You do have to stroll over to the main base for breakfast, but it’s worth it - the huge spread of meats, eggs, cereals, fruit and salads would make many hotel guests green with envy. 00 48 12 422 4100, www.gregtomhostel.com ; doubles from £29, including breakfast

LISBON
Living Lounge Three years ago, four local artists opened the Lisbon Lounge, which is still one of the best hostels in town. This is their new baby, and it’s a beauty. Every room and dorm has been individually designed, with fun furniture and cool murals. Some are more practical than others - we’ll have to see how the artificial grass wears in the garden room - but all have been done with panache.

The kitchen has exposed beams, the lounges have elegant chaises longues and quirky barber’s chairs, and it’s all sparkling new and clean. (It opened in July.) An excellent dinner with wine costs just £6.50; there’s free WiFi, too. In a great spot between historic Baixa and upscale Chiado, with the bars of Bairro Alto a stagger away, this is the boutique hostel at its best - and that includes the more than reasonable prices. 00 351 213 461078, www.livingloungehostel.com ; twin rooms from £40, dorms from £15pp, including breakfast

MARRAKESH
Equity Point Finding it’s the hard bit. In theory, Equity Point is a three-minute walk from the Djemaa el Fna, Marrakesh’s main square, but miss your way in the twisting warren of the medina and it could take you rather a lot longer: we won’t go into chapter and verse, but remember to take the tiny covered alleyway past the electrical shop.

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When (or if) you make it, you’ll find something special: a classic old riad townhouse, meticulously restored, with tadelakt plaster on the walls, warm, glowing colours, ornately fretworked wooden furniture, a tinkling fountain in the cool courtyard and a gorgeous roof terrace looking over the mosaic of the medina to the snowcapped Atlas Mountains.

At most hotels in town, you’d pay through the nose for this level of authenticity — and the double rooms here cost a packet in hostelling terms — but for families or groups of friends, taking over a four- or six-bed dorm means you’ll be staying somewhere with real charm and craftsmanship at a staggeringly low price.

One problem: rooms have ensuite bathrooms that are so gorgeous — beaten metal sinks, intricate tilework — that people tend to hog them. You’ll have to set a time limit.

00 212 24 44 07 93, www.equity-point.com ; doubles from £81, four-bed rooms from £78, six-bedders from £88, all including breakfast

LJUBLJANA
Hostel Celica Okay, it might seem to be tempting fate to book a hostel room in a converted prison. Trust us, though. Celica housed military prisoners during the days of the Austro-Hungarian empire: now the 20 first-floor cells (don’t bother with the dormitories downstairs) have been made over by local artists, sometimes with remarkable results.

They’re tiny, with bars on the windows and doors (it’s not a place for the claustrophobic), but the cutting-edge designs make the most of the space, with raised beds, stepladders and a bewildering range of features, from cobblestones, scored wood and brick ovens to murals and friezes. In fact, they’ve become a tourist attraction in their own right, with guided afternoon tours of vacant cells.

The beds are comfortable, the location’s are groovy (you’re in edgy Metelkova, just a few minutes’ walk from Preseren Square), and there are three decent cafes downstairs if you’re peckish. Light sleepers note: things can get a bit lively at weekends.

www.souhostel.com ; double cells from £37, including breakfast

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