Al-Haramain Hotel

the place is cheap, nice, clean. staff is very pleasant and helpful. It's a house on the little quiet street. taxi drivers know the place very well. you should just tell them the name of the hotel.
I shared the room with 2 or 3 ppl and payed 250 SP (i.e. about 5 USD). hmmm, i guess they have singles as well for 600 SP (12 USD). bathroom is shared, (there are several of them in basement). but that was not a problem for me (taking into consideration that they were clean and with hot water :).
they have toilets on each floor. which are clean but not so much comfortable (I mean some of them are realy tiny :).. oh, well... that might not be a problem though :)
service is really good. there is a nice hall, where you can sit and drink cofee, eat food, read, whatever..
you have opportunity to order breakfast there for 85 SP (one egg, butter, little cheese, bread, olives, tea or coffee).
Also, you can leave your bags there in the hall if you're going to make some daytrips around. I left my bags there for two days when went to Deir Mar Musa and everything was ok. you just have to worn the hotel staff. that's it.
usually there stay ppl from europe and americas (backpackers mostly).
generaly the place is really safe and nice. I never worried about my camera or money or something there.
oh, and, just in case, they do not allow to bring there alcohol and drink there. (which was not a problem for me... but still).

Unique Quality: good atmosphere, helpful staff.

Directions: near to Old Damascus, also near to National Museum of Damascus. the hotel street is perpendicular to Al Ittihad St.

I didn't intend to come here. On the flight here I asked a couple of swedish girl where they were staying. They'd heard good things about the hotel so we ended up sharing a cab and then a room for the next few days before we parted company (I bumped into them again in Petra).

Unique Quality: They must have the hottest showers in town, a big plus. The people that run the place are dead freindly. I returned two weeks later to catch my return flight and they let me stay most of the day for free. The courtyard is really nice and the hotel is well situated. This is a real backpacker joint so it can get a bit noisy. I remember some German guy getting quite ratty becasue we all up late one night chatting. Being an old building it isn't exactly sound proof so I wouldn't come here with your girlfriend.

Very cheap, less than 500 Syrian pounds per person (500 S£ = US10 roughly, if changed on black market!)

Unique Quality: In an old house, the rooms round a courtyard on 2 floors. They have a few single and double rooms (without bathrooms) and two 'dormitories'. The owners helped me find somewhere to live and helped many of my friends too. It is something of a backpacker's hostel and normally full.