Al-Yarmouk Hotel

The Yarmouk may not see too many Western tourists - it mainly has Arab and Russian traders checking in - but the chain-smoking English- and Russian-speaking staff are welcoming and it's a decent option if the other budget places are full.

Ignore the smoke-filled reception and stale-smelling elevator, upstairs the air is fresher and rooms significantly cleaner. Having recently benefited from a makeover, the hotel is looking rather colourful. If it weren't in Syria we'd suspect someone had partaken in too many illicit substances - what they have done is let their imagination run wild. Each of the hotel's three floors has been painted a different colour, glossy lavender, pink and lemon, while the rooms are furnished with bright pink curtains and geometric patterned carpets, and in the 'salon' an enormous landscape scene of waterfalls and snowy mountains fills a wall. Rooms with bathrooms come with fridges, TVs, clean sheets and towels. Singles are cramped (the bed takes up most of the room) but triples are more spacious. The hotel stores luggage.