It doesn't take a pinstriped economist to predict hard times will spawn major bargains - and some east European hotels are taking a savage axe to hotel prices. The downturn in a tourist market that has been relentlessly healthy since independence has produced a glut of accommodation. Add in the non-euro currencies, and a long weekend can be excellent value.

In Budapest the St George Residence (00361 393 5700, stgeorgehotel.hu) a five-star hotel straddling three medieval houses in the Buda Castle district, is offering a three-night stay for €179pp. Dating back to the 14th century, the former city law court won't suit die-hard fans of minimalism, but offers supremely comfortable accommodation with a baroque dining room, 18th-century frescoes and a vaulted underground bar.

Head 700 miles northeast to the centre of Riga's old town near the Dome Cathedral, and there are similarly epic bargains. Five nights at the Gutenbergs, a small hotel forged from a 16th century printing house, is £105pp through Baltic Holidays (0845 070 5711, balticholidays.com). Sporting oak beams, antique books and engravings, it also has the city's only roof terrace summer restaurant.