HI Youth Hostel (tel. 93 23 31). Where the streets have no name: tricky to locate, but worth the effort. Walk west from Alexandria St. on Galah St. At the Omar Effendi Store, follow the street that forks off to the right. When that road forks next to a garden playground, veer left and take the first turn to the left. The hostel is in a 2-story building about 100m on the right. If lost, ask for beit ash-shabab. The warden, Mr. Abdallah Kamel, bends over backwards to accommodate his guests: clean rooms and bathrooms, hot water, cheap meals, free semi-frozen water for lazy beach clays. No curfew or lockout. HI membership requirement often waived. LE5.10, nonmembers LE9-10.

Ghazala Hotel, Alma Rum St. (tel. 93 35 19), a 3-story yellow building just east of Alexandria St., about 6 blocks from the corniche. Speckless rooms but no hot water. The second-best budget bed in town. LE6.

Hotel El RodaTourist,ZahrGalalSt. (tel. 93 41 20), 2 blocks down from Mansour Fish Restaurant heading away from the Corniche. The only remarkable feature of this hotel is the height of one of the managers. Drab but clean rooms, with small but decent bathrooms. Singles with bath LE5; Jan.-April LE4. Doubles with bath LE10;Jan.-AprilLE8.