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johnqd00 Mar 3rd, 2007 08:16 AM

eridanus and herodion and other athens hotels
 
Hi all,

We've finally booked flights and a Santorini hotel for our honeymoon thanks to all of your help. Now, we just need to book a hotel in Athens. We are looking at the Eridanus ($176/night) and Herodion ($226/night) in mid-Sept. We're leaning towards Eridanus, since it sounds nicer. Has anybody stayed in these hotels? Would the Eridanus be too far from things for first-time visitors?

Other hotel recommendations would also be appreciated. Our price range is pretty wide. We were briefly considering the Grande Bretagne, but we were concerned that our expectations might be too high if we were paying those prices. Plus, we've seen a few negative reviews for GB.

It's our honeymoon, so we're not looking for the cheapest hotel, but we don't want to overpay for a luxury hotel with poor service either. Basically, we're just looking for a nice, clean comfortable hotel with friendly service. Thoughts?

tom_h Mar 3rd, 2007 05:01 PM

The Electra Palace, in Plaka section, is worth checking out. It's a deluxe, very elegant hotel with a great location, and it was extensively renovated about 3 yrs ago. Rates might be somewhat higher (around 200E) than other hotels you mentioned.

http://www.electrahotels.gr/english/english.html

Don't confuse the Electra Palace with the Athens Electra hotel. Same company, but the Electra is not in the same league as the Electra Palace.

I recall trying to book an Athens hotel for Sept 2005, and it was *extremely* difficult. I was told Sept is very popular for conventions and professional society conferences. You should waste no time in assessing vacancies for Sept. I was trying to book for 5 nights, which may have been another factor toward my difficulty.

Eleni Mar 3rd, 2007 05:11 PM

I've stayed at the Herodion, and it is nice but nothing special. It is on a quiet street that is very near to the Acropolis, and within easy walking distance of Plaka.

I haven't yet stayed at the Eridanus, but have reservations to stay there soon. It sounds lovely though, doesn't it?

As to whether the Eridanus is too far away, I don't think so. Especially when you will be there, as the extension of the blue metro line is supposed to open soon -- with test runs on the line in April and the stations opening in May. One of the new stops is Kerameikos, and it is right by the Eridanus. This means that you will be able to take the metro from the airport to the Eridanus in one straight shot, and it will be most convenient for getting around Athens. The metro in Athens is fast, clean, and very convenient. Even my taxi-loving husband agrees that the metro, if it is running when you are going to and from the airport, is the easiest way to get around.

Other hotels. I love the Grande Bretagne and have stayed there many times over the years, but it is definitely expensive. The rooms at the GB are lovely, but can be small. The service is what really makes the hotel. I have never been treated in any way other than the very best at the GB. If I could afford it, I'd stay there everytime. It is very well located, right on Syntagma Square.

The Fresh Hotel is a little off the beaten path, but still in central Athens. It has fabulous bedding, and is a modern, boutique, euro-style hotel. We enjoyed staying at the Fresh.

The Electra Palace is a nice hotel in the middle of Plaka. Some of the rooms have great views of the Acropolis, which would be nice for a honeymoon. I've read reviews of the Electra Palace that comment on the rudeness of the staff. That was not our experience, but I will say that the staff/service at the Electra Palace does not even come close to that at the GB.

Residence Georgio, near Omonia Square, is a 5star hotel that you can get for about 100Euros or so with 21 day advance, no-refundable purchase. It is a nice hotel, great bedding, nice bathrooms with Jacuzzis. I would not recommend it, however, because they did not honor our reservation for the first night (despite confirmation before we left) and instead shunted us off to a lesser quality hotel. I don't need this kind of uncertainty, particularly when I know there are other hotels where reservations are honored. For the same reason, I would not recommend the Magna Grecia -- they overbooked and shunted us off to another hotel. Completely unacceptable in my book.

The AVA hotel is in Plaka and has larger rooms than many Athens hotels, plus the rooms have kitchenettes, which can be a nice thing for breakfast. We'd stay here again.

The Amazon Hotel is more of a budget hotel than the ones above, but it is pleasant and some of the rooms have Acropolis views. It is conveniently located near Syndagma Square.

I also really like the Adrian Hotel, if you can get a room with an Acropolis View. It is neither modern nor upscale, but well located, and the view can't be beat.

Well, that's probably more than you wanted to know!

johnqd00 Mar 3rd, 2007 07:03 PM

Thanks, Tom and Eleni. We were looking at the Electra Palace too. I think we're going with Eridanus, since it's a bit cheaper. Thanks for the tip, Tom. We'll be sure to book in the next few days.

Eleni, how did you make your reservation? Did you use Eridanus' website or Orbitz, etc. We found cheaper rates when we went on Orbitz (140E vs 185E per night for a deluxe room). I'm just worried they might lose the reservation if we book through Orbitz.

Eleni Mar 3rd, 2007 10:08 PM

I made my reservation through venere.com, and then followed up with the hotel to confirm the reservation. So I have both the venere confirmation and the hotel confirmation. It was 4 nights for 560Euro in a deluxe room(140E per night), and I confirmed that price with the hotel as well, because it was unclear from the venere site whether taxes were included in their rate. By the way, before I booked with venere, I asked the Eridanus if they were willing to meet the venere price and they were not.

johnqd00 Mar 4th, 2007 06:28 AM

Thanks for your help, Eleni. We just booked. I also sent an email to the Eridanus folks to confirm the reservation.

We're all set now in terms of flights and hotels. I'm glad that's out of the way.

seeksocean Aug 23rd, 2007 05:33 PM

johngd00,
I know it's been awhile, but where did you book in Santorini? Thanks!


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