The New Yorkers Hotel

Friendly staff, a great bed, and the place was clean enough, though this little hotel is cheap and a bit run down. The bathroom is the weak point: there’s only one, shared by 12 rooms on the second floor. The shower gets the floor wet, the door wouldn’t lock because the frame was broken, and the toilet paper tends to disappear. Best to bring your own.

I arrived at 11am and waited outside with my luggage for over 30 minutes before anyone showed up to open the door. The woman at reception kept yelling that she couldn’t find my reservation, even after I showed her the email confirmations. She didn’t understand a word of English, yet she was at the desk. Eventually she put me in a tacky room by the doorway with no heating. There was a small heater, but she took it away. The toilet was upstairs while my room was on the ground floor. I’ve never had a situation like this in my life. I’d tell anyone I know not to book here. I’d rather sleep at the airport.

I stayed three nights. The room was small but okay, and I had no private bathroom. That was fine since I seemed to be the only guest in the hotel the whole time. The neighborhood was the most awkward part: dirty, loud, with lots of men from the Middle East and Pakistan/India. The walls have ugly graffiti, and the hotel is hard to find without navigation. I only saw the receptionist at check-in. If all you need is a small place to sleep, it’s okay, but look elsewhere if you want comfort or proper hotel service.

The bathroom was filthy and kept running out of toilet paper, and the room was ridiculously small, with lamps and other things on the walls looking ready to fall off. The hosts seemed annoyed that we were staying and weren’t accommodating. When we tried to check out, we rang the reception bell and doorbell, knocked on the hosts’ apartment door, and called the hotel, but still couldn’t find anyone, so we left the key. The neighborhood was horrible, with drunk and homeless people everywhere, and it felt like a slum. The place is cheap and somewhere near the town center, but that’s all it has going for it. We stayed three nights, and I’ve backpacked in plenty of bad places, but this was worse than any hostel I’ve been in. We’d never stay here again, and I seriously recommend finding somewhere else in Athens.