If you're looking for a good place to stay, I can't say enough good things about
airbnb.com.
If you're not familiar with it, it's a website where people who rent out rooms in their houses as accommodation can post their availability.
In case you're worried about the reliability of the company, here's my experience:
I was doing a trip around Europe seeing friends and family and I had a weekend in Amsterdam at the end of my trip. I'd booked a room through airbnb and thought I was sorted. Then, I'm in Vienna and I check my email for the first time in days and I find six emails from Airbnb in my inbox, all of them sent over the course of a couple of hours.
The oldest was the woman I'd booked with cancelling on me, 48 hours before I was supposed to arrive.
The second was an apology from airbnb, a complete refund, and a 100 Euro credit.
The third was another email from Airbnb telling me they'd notified their network of accommodation providers about my situation.
The next three were all emails from providers offering me discounted rates on their accommodations.
Airbnb fixed my problem before I even knew I had a problem. I've used them in five or six different cities now and have always had a great experience. You also get the advantage of staying with a local who can give you tips and advice about their city. Great, great, great service. Love them.