HOTELS AND LOCAL FUNDUQS - OLD SANA'A

Arabia Felix 2*
Sana'a nights 2*
Dawud 2*
Taj Talha 2*

Arabia Felix 2*

• Built into a topsy-turvy icing cake tower house the Arabia Felix is about as close to a travellers centre as you can get in Yemen and is a good place to hook into the scene.

• Situated on the edge of the dry wadi/road (Saila) that runs through the old city and just a hop and a skip from the banks and offices of the Midan at-Tahrir, this long-standing hotel has a position that is hard to fault. It's only a few minutes walk from this hotel to the excellent National Museum.

• The finest attraction is the idyllic little courtyard full of flowering bushes where it's easy to fall into conversation with all manner of interesting visitors. It also serves, debatably, the best breakfast in San'a.

• The rooms are firm and functional.

• Located on Talha Street from the wadi (Saila). It is situated on the left after a few hundred metres.

• Arabian fantasies come with wobbly white wooden ceiling beams and colourful wall tapestries, which help to make this sparkling hotel one of the most enjoyable rest spots in San'a.

• The rooms are bright and clean, with simple bathrooms. They have solid wooden beds, oh so soft mattresses and, compared to many of San'a's hotels, much less early morning mosque disturbance. All of which should guarantee a decent nights kip.

• It has a cute little courtyard, which it shares with its neighbour the Golden Daar Hotel. It's one of the cheapiest and friendliest hotels in the town and offers superb value for money.

Dawud 2*

• One of the best value hotels in the heart of old Sana’a, located in Talha Street.
• The lovely rooms are filled with delicious textiles, frumpy old-fashioned furniture and lots of little extras that help to set the Dawood apart from the competition.
• The rooms range from the simple mattresses on the floor and no fuss affair to the elaborate 'Honeymoon Suite', (though try telling your other half that you were thinking of Yemen for a honeymoon!). The more expensive rooms on the upper floors come with a miniature museums worth of real and not so real antiques, but whichever you go for all are stylishly done and receive incense sprinkling every evening.
• The pretty flower filled courtyard restaurant, located next to a communal vegetable garden.

Taj Talha 2*