Ooops, reposting this in Greeece:
Can anyone help me sort something out with regards to prices in Athens? I keep reading about the Attalos hotel, which has rooms for 4 for 128 euro, plus 32 euro for breakfast - 160 euro total. I have found what looks like a beautiful penthouse apartment (www.athenspenthouses.com) near the Marble Stadium which I can book for 180 euro per night. We'll have two bathrooms, the kids each get their own bedroom, and we'll have a living room plus a veranda and roof terrace with views. In my mind, it seems the extra 20 euro is worth it, but it makes me wonder if I am missing something because everywhere I look on this forum people are talking about staying at the Attalos. I'm thinking that maybe staying just outside Plaka we'll find cheaper shopping and cheaper dining as well - perhaps making up the cost difference. Does anyone who has stayed there have any opinions, or maybe anyone else who hasn't - Can you help me sort this out? Thanks

Take the penthouse! The Attalos is a good budget hotel, but for the extra 20 Euro you're getting so much more.

There is more than 20 Euro extra. In the duplex breakfeast is not included. But the place looks nice.

hskol,
We have reservations at the Attalos for June. We are also a family of four. The reason I chose the Attalos was based on the reviews that say it is decent and clean but very well situated. Also because of the roof top terrace. We will only be there two days and are also spending time on the mainland Santorini, Rhodes and throughout Turkey. For this reason I preferred to spend more money in other locations. For the two days we will spend in Athens I do not anticipate spending much time outside of sleeping in the room and spending late evenings on the terrace. For other areas where we will spend time at our hotel I budgeted more money. If you plan to spend time in the room I would take the penthouse. BTW the Attalos will also give you a 10% discount as a Frommer's reader. Surely you have used their publication to prepare for this trip. I simply mentioned it in the e-mail and the confirmed the discount with no problem.

Hi hskol,
in general, i think a lot of people stay in hotels rather than apartments because it is usually easier to make connections with hotels.
i've stayed at the attalos more than once, but i am not one of its big fans. it is a basic budget hotel with small rooms and tiny bathrooms, and not much to offer except the location and price. oh, yeah, it does have a decent rooftop view, but so do many many other hotels in athens. especially with kids, the apartment sounds like a good deal to me.

as for cheaper shopping and cheaper dining, i couldn't figure out from the website exactly where the penthouse that interests you is located. Is the apartment you are talking about on the athenspenthouses.com map as being near the corner of "Hymittou Av." and "Sp. Merkouri"? if so, you may find slightly cheaper food in that area than Plaka, but not overwhelmingly so. it will also be kind of a hike if you are planning to visit the standard tourist destinations, so be aware, if i am correct about the location of the apartment, you will not be "centrally located." don't get me wrong, it is definitely walkable -- for me, though not for my mother.

Because I am a budget traveller I am a fan of Attalos even with it's small rooms and bathrooms. We have always booked it through Uli at Dolphin Hellas travel agency and every time she has been able to get it at a cost far below the internet posted rates. Attolos is very well situated for exploring the Plaka and the antiquities plus Psiri and the central market and you need to take that into consideration when looking at other locations. I think you should be able to get a better price using a travel agent. We certainly did.

Thanks for the replies. The apartment is on the map near Spyro Merkouri, and when I google mapped it to the Plaka, it is 2.2 km. To me that's quite walkable, so it doesn't feel far, especially if we can visit sites along the way. The previous guests said it was about a 15 minute walk to Syntagma, which is what the Attalos says it is from there hotel, so I think my family is fine with that. They say that it is closer to the sites than the Hilton is. Isn't the Hilton in Central Athens? Am I reading the map wrong, because it seems to be pretty close to the Old Olympic Stadium.

I guess I should also put a qualifier on my original question. Do most people stay 4 nights or longer at places like the Attalos? From what everyone is saying, the rooms are small and kind of blah. I love my kids, don't get me wrong but it sounds kind of tight for a several night stay. I realize we won't spend all day in the room, but I guess I am wondering about people who want to see real Athens, not just the Plaka and Acropolis. In planning our days, I figure that we'll spend 2 days in the at area, and the other 3 doing other things. I guess I just like the idea of eating where the Greeks eat, sipping a coffee in someplace more local. Plus we'll have our own terrace with what seems to be a lovely Acropolis view.

I stayed at the Attalos in a family suite - 2 bedrooms sharing a bathroom. We chose not to have breakfast included and found plenty of placing in the Plaka area serving wonderful breakfasts.
I would choose whichever has the most convenient location for you. I don't however think that I would have liked one bedroom for 4 at the Attalos.
Carolena

Carolina
Thanks for your reply - What was the rate for the 2 bedroom at the Attalos. Did it have a kitchen? One bath or two?
Thanks

I stayed at the Attalos last Sept and went thru Dolphin-Hellas. The room was cheaper when booked thru the travel agency than on-line. They sent me a list of Athens hotels and rates for Summer 06. The list shows a rate of 108 euros, w/breakfast for a quadruple; only rates for standard rooms are provided. I agree with above poster, I would not want to have 4 people in a standard room at ATtalos. If adjoining rooms would work for you, the price of a double is 71 euros. Rooms are pretty simple, but have refrigerators.

I can't remember the rate but it was cheaper than 2 separate rooms. We would have preferred 2 twin rooms but the hotel gave us a family suite which was 1 twin room, 1 double room and 1 bathroom. If your children are old enough for their own room, I would go for 2 twin / double rooms, each with bathroom and I would save money by not paying for the breakfast. 32E is a lot for breakfast, you can do better by eating in cafes as and when you feel like it.

Carolena

We stayed atthe Attalos last spring, and it was just fine, but it was definitely a budget hotel. We booked two singles, but actually got rooms big enough for two people each, which was nice. Nothing fancy at all, but adequate for what we needed.

In general, I am a big fan of apartments. On last year's trip, Athens was the only place we stayed in a hotel. Definitely skip the breakfast...not worth 8E each (although it was fine, and our rooms were only 58E each including breakfast). Much cheaper to go out. The market is very close...we bought fantastic fruit and kept it in our rooms for snacks.

I'd splurge for the extra, just to have room to spread out. The difference is really the 128 to the 180, so is space worth 42E a day. My opinion, yes, unless that means you have to cut the trip short or cut out something really important to you. I place a premium on space

Anne