Hotel Review: The Excelsior Hotel Thessaloniki

One of my favorite Hyatt partnerships is with Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH). This portfolio of boutique hotels greatly expanded Hyatt’s presence in Europe (especially in smaller cities). The hotels are generally pretty luxe and because they’re all unique, I’ve found them charming.

Anthony’s Take: The hotel is perfectly located for exploring the city. After several days at the Hyatt Regency (review here), we came here for easier access to many of the sites we wanted to explore. The suite I booked was spacious and comfortable. It had a small, private patio and a comfortable bed. As a Globalist, I received free Wi-Fi, early check-in, late checkout, and free breakfast. SLH hotels booked through Hyatt.com offer these benefits to every guest, which is definitely an incentive to choose them if you don’t have status or are at a lower-tier that does not include breakfast. The Excelsior is a lovely hotel and I’d return if I was back in Thessaloniki.

Booking

I booked directly from Hyatt.com on a Standard rate. I chose to book the Penthouse Suite outright because I wanted to guarantee I would get this suite rather than try for an upgrade (especially in high season). The hotel only has 36 rooms and suites (only two are Penthouse Suites). The Excelsior was fully booked when we visited and rates were as expected for August in Greece. Pricing was the same as booking on Slh.com (pictured above) and I earned points for booking through Hyatt. This hotel is a steal if redeeming points as it is a Category 3 property. This means that a standard room will cost between 9,000 and 15,000 points.

Transportation to/from the Hotel

We drove from the Hyatt Regency to the hotel. It took about 30 minutes to drive approximately 17 kilometers with light traffic. When we left the hotel, we went to the airport, which took around the same amount of time to reach.

Location

The hotel is well situated for exploring the city with easy walks to The White Tower and the waterfront. Many of the things that you will want to see are nearby (see my Top 5 Picks for the city).

Check-in

We arrived around 4:00 PM. The agent had everything ready for our arrival. We got our keys and she explained that breakfast was upstairs in the restaurant. She also confirmed my requested late checkout of 1:00 PM. The process took only a few minutes and we were on the way to the suite. The elevator is slow and we found ourselves taking it up, but walking down the stairs when leaving.

Penthouse Suite (51)

There are 36 rooms and suites at the hotel.

The suite opens with a closet to the left and the balcony straight ahead. The living room consists of a chaise and cabinet with TV.

The doors led to the bedroom and could be closed to divide the rooms.

The French balcony had a small table and chairs (and it was overrun by pigeons looking for a meal while we were there).

Pigeons hoping for a snack.

The bedroom was small and featured a comfortable Queen-sized bed.

A Tivoli radio was on the nightstand.

It also had a small table and chair.

And, a second TV was found in the bedroom.

The bathroom was split into two parts with the tub and sinks on one side.

The shower, toilet, and another sink were on the other side.

Toiletries were Olive Era brand. I liked that they were all natural and from Greece.

A welcome amenity of wine, water, macarons, and fruit was waiting in the suite.

The suite also included a refrigerator and Nespresso machine.

Breakfast

As mentioned, we had breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant, Charlie D. Brasserie, during our stay. There is a buffet of cold items lining the walls. Coffee and hot entrees were also included. These were ordered directly from the server. Everything was fresh and prepared with high-quality ingredients. Service was impeccable. The restaurant was around half full during breakfast (even though the hotel was fully booked) and we enjoyed our meals.

Cold items were spread out around the dining room.

More cold items including breads, fruit, veggies, pastries, and more.

I ordered a cappuccino and loved the art on top.

The menu offered multiple hot items to choose from (all included with the complimentary breakfast). We tried several egg dishes and the pancakes over our two breakfasts here.

Amenities

The hotel does not have much in the way of amenities. It has self parking available for a fee at a nearby garage, but no spa, fitness center, or other common areas.

Overall Impression:

You can’t beat the location of The Excelsior Hotel when visiting Thessaloniki. The suites are swanky and comfortable. Breakfast is high quality and the service is excellent. It’s a nice hotel and one that I will hopefully visit again.