Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Hotels in Athens

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Hotels in Athens

Hi all, I am planning a trip to Athens in March, and was wondering if you could suggest any good hotels that are near a lot of activity, and would have some younger travlers!! Thanks!!!! :)

We stayed at the Hotel Attalos and loved it.. clean and very inexpensive.. good for young people. Next to the plaka..

Well, here is another and different opinion about Attalos hotel. This was only one place in Greece where we were bitten by mosquitos. Our bathroom was so tiny that if you were sitting there there was no way you could close the door. It is more like low class hostel but with private bathrooms. Also if you don't mind a hotel situated on the same street that only hardware stores (and many of them) are located then this place maybe is for you. There is no lobby and people who worked in the reception smoked even when we were standing there paying our bill. One good think about, it was inexpensive. Would I stay there again? No way

Topping Brad's post!!! One should bring this 'Attalos' lobbying through fodor's to its right level....ok for the location but it is still a seventies designed hotel ,but,... There are several fully renovated,and brand new boutique hotels-due to the olympics preparation-within the golden triangle of Plaka/Syntagma/Omonia. Herodion and its sister property Philippos are good options. among my favourites you should consider the www.grecotel.gr ,city hotels like the Omonia grand wich is right in the middle of all action including the Psirri area and Gazi area where you can find the best of the nightlife

I've stayed at the Attalos, the Arethusa and the Athens Gate. The Attalos was good value but the position isn't great. The Arethusa was okay but I wouldn't go back. The Athens Gate was good value and has a nice rooftop bar / restaurant. It is about a ten minute walk from the Plaka. Otherwise, if you are looking for something with younger travellers, consider something actually in the Plaka - Lonely Planet and Let's Go have lots of reccommendations. It is a nice area to stay in because you don't have the hastle of finding a taxi at night. Good luck, Carolina

My impression of Herodion was that it would be a bit staid for young travelers wanting to be near lots of activity. A hotel in Plaka would be better, IMO.

Hi All- Since we already have our confirmed reservations for the Attalos at the end of May, I've decided to share my experience. Yes, I agree the hotel appears to be hidden through a somewhat small door by hardware stores. Looked kind of strange when we drove up, could not tell where the hotel door was. And yes the bathroom was very small but doable for a couple. There is a lobby, but it is quite small & can be crowded, but we had no problem. Didn't have mosquitoes, though, that would drive me crazy, I'll definetly take something. We found the hotel to be in a great location, close to the market, plaka, we walked everywhere, easily. The rooms were clean and neat; we asked for a room at the back on a higher floor & had a balcony with a side view of the Acropolis. We stayed there 3 years ago for the first time on the recommendation of a friend, and for the price, about $48 with breakfast we didn't expect much & were very pleased. Now for the best part--THE ROOF GARDEN-- How delicious. We arrive about 7:00PM settled in with our Ouzo and spent the next 4-5 hours, viewing the Parthenon as sun danced across the columns; meeting people, young & old, from all over the world; sharing stories and adventures & all the while we thought we were in paradise. When it was dark and they start the "Light" show, we thought nothing in the world could surpass that view and experience. And the best part is 62E a night, without breakfast. PS--I don't reccomend the breakfast. PSS-- All the other hotels mentioned are close to or over 100E a night & yes they look nicer from the Web sites, & we even thought about staying in one, but from their Web sites, I just felt Attalos's roof garden could not be beat. Check out Attalos's web site & I think you'll see what I mean. PS--If you book Attalos, it is pronounced, At-talos, otherwise the cab driver will say what?, what? Speaking from experience!!

A good breakfast,sometimes a buffet,makes the difference in Athens!It is a real meal for the day. 100 euros breakfast included(directly arranged with a call to the hotel),in a brand new fully renovated hotel , A class rated (and not C class at 62 euros without brkfst at the Attalos) -like the Herodion,...and 200 yds direct view from its roof garden to the Acropolis,should be considered as an good value for money.

We stayed overnight at Attalos Hotel Sept 02 on our honeymmon. Glad to hear others had trouble finding the door! Yes, it's located amongst hardware stores, but we had a great balcony with a view of the Acropolis and a short 5 minute walk to the Plaka where we had good meals and a fun atmosphere. We only stayed one night and wanted affordable accomodation (low Canadian currency exchange) before catching the ferry to the islands. We took the transit bus (very slow) from the airport then walked through Monastiraki square. Make sure you have a detailed map in your travel book!

We stayed at the Attalos twice a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. We had room 505 once and 605 the other time (605 was a little better as it was higher up). Both rooms had views of both the Acropolis and Lycabettus Hill. We were there in March and saw no mosquitos. Is someone saying being near hardware stores is bad? We LOVE them and considered that a definite plus . . . we bought some of our best and most cherished souvenirs there. We also thought the location was great, we could (and did) walk to practically everything. We would definitely stay there again. We've recommended this hotel to several of our friends and they enjoyed their visits, too. Good luck, Sandy

Nicole: I was in Athens in November of 2002 and 2000. I stayed at the Acropolis View which is a Class C hotel, clean but not fancy located two blocks from the Acropolis in the Makrigianni (the quiet side)as opposed to the Plaka. I love the location as it is near good shopping, restaurants, bars, bakeries, etc. Just walk down to the Sygrou Fix metro stop and there are tons of places to choose from. I've passed the Herodion and the Divani Acropolis which are a couple of blocks from the Acropolis View and the lobbies look very nice, but I have no first hand experience with staying there or what services they offer. They are much more expensive as well and I am not in my room that much to warrant the extra expense. The Plaka, Syntagma Square, and Omonia have many hotel choices but they are very noisy so if you stay there make sure the hotel has double paned glass to block out the street noise. Quiet is a big issue in Athens because of the large number of motorcycles in use there. Since you are a younger traveler, I would check the recommendations in the Let's Go, Rough Guide and Lonely Planet to see if they have other ideas. I used Let's Go when I first went to Europe many years ago.