Take 3

Cheap chic hotels

Qbic, Amsterdam

Mathijs Vermeulenpad 1, qbichotels.com

Members of the iPod generation become my-pod guests in this hotel that offers style and simplicity on a budget. Guests are cocooned in an aluminium-clad pod, but what furniture there is, is of a high standard. Prices are kept low through self-service, with pre-paid, self-service check-in and vending machines. Doubles from €69.

Z Hotel, London

5 Lower Belgrave Street, Victoria, thezhotels.com

Victoria is one of the city’s new vibrant areas, so it was a natural fit for Z Hotels to open its second offering in the city after opening in Soho last year .The Z concept is reasonably priced none-too-large city centre accommodation with a stylish interior. As its motto goes: “Out is the new in.” Doubles from £65 (€81.40)

Mama Shelter, Paris

109 Rue de Bagnolet, mamashelter.com

Combine quirky design with a good location plus moins cher prices and you have the ingredients for Mama Shelter. The first one opened in Paris (a second has just arrived in Marseilles). It is in the Saint Blaise area of Paris, with its artists’ studios, cobblestone streets and Père Lachaise cemetery. Doubles from €79.