Hotel Bargains in Moscow, Petersburg, Prasgue

Tired of the high costs of hotel rooms in mucxh of Western Europe? Head east, where this summer you can find some unusual bargains.

Using some dates in mid-August, I was able to find rooms in Moscow st the Izmailovo Complex for as little as $72 per night. This is just about three-quarters of the cost when I was there in the summer of 2011. These hotels areen't downtown, but they are conveniently located next to Partizanskaya Metro station and Izmailove Park. They were built for the 1980 Olympics and still feature decor elements from that era, along with a great breakfast buffet.

 If you need to be closer to downtown, the Mercure Arbat has rooms for the same dates for $94. These rates are considerably lower than they were prior to the financial crisis--in 2007 I paid about $160 to stay at a hotel much farther from the centre.

Hotels in St. Petersburg tend to be pricier in summer, perhaps because Peter is more of a tourist destination. There the Red Stars Hotel offers rooms for $115, while the Ligotel charges $104. In Prague, a stay at the Fusion Hotel Prague starts at $53 per night, while the Hotel Julian charges $89. I have not been to Prague since the 1980s, when it was a beautiful but very grey Communist capital. Now I understand it has been spiffed up considerably, and is a favourite destination for young travellers.

Rates above were all found on www.tripadvisor.com. In case you don't want to venture to Eastern Europe, you might consider visiting large Scandinavian cities, where hotels tend to empty out in summer with the departure of business travellers. Scandinavia is a pricey part of the world overall, but summer can still provide some relative bargains.