I have tried to google hotel recommendations for Damascus looking for something along the Moroccan riyads line: traditional, clean and affordable. Boutique hotels for 200 dollars up are way out of my budget and I am not into the bland international chains. Does what I look for actually exist at all?
Please help me!
Unlikely in the old city - the riad type accommodation there is all pretty expensive as it's all undergone major rennovation in the last few years.
There's no real bargains to be had. I've not tried anywhere outside the old city though so maybe something there.. There are a couple of backpackers places in the old city - clean and fine but not full of character
Spicegal is right. From memory, there are a few hotels in Aleppo which are along the lines of what you're after, but there's nothing both riad-esque and affordable within the Old City of Damascus. You'd be looking at about $200pn for riad-style accomodation.
Personally, I'd recommend the Damascus Hostel, which is actually built on top of the city walls, very clean, full of character, run by fantastic local staff and full of friendly backpackers. They have a couple of private rooms which are on par with any of the mid-range hotels you'd find elsewhere in the city.
You can find traditional boutique hotels in Aleppo for a very reasonable price, but not in Damascus.
In Damascus I stayed in Al Haramain Hotel, very cheap, very traditional, staff friendly and nice.
I really suggest this accomodation
Buon viaggio
Irina
Try Dar Halabia, Tourath House or Beit Salahieh for starters. They're all old Ottoman stone houses built around internal courtyards which have now been turned into hotels, and they all come in at around $40-70 per night, from memory. As Itresol says, some of the hotels in Aleppo are incredibly good value... There are plenty of good-value hotels in Damascus too, it's just that none of them are 'riad'-style.
Depending on the budget you want to spend : I can warmly recommend Dar Zamaria Martini** in Aleppo ( in Jdeida, the Christian quarter), 10-15 mins. walk from the souks and the citadel.
Similarly the Diwan Rasmy* is very pleasant, just 5 mins from the souks and the citadel - I thought ir recently changed its name, but on the offcial syriatourism.org site, it still shows this name. Pleasant place, but we had a rather small room, with poor lighting. The overall atmosphere is nice, with a roof terrace facing the citadel ( Qala'at ).