Impromptu dart games, barbecues and guessing-game contests based on bad TV shows at the relative newcomer Butterfly Villa Hostel (www.villa-butterfly.com) have taken the Romanian hostel reins to new speeds. Its clean three dorms and two private rooms (a dorm is €10 including breakfast, a single €12 to €14, a double about €24) share a couple clean bathrooms, have air-conditioning clicked on when it's hot, and quite comfortable beds. The catch is the location. The fenced-off converted home is in a slightly scrappy neighborhood 10 minutes (by bus) from the nearest subway. The draw is the scene, where budget travelers linger on the mad dashes across Eastern Europe or Peace Corps volunteers laze a few days 'in the city' from their long-term gigs in the Romanian countryside.
Plenty of public space for the lazing: a TV room (with DVDs and video games to use), two computers (and WiFi access), a full kitchen, a patio garden, and roof deck. The Romanian/German couple are occasionally a bit less laid back than the great English-speaking staff they employ, who are often happy to take guests out to clubs or restaurants. Get here from the train station (Gara de Nord) from Bus No 282 (around the corner to the left/north, when exiting the front of the station), or by Bus No 300 from central Piata Romana.