nicegirl512

I am so sorry to ask so many questions; I did a search but didn't find any recommendations.

I had a panicked moment last night when I realized I hadn't yet booked a hotel for my last night in Greece! I am flying out of Athens at the truly ghastly hour of 7:35 am (flying out in the afternoon would have added a couple hundred bucks to my already eye-popping ticket price). I'll be coming back from Naxos the day before, and will have already done my sightseeing before going to the Island (though I'm sure there will be so much more I want to see), so I plan to just get a hotel near the airport for convenience sake. I know it won't be a pleasant tourist experience, but I will probably only be in Athens for less than 12 hours that round and I am not a morning person, to say the least. The closer I am to the aiport (and the cheaper a cab ride) the better.

None of the guidebooks even mention hotels near the airport, so I can't turn to them for ideas. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Suspaul

Hi nicegirl512 - we stayed at the Sofitel our last night, which is at the airport in Athens. You might try going online and checking their special online, non-refundable rates, I think we got a better $ that way. It is very convenient for an early a.m. flight. However, the Metro is very convenient and runs from/to the airport into Athens if you wanted to stay in the city instead of being so isolated at the airport. To us, it was well worth the convenience of having to only walk across the street to check in for our flight. Just a thought.

ourjetboat

we're staying at the Sofitel Athens Airport...you can almost walk to it.

nicegirl512

Thank you for the quick suggestions! I (naively, apparently) assumed hotels near the airport would be cheap, but at 220 Euro the Sofitel is way out of my budget, though it sounds very nice. I am hoping for closer to 100E.

Suspaul

Didn't realize the $ would be so high, I'm sure I reserved pretty far in advance and like I said earlier did a internet special rate which was non-refundable. Did you try doing a google search for hotels near the airport? You might also want to try Priceline and see what is available. Have a wonderful trip.
Susan

nicegirl512

Thanks Susan! I should have planned ahead like you. It turns out there is a Holiday Inn near the aiport for around 120E, so I'll probably end up there. I can do much better staying in Athens, but the thought of leaving my hotel at 4:30 am is just killing me. I'm surprised there's not more in the area, but Fiumicino is similar so it's not unheard of.

travelerjan

NOte -- you can feel better about the Holiday Inn room rate when you consider that H-I has a FREE shuttle to the airport vs. the 50E a taxi would charge you from Plaka.

NOTE: when booking the room, first e-mail them to be SURE that the free shuttle is available at 5 a.m to get you to your airport ticket line by 5:30.

endlessummer

Hi - if it makes you feel better about the Holiday Inn, I made a note to stay there the next time we are in Athens. My husband and I saw it from the bus when we arrived last summer - looks good and v close to airport. We had an uncomfortable journey with a cab driver on the way back to the airport. Although we fixed the price, he started adding "extras" when we arrived at the airport. It was early, he had our luggage in the boot and we didn't have the energy to argue. Staying at the airport means you can avoid this kind of unpleasant situation entirely...