You'll probably value a powerful new air con-ditioner given Ternate's oppressive heat and sauna-like humidity.

Budget

Accommodation under 150,000 Rp is plentiful around Ahmad Yani Port but conditions are often abysmal. Although there are a few exceptions, even the nicest cheapies often have damp patches, a slimy mandi (a large water tank from which water is ladled over the body) and a hint of dysfunction.

Penginapan Purnama : In a modest family home full of old Chinese porcelain, four bare guestrooms without fan share concrete outside mandis.

Hotel Pantai : A 20-minute drive from town, this homestay-style place lies behind a motorbike repair shop, 50m from the beach at Sulamadaha . The five simple fan rooms have private mandi attached. Bring mosquito repellent.

Penginapan Kembar Emas : Rooms are a little grubby but very handy if you're leaving on an early boat from Bastiong. Oddly, access required crossing a wall.

Hotel : Modest old-style penginapan (simple lodging house) with a little garden area and quaintly dated sitting room.

Saqavia Guest House : Not exotic, new air-con rooms are fair value if the custard-yellow paintwork doesn't turn your tummy.

Taman Ria : Set back behind an under-construction waterfront menagerie-zoo, 700m beyond Benteng Kalamata, most rooms are new and well appointed but fan rooms overheat and a handful of older cheapies (double 75,000Rp) are very sad.

Midrange

Several hotels including the Corner Palace, Nirwana and Zhavitry look great from the outside but are disappointing within, often lacking windows in all but the priciest rooms. The great-value Tiara doesn't take foreigners.

Losmen Gamalama : Eight fresh new rooms around an interior courtyard, one floor above an attractive Japanese-styled water feature and prayer area.

Losmen Kita : Rambling low-rise bed factory with nearly 50 clean but bland rooms around a tree-shaded car park damp patches, a slimy mandi (a large water tank from which water is ladled over the body) and a hint of dysfunction.

Penginapan Purnama : In a modest family home full of old Chinese porcelain, four bare guestrooms without fan share concrete outside mandis.

Hotel Pantai Indah :A 20-minute drive from town, this homestay-style place lies behind a motorbike repair shop, 50m from the beach at Sulamadaha. The five simple fan rooms have private mandi attached. Bring mosquito repellent.

Penginapan Kembar Emas : Rooms are a little grubby but very handy if you're leaving on an early boat from Bastiong. Oddly, access required crossing a wall.

Hotel Indah :Modest old-style penginapan (simple lodging house) with a little garden area and quaintly dated sitting room.

Saqavia Guest House : Not exotic, new air-con rooms are fair value if the custard-yellow paintwork doesn't turn your tummy.

Taman Ria : Set back behind an under-construction waterfront menagerie-zoo, 700m beyond Benteng Kalamata, most rooms are new and well appointed but fan rooms overheat and a handful of older cheapies (double 75,000Rp) are very sad.

Midrange

Several hotels including the Corner Palace, Nirwana and Zhavitry look great from the outside but are disappointing within, often lacking windows in all but the priciest rooms. The great-value Tiara doesn't take foreigners.

Losmen Gamalama : Eight fresh new rooms around an interior courtyard, one floor above an attractive Japanese-styled water feature and prayer area.

Losmen Kita : Rambling low-rise bed factory with nearly 50 clean but bland rooms around a tree-shaded car park.

Penginapan Asri :Many rooms lack natural light, but the Asri is very central and much better kept than most other hotels in this price range.

Penginapan Beta : The 'pink prison' looks like a mouldering dump from outside, but while the compact rooms lack privacy they're fairly well kept and reasonably priced with ensuite bathrooms.

Abdulalie Hotel : Well run and eternally popular with local petty salesmen. The cheap rooms attract plentiful mosquitoes, but the 'executive' rooms are tastefully decorated off an almost colonial-feel hallway. Air-con is often trumped by power cuts.

Hotel Jamilah : Behind a grotto of fake golden rocks, this 15-room family hotel has a peaceful, homely charm and ample areas of communal lounge space. Rooms are freshly painted though the lurid pink attached mandis are a slight let-down.

Pondok Wisata 'Avema' Lestari : This welcoming family homestay has neat, clean air-conditioned rooms and airy communal spaces. Helpful owner Jan speaks fluent Dutch and English, but finding him to check in or out can sometimes take a while: there's no reception. Doors lock at 11pm.