When people talk about hostels, the first thing that comes to most people's minds are small rooms set at a low price and generally of low quality. They are the traveller's rest stop, a place where people who have been on their feet for much of the day come to rest, and accordingly don't mind too much if the place they are staying isn't all that great. So long as it's serviceable, it'll do.

Hostels like Hotels represent a wide range of differing accommodation. As you get "Hiltons" and "Holiday Inns" and every type of building one could imagine in between, so there is enormous variation between hostels. Still, the image that is summoned does not exactly cry out 'luxury' or even 'holiday', hostels are rather firmly the residence of the traveller.

So what about the romantic weekend away? Not traditionally the type of foreign excursion that hostels are supposed to accommodate for. They are, however, a definite option, though certainly not to everyone's taste. It is possible to get a private room at nearly every hostel in Europe now for a small extra price - your romantic weekend away does not have to be spent with your partner and then six other people who you've never met before. Admittedly, even with a private room a hostel is perhaps not the best place to be if your idea of a romantic break is relaxing in the lap of luxury, but this is by no means for everyone. A large number of hostels also have private bathrooms, a decent priced hostel room in a city like Paris isn't all that different from what most people would expect from a hotel.

Many would say that the city outside the four walls of your room is more important to a romantic weekend than the nature of your accommodation. You don't hear of many people taking short breaks away with their partners to Peterborough (no offence intended). Paris is, after all, the 'city of love' and that is more to do with the feel of the city, the astounding beauty of the backdrop and the relatively relaxed pace of life, than anything else.<

That is not to say that it doesn't matter about the quality of the accommodation, merely that it doesn't always matter that much. Choosing a hostel over a hotel inevitably saves money and if you take a few moments to look at the options the value for money of a hostel is likely to be far greater.

Very few people are able to go on holiday or take a weekend away without having to worry about how much it costs and you don't have to compromise the amount of money you have just to stay in a hotel. A romantic weekend should (one would hope) be about the person that you are spending it with, so if the step down from hotel to hostel saves you enough pennies to be able to afford that special meal on the last day of your time away, or a few moments longer in the sun on top of the most famous buildings in the world, then surely that's a step worth taking.

So, to hostel or to hotel? Both have a place, but if you're on a budget and value for money is the most important thing, then a hostel is the way forward and save the extra pennies for something a bit special.

For a large, peer reviewed site, with a wide range of hotels and hostels, HostelBookers.com is one of the best on the web. When travelling on a budget, then Travelzoo also comes as a recommended website to take a look at, particularly for cheap flights.