebastian. (Some websites will tell you that there is a bus that makes this journey direct from Porto, however the Porto tourist office telephoned the local bus companies and were told that no such route existed as at May 6 2008 - as this route is mentioned on other websites, we suspect that it has been discontinued, or operates only part of the year.)
We went for seats instead of a sleeper because of the price, and a rash assumption that the seats would recline. They did not. We shared an 8 berth compartment with 2 others, who we dubbed Literary Spaniard and Swarthy Spaniard.
View: Variable
Cost per night: 59 euros each
Notable smells: feet
Recommended? No, only if you're desperate to get to San Sebastian overnight on a budget

Porto, May 4-5

Hotel Peninsular, room 212


Another day where we'd already tried a different establishment only to find that it was full, then decided to stay here because it has LOTS of rooms and we couldn't face carrying our backpacks any further. Rooms vary greatly, as do prices. Our room was smallish, clean, with poorly-laid laminate flooring. There was a telly.However, in real life, it looked much worse than this photo.
Bathroom: Private, reasonably clean, with a midget bath.
View: Light well, with air-conditioning extraction duct
Cost: Quoted cost 42 euros per night, actual cost after receptionist miscalculation 38
Recommended? Yes, but ask to see a number of rooms first

Coimbra, May 3

Residencial Aviz, room 27

Sorry, forgot to take a photo of this one!

We tried about 8 other places before finally getting a room here, thanks to our visit coinciding with a festival. It was extremely clean, albeit up a lot of stairs. The hotel smelt rather disturbingly of fish in the common area, although once inside the room everything was fine.
Bathroom: private, although the strange conversion has meant that the windows are not very private, and unless you close the shutters completely, people outside can see your bits as you get into the shower...
View: Train station
Cost: 35 euros
Recommended? Yes

Tomar, May 2

Residencial Uniao, room 14


We turned up to this residencial without booking and asked for a room. There was much shuffling of papers and heavy sighing. However, luckily, they had a room available, as this turned out to be a really good deal. The room was clean, with antique furniture and a reasonably comfy bed. But the clincher was the free wireless.
Cost: 33, breakfast included (and the crusty bread rolls are delicious)
View: Side street
Bathroom: Private
Recommended? Highly.
Contact details: www.residencialuniao.verportugal.com residencialuniao@sapo.pt Address: 94 Rua Serpa Pinto, Tomar. Telephone: + 351 249 323 161

Lisbon, April 26-May 1

Casa David, room 2



This is the Cascais home of one of Jerome's ex-colleagues. He kindly put us up for several nights and allowed us to treat his house like a hotel. We got far too comfy here.
View: terracotta rooftop and urban streetscape
Cost: No fiscal cost, physical toll of 2 hangovers
Recommended: Yes, if you know David.

Evora, April 24 - 25

Private rooms, room 2
These are private rooms run by a family, only a few minutes from the main square in Evora. There's free wireless available in the park down the road. Not much English spoken though, so practice your Portuguese to book this one.
View: Street
Bathroom: Shared, but very clean
Cost: 30 euros
Recommended? Yes