Nubian Hostel Athens — Hotel in Athens

Ok this hostel could have gotten a better review from me if not were for the dirty first impression upon my arrival. So after a long day of traveling I arrive to the hostel in the evening, take a shower and get in bed. However, I notice that the bed sheets (the linen, cover and even pillow case) had some hair on them here and there, clipped nails, and dust. Just really didn’t feel hygienic to get in. I go down to the receptionist and tell her on the matter, she tells me to wait until next morning as the room service isn’t available at the moment. I understand, but one gotta expect very clean bed sheets upon arrival ya know, especially that I’ll be staying 9 nights! The receptionist offered to change the bed but she said that once I change I cannot return to the previous bed, so I refused cause I believe the original bed has the best location, it’s just the sheets weren’t so clean. In the morning the room service comes and changes the linen only, I had to personally inform her to change the pillow case (I found a long blonde hair on it). And then she wanted to leave the room so I also had to remind her to change the bed cover. She didn’t change it immediately but had to call the receptionist down the lobby. The receptionist comes to the room and asks what’s wrong, I simply told her to change the bed covers, he said they do that every 3 DAYS!!! Okay, that’s gross cause other people definitely slept on this bed and not the whole thing was changed. When I expressed my discomfort with the matter the receptionist told the cleaning lady to change the bed covers. I think the whole situation could have been avoided from the start by just providing cleaner sheets. Also the room is too small for 6 people (it’s a female dormitory of 6). Luckily we were never more than 3 people at the time, it was never a full room which provided some comfort. Had it been filled with 6 people it would’ve been really packed. The bathroom door doesn’t even open all the way cause it’s blocked by a bunk bed, the same with the window. I have seen other rooms of 6 and some had a balcony, and a little more space which probably makes them bearable, but the room I got was narrower. Also the bathroom in the room is small, but the shared bathroom in the lobby is big.

Okay as for the good part: The staff are helpful, despite everything. The location is a walking distance from Syntagma square. Good price (well, I booked on holidays discount 15%) It’s not too crowded (but perhaps cause I came during the holidays) It’s cozy down the lobby or the garden outside. It serves a FREE BREAKFAST. The beds are designed & positioned in a way that makes it cozy, hidden and helpful to sleep.

Would I recommend? Hmm perhaps not for a...

Truly the best place!! I’ve stayed in many hostels in many countries and this was honestly my favourite. Such a good price. decent location (far enough so it’s not constantly noisy, but close enough to walk everywhere). I never took public transit once! And it’s in a pretty safe neighbourhood - I am a solo female traveller and didn’t feel unsafe at all. The rooms are impeccable - comfy beds, very clean. Clean bathroom. Lockers that they give you a key for!! No need to bring a padlock!! First time I’ve seen that.

One slightly inconvenient thing is that the doors don’t lock automatically as they are locked with an actual turn key.

Free wine 7-9 which is an amazing place to meet new people.

Breakfast is actually good, especially for a free hostel one. Delicious Greek yogurt, honey, cereal/müsli, tea, coffee, breads, jams.

Free luggage storage was so awesome and saved me from dragging my stuff around Athens for like 8 hours on my check in/check out days.

But my favourite part: the staff. When I first got there the man was super helpful, giving me a map, telling me the districts, helping me store my luggage. When i came back to get my bad Before leaving for good, the lady was so kind and let me fill my water/assemble some food before leaving. She then gave me recommendations for my future travels and even wrote it down for me 😍

Can’t say enough about this place. Maybe the fact that it’s 1247am and I’m taking the time to write this essay says enough 😉

I...

I stayed here for a school trip in May. Our first night there, bed bugs were crawling on me in the middle of the night. I did not sleep at all. They did nothing when brought to their attention. Unfortunately at the end of the trip, my group had to come back here. They claimed they had cleaned everything. I thought everything as fine until our 3rd day back and I began extremely itchy and was having horrible allergic reactions. It turned out that the bed bugs were not gone, and I had more than 30 bites all over my body that continued popping up for days after I came home. I was not the only one in my group that experienced this either. We were scattered throughout the hostel both times we encountered them. The customer service was awful, and clearly nothing was done as there were several days in between our stays. This hostel is also in a gross, run down part of down that is a long walk to the city center. The showers are so small you barely fit, regardless of how little you are, and the garbage in the commons was always over flowing. Do yourself a favor, avoid the bedbugs, and...