LOCATION : The Apricot Hotel is the perfect example of why inexpensive does not have to mean cheap. The owner, is bucking the trend of inflated neighborhood prices by supplying a clean, bright, family-style atmosphere at prices he truly feels comfortable with.

Less than one year old, accommodations are still fresh: beds are comfortable, pillows are thick and fluffy, and the plumbing works like a charm, cranking out scalding water in a heartbeat. Also, windows are double glazed. The hotel also offers like book exchange, daily newspaper delivery, weekly roof-barbecues and fragrant spurts of air freshener. The hotel receives a number of walk-ins (somehow always groomed), so book early; rooms won’t stay vacant for long.