Some of the cheapest and best-value hotels in the city can be found in or within easy walking distance of the old town.
A few budget hotels can be found inside charming traditional Damascene courtyard houses in the city centre alleys, though keep in mind that taxis won't be able to drop you off at the door.
Most budget options are slightly tired-looking hotels grouped around the western entrance to the city's souks, where Syrians from out of town traditionally came to conduct paperwork and business at the local courts and offices. One of the best budget hotels in Damascus, however, can be found inside the St Elias monastery complex just east of the Bab Sharqi city gate.
From bare-bones one-star affairs to pleasant and pluche courtyard lodgings, here is our selection of Damascus that won't break the bank.
St Elias Monastery Hotel
One of the best budget places to stay in Damascus, the hotel inside the modern St Elias Monastery, part of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, comes recommended by many travellers for its welcoming atmosphere, friendly staff, cleanliness, reasonable prices, safe parking, hot water (possibly limited to certain hours) – and, especially, the effective heating in winter. As it's a monastery, the gates close at midnight when you need to be inside.
Rosa Damascena Guesthouse
A budget-friendly traditional Damascene house, near the Bab el Saghir southern city gate, popular with journalists and travellers alike. There's an open courtyard with a fountain and plants, a communal kitchen, and stairs leading up to the six double rooms, each with warm water, 24-hour electricity, a desk and TV, some of them also with private bathrooms.
Dar Nizam
A calm boutique hotel next to the Al Narjis Palace restaurant in the heart of the old town, with a small covered courtyard and high-ceilinged rooms in traditional style. There's reliable hot water and Wi-Fi and solar power as a backup to state electricity. A perfectly nice place to stay in Damascus.
Shahrayar Hotel
A lovely, comfortable Damascene house hotel in the heart of the old town, just east of Ummayad Mosque. With reliable hot water and electricity, clean facilities and well-heated rooms in winter, this hotel comes highly recommended by many travellers. Good value for money.
Joole Jamaal
A budget hotel that's warmly recommended by many travellers, find the Joole Jamaal (aka Joul Jammal, Gol Gammal) just west of the souk, next to the Qasr al-Adli Palace of Justice and above Nabil Nafisa Sweets. It has lovely staff, a shared kitchen, free drinking water, warm-to-hot water in the showers, decent wifi, and 24-hour electricity. It's named after Jules Jammal, a legendary and perhaps mythical military officer who is said to have sunk a French ship during the 1956 Suez Crisis, sacrificing himself in the process.
Al-Rabie Hotel
This classy and central budget hotel named 'The Spring' has been hosting foreign guests for decades, with a website to match 1990s travel charms and even some prose dedicated to it. The hotel is still going strong, receiving recommendations from a new generation of budget-minded travellers who told us it's a charming place with nice rooms, clean sheets, stable Wi-Fi and friendly staff but warned that there are only shared bathrooms, a dodgy electricity supply and insufficient heating in winter (to get warm, there's a good hammam nearby). Classically furnished rooms, available at a reasonable fee, surround the high, central courtyard with the obligatory gurgling fountain.
Al-Madinah City Hotel
A modern hotel in a side street in the heart of the new town area, walking distance to the old town and National Museum. There's a traditional touch to the rooms.
Latakia Hotel
Named after, but not located in, the lovely seaside city of Latakia in western Syria, this basic but popular low-budget hotel sits on a calm side street just steps away from the entrance to the souks. This lodging is one of the cheapest recommendable sleeps in town, if you don't mind the bare-bones facilities. Drop by and have a look at a room before booking.
