diff --git a/tempest/lib/decorators.py b/tempest/lib/decorators.py
index 62a5d67..4064401 100644
--- a/tempest/lib/decorators.py
+++ b/tempest/lib/decorators.py
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@
         # Check to see if the attr should be conditional applied.
         if 'condition' in kwargs and not kwargs.get('condition'):
             return f
-        if 'type' in kwargs and isinstance(kwargs['type'], str):
+        if 'type' in kwargs and isinstance(kwargs['type'], six.string_types):
             f = testtools.testcase.attr(kwargs['type'])(f)
         elif 'type' in kwargs and isinstance(kwargs['type'], list):
             for attr in kwargs['type']: