Cheaper holiday destinations - what does everyone think about Eastern Europe? ?

And is it possible to get nice hotels, as opposed to hostels?

Amazing place, people are going to get way less snobby about it this year I think! Its not all hostels and stuff either - check out this website for hotel deals and general info about where to go : http://www.travelintelligence.com/travel-writing/1010917/Hot-Destination-Eastern-Europe.html

Superb places and values for most things though hotels can be overpriced compared with Western Europe.

food is basic-- menu well cooked but not top line

I have a lot of family in Eastern Europe - Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova. I visit every year, and as a college student I have to be cheap - and that's not hard in Eastern Europe. Since Romania and Bulgaria have joined the EU in 2007certain products have risen in price, but it's still much cheaper than Western Europe. I've also heard that Poland is cheap, as well, though I haven't been in many years.

As for hotels, even in Moldova, they are much more expensive than hostels - they can sometimes be more difficult to find, too. I would say rather than paying an average of $20 a night, you'll be paying between $40 and $50 instead. This is still cheap compared to the States (and especially compared to Western Europe - I cannot believe the hotel prices there, it's insane), but it's up to the individual traveler on how much they prefer to pay. If you're a student, try studentuniverse.com - they have cheap deals in both hotels and hostels. If you are not a student, check out statravel.com - it sometimes has very good non-student deals in Europe.

Very nice in most areas, but why not try Andorra? Hotels from €10 per night, good meals, 2 courses including glass of wine/beer from €9, beer from 25c a Glass, litre of whisky from €6, fags from 50c for 20
Great scenery, good night life, no beaches

Massive currency swings and rising prices have seen the value dissapear recently.

[Luis_Morandi]

my suggestion is to visit Riga at the beginning of Spring, there are a lot of things to do& see, for example follow Art nouveau guided tour published on BestRiga.com - your reliable guide for Hotel, Dining, Entertainment, Shopping and Business in Riga, Latvia