Athinaikon Athens

We stayed at the Athinaikon hotel for 4 nights at the end of our trip to Greece and arrived by ferry from Naxos It’s extremely well located in the Psiri district which is close to the main sights, lots of restaurants 5 minutes’ walk away and very close to the Monastiraki Metro station which has direct links to the port of Piraeus plus the airport. It was so convenient that apart from using public transport from the ferry and to the airport we walked everywhere else There have been adverse reviews about the Psiri area around the hotel which in our opinion are unjustified – Psiri is actually a very interesting commercial district, and on every day apart from Sunday you could buy virtually anything whether it be a tool, foodstuffs, dress making supplies and 100’s of other items – there is also a very interesting fish and meat market around the corner At night these all close, put shutters down which are heavily spray painted with graffiti which does give the area a slightly ominous feel, but coming back from the restaurants at night we always felt very safe OK so the hotel has pluses and minuses – it’s run by a very nice family on a number of floors with no lift – be aware if you have a heavy case that has to be carried to the top floor – also depending on the floor you are on you will have a certain amount of stair walking every day Our room, and I think quite a lot of them was spotlessly clean but extremely small – there was just one wardrobe, one small bedside table a chair and a stool, so if you want to spread yourself out it’s very difficult – we virtually lived out of our case for the 4 days – there was a small TV and very good quite air-conditioning that we used every night.The street we faced was quite noisy at night. There was a shower and toilet that was a bit of a squeeze, but OK The rooms were very efficiently cleaned each day with fresh sheets and towels We did have a problem with mosquitoes in the room, but concluded that this was an Athens problem rather than a hotel one The hotel does not do breakfast – they recommended the hotel in the road opposite, but we ended up going to a lovely bakery in the street Athinas (turn left out of the hotel, right into Athinas and it’s about a three-minute walk on the hotel side) The hotel insist that room keys a left with reception when you go out, but this seemed to be secure So, an OK hotel in a very good location

The location of this hotel was perfect - down a side street just off the main road full of shops and restaurants, just a few minutes walk to Monastiraki, where there is also a metro station. All of the attractions (Acropolis, Ancient Agora, National Gardens, Syntagma, museums etc) are all within 10-20 minutes walk from the hotel. Staff were lovely with 24 hour reception, the room was small and very basic (double bed, wardrobe, small ensuite) but clean and functional and for the price we weren't expecting more than basic. Cleaning every day with fresh sheets and towels. Small communal area also. A few reviews on here mention that the location seems scary or dodgy but it really isn't. At night it may give that impression because there is graffiti everywhere, but this is the case in most of Athens. We were travelling as a young couple and felt perfectly safe walking around the area at night - it's literally right behind the main high street so plenty of people around, lots of lighting etc. Would definitely recommend this hotel to those travelling on a budget and just looking for somewhere to crash at the end of the day - you really can't beat the location for being able to get around Athens.

I really don’t know how to start it. The cleanliness of the hotel is unacceptable. The location and surrounding area is very scary. Even the taxi driver do not want to wait long time in front of the hotel due to the danger area. Very noisy and smell very bad. We spend only a few hours due to our arrival time to the country. We tried to negotiate with Hotels.com and they do not return our money. The must interesting thing is they rate this hotel as excellent in their page and the reviews were as excellent and it is not true. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL