Has anyone stayed at The Ava Hotel recently? We're considering it for a stay in June. Thanks so much!

Friends of mine stayed at the Ava Hotel last year, and they were very satisfied with their suite. They had a fantastic view from their room.
Somehow this hotel is relatively unknown, as they don't co-operate much with Tour Operators or booking engines, my impression is that they prefer direct clients.
The hotel has a superb directly in the Plaka, in a quiet street, and very near to most attractions of Athens...
In immediate proximity you will find the New Acropolis Museum, the Acropolis, Anafiotika, Temple of Zeus, the National garden, Zappeion, Kolonaki for shopping and many more.
Nearest metro station would be Acropolis ( red line).
Nearby hotels , so that you can compare rates, are : Athens Gate , Royal Olympic, both 100-200 meters away from Ava.
Anything else you'd like to know, please ask

*superb location in the Plaka* that is......

We did not stay at Ava Hotel....were deciding between that and Athens Gate. I cannot remember why we chose Athens Gate over Ava (perhaps cost) but we really liked the location which is very close to the Ava.

clausar and Judy,

Thanks so much! My husband and I have been to Athens many times, but never stayed right in the Plaka. I wanted to try something other than the big name hotels.

If either of you have recommendations for great lunch/dinner places in the neighborhood, I'd love to know about them. Thanks again!

As an Athenian, i would avoid the Plaka, where most of the restaurants are offering touristy food..

Here are some of my favorite restaurants in the centre

Brasserie Valaoritou - Valaoritou Street 15
http://www.brasserie.gr/index.php ( the menu is in english)

excellent place for lunch in the heart of Athens, where you will be amongst locals !! Try one of the plates of the day, they change every day and they are delicious!!

Laundrette - Voukourestiou 34
no website

very small restaurant offering excellent greek kitchen, plates are changing every day - they only have a few tables !!!
As the name says.. it was a Laundromat before.

OIKEIO - Ploutarhou 15
Small cozy restaurant with excellent greek kitchen, many different plates are changing on daily basis.

All 3 restaurants are located near Syntagma square in fashionable Kolonaki

Trapezaria - Theodorou Negri 1 - near Acropolis
http://www.trapezaria.gr/index.php

New very good restaurant offering modern greek kitchen
It looks like the dining room of a greek family !!

Attikos - Mina
Garibaldi 7 - near Acropolis
They offer delicious greek food almost like home cooked, and they have a terrific terrace with unique view !! ( Parthenon, Philopappos Hill and Herodion Theater !!!!)
Mrs. Mina will personally take care of you, don't miss her famous orangepie....

All there restaurants are in walking distance from Ava hotel.

clausar,

Many thanks!!! I absolutely LOVE Greek food, so I am thrilled to have new places to try.

Love Attikos, must have sofrito & I agree about the orange cake/pie!!
Some photos among this set here,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yiassas...th/5936537804/
A temptation,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yiassas...7627560357446/
The view in daylight on a different occasion,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yiassas...7627560357446/

great photos yiassas !!!! the view is fantastic!!!
I am sure you have been to most of my favorite restaurants !!
( i will just ignore the photos of the food, i'm on diet...lol)

I forgot to mention, there was a concert on at Herodes Atticus theatre in the background of the ones in the first link,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yiassas...7627067193523/
The occasional sound of the music & the audience clapping every now & then adds an extra atmosphere to the experience!

yiassas and clausar,

Thank you so much for the incredible photos, links, and recommendations. June can't come fast enough!

On a different subject.... ( guess I should do a separate post) is Aegina worth a day trip? Husband will be working at least part-time while in Athens, and I will be visiting with my son
and his friend ( 2 21-year-olds), one of whom has never been out of the U.S. Would like to show him something of the beautiful Greek Islands, but it's got to be fairly close to Athens.

BTW, I have been to Hydra- twice- loved it, but spent most of my time there at a friend's house. Not sure the boys would find it that interesting.

Thanks for your help and advice!

Aegina cannot be compared to the other Saronic Islands, such as Hydra or Spetses or Poros, and is less touristy even amongst Greeks, even though some Athenians have a summer house there.

Athenians use to go to Aegina during the week ends, as this island is the nearest island to Athens ( i would exclude Salamis, which is unattractive).

The main village of Aegina is nice, but i can't imagine spending a whole day there...
There are of course plenty of cafes and restaurants, and you can visit the Temple of Aphaia or the archeological museum of Aegina but it could also be bit boring if you want to spend a whole day there.
Have a look at http://www.aegina.com.gr to see what Aegina has to offer.

A good alternative would be the island of Spetses, that can be reached by hydrofoil, i think Spetses is much more beautiful than Aegina, it takes approximately 2 hours to get there via hydrofoil.

http://www.spetsesdirect.com

If weather is warm enough you could spend the day in Vouliagmeni, a beautiful suburb of Athens. Asteras ( a complex of two hotels, Westin Athens and Astir Palace) has a fabulous location on a peninsula, with great beaches. You will have to pay an entrance to use the facilities, but it is worth it, if weather will be hot. On your way back you could taxi to the neighbouring Glyfada, a fashionable southern suburb of Athens on the sea, and have lunch in one of the numerous cafes and restaurants. Glyfada is ideal for shopping too !!
From there you can the tram that will take you to Zappeion ( 200 meters away from the Ava hotel)

clausar,

Thank you very much for the information. It's so helpful. I think we'll look into Spetses. Sounds much more appealing. Vouliagmeni is wonderful, especially after the long flight from the east coast. We have stayed there a few times, but were unable to find accommodations during that week, which falls during Poseidonia (spelling?). Husband is attending those conferences.

Anyway, many thanks for your advice. I have never been to Glyfada or Zappeion, but hope to make it to both this time.

Oh you said the keyword... Poseidonia is a huge event in Athens, and hotels are usually fully booked, plus they are selling their rooms at much higher rates.....
First hotels to be sold out during Poseidonia, are the ones on the coast....
Glyfada is nice for window shopping and lunch, and easy accessible with the tram from your hotel.
Zappeion i am sure you have seen, it is the building between the National Garden and the Temple of Zeus.
Another idea of spending the day would be to take the metro ( green line) to the end station ( Kifisia), a nice posh northern suburb with restaurants and shops of high quality.
The metro ride only takes 30-40 minutes.

Yes, I have seen Zappeion. Don't know why I was so confused about it! Kifisia sounds lovely, although I don't think the two 21-year-old boys will accompany me! Any other ideas for them? They are both avid fans of anything historical. Thanks so much!

The day tour to Kifisia could incorporate a stop at " the Mall", a very big mall located directly at the metro station of Neratziotisa ( on your way to Kifisia).
There are many nice shops there, especially for this age ( around 20-25) and i am sure they will spend the day amongst many Athenian of same age.

Anything historical in Athens means archeological sites and museums. Aside from the well known National Archeological Museum i would recommend the Benaki Museum (near the Parliament)and the Museum of Cycladic Art ( same area)

Another part of Athens that is attracting the Athenian youth and not only is the Gazi area. Just take the red line and get off at Kerameikos. This is a nice area with many great cafes and restaurants, crowded day and night.

Hi; We stayed at the InterContinental this past July that is very near the National Archeological Museum. I bid on Priceline.con and had the room for $80 US. They were ready and waiting for us. Great service. Not so with the Marriott in Athens. [But we did get points for our inconvience. Had to e-mail the blog of Bill Marriott for the points]

Iris i think you are a bit confused about the location.....
While the InterConti is located in Neos Kosmos ( Syngrou Avenue), the Nationasl Archeological Museum is located in Mouseio/Exarchia... which is far away from the InterConti.
Perhaps you had the New Acropolis Museum in mind, which is not far away....

The Athenaeum Intercontinental isn't a bad choice of course, but it is not in walking distance to the centre of Athens.

clausar; You are right. I meant the New museum and it was fantastic. Not near the center, but the metro is close. Built over early ruins that were on view while walking on a glass floor. Thanks 'clausar for the clarification.

We stayed at Ava in July. Great location. Easy to walk to many of the main sights from there. We had a suite with a balcony. Nice to sit outside on a warm night. Would stay there again.