If you’re planning on a short stay in Thessaloniki, by which you only require a bed and a shower, then the ABC Hotel is the way to go. The rooms are spacious, clean and comfortable, and the bathroom sufficient for travelling purposes. Unfortunately, every room holds a max of two people, so our group of 4 couldn’t share a room. We stayed in rooms 603 and 606 which had fantastic views, especially at night! We were overlooking the roads which meant that it was a little noisy at night, but didn’t bother us too much. In regards to the location, the hotel is well placed! It’s walking distance to the White Tower, the sea, the communications tower (with the revolving café!), and of course, the famous Egnatia street! The breakfast that was served was average: not a lot of variety, the food was of satisfactory quality and they didn’t top up empty trays regularly.

There were some aspects that also disappointed us. Firstly, the shower heads in both our rooms did not stay up, and in room 606, the toilet didn’t flush properly. Secondly, we had access to WiFi (good for those with laptops), but they didn’t have any normal computers to use as some hotel do. But one of the biggest let downs for us was the staff of the hotel. Unfortunately, not all the staff we interacted with were friendly and kind. For example, one evening my friend and I were standing in the lobby talking (in English) about our plans for the trip. We then heard one of the staff casually walk past and mutter something in Greek, not realising that we actually understand Greek but not speak it. The comment was rude and unnecessary and we had actually done nothing to provoke this comment. Generally, we got the feeling that they weren’t as accommodating for English-speaking guests as much as the native speakers.

Regardless, the rooms were really good, the location was perfect, and the price was suitable. Would I stay at ABC again? Probably not, due to our bad experiences with a few of the staff because they didn’t make us feel as welcome as they should. Still, every experience is different, just be aware that Greeks say what they think!