Climb into a bargain bed

With more and more people taking career breaks, the lower end of the accommodation market has had to come up with increasingly inventive ideas to attract discerning travellers on a budget. Forget hostels with beds harder than Mr T's pecs, low-cost accommodation now presents an increasing array of funky and alternative sleeps. TravelMetro runs the rule over the best of them.

HI-Ottawa Jail Hostel, Ottawa, Canada
On the site of a former prison, this hostel was home to Canada's last public hanging. Your bed for the night will be in one of the cells used by prisoners throughout the years and there are tales of people hearing things go bump in the night. And it's not just the people in the next cell getting frisky.

Kadir's Tree House, Olympos, Turkey
Kadir's gives every traveller the opportunity to live their childhood dream and sleep over in a real tree house, with authenticity added by guests having to climb to their bunk via a rope ladder. The main lodge is home to three bars and two nightclubs just to make that ascent even more tricky.


ArkaBarka Hostel, Belgrade, Serbia
This newly built hostel is a bit like American beer – it's pretty close to water. In fact, it's so close, it's positively on it, with a site over the River Danube and next to one of Belgrade's central parks.
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June 30. 2011. published by London Metro