Best Luxury Hotels To Put Up In For Your Athens Vacation
Not many years ago there were only dingy hostels and soulless chain hotels in Athens. Thanks to the fiscal crunch that led to a fall in property prices. Developers swooped in and snapped up townhouses, office blocks, and empty workshops. Airbnb too transformed the entire neighborhood but still has not come up with a booming hotel scene.
There are many funky little guesthouses which are spread all over the city center. Athens is also coming up with Greece’s first ever Four Seasons Hotel. To be in business, the costal hideouts are trying hard to improve the quality of service they are providing. The city is full of lovely lodges that will make you want to stay longer than a layover. Below is a list of 10 best hotels in Athens to stay to make your trip memorable.
1. New Hotel
The New Hotel, not so new now, was built in 2011 and still its design has a powerful effect. Earlier it was a dilapidated downtown spot but the Brazilian Campana brothers turned it into a happening hotel with their signature favela chic and sense of humor. This hotel is a combination of young interior design, energetic hospitality, and seductive customer-centered service. They have reused the old furniture in a very inspiring way. The lobby has splintered chairs and tables.
Rest of the hotel is decorated in a very mad yet stylish way. The bathroom has trippy bronze mirrors and to add to the madness, there are hybrid chairs which look like giant marshmallows. The penthouse suites are designed to perfection and are quite spacious. To give a sense of understated yet unsurpassable exclusivity, every piece of furniture, fixtures, and furnishings and the custom-made carpets, has been handpicked. The suites provide maximum comfort and have separate living and sleeping room areas.
The food in this hotel is so delicious that even the locals come here for the weekend brunch with Greek-style Blood Mary’s. The rooftop restaurant serves some sassy cocktails. The staff here is unfailingly professional and knows all about where they will get the latest designs and which restaurants to try. This hotel goes beyond being modern and is surprisingly fun.
2. The Magri
The Magri hotel was built in 1960 at the back of the sandy bay of Vouliagmeni in the southern suburbs. It is the most desirable enclave which stands on the Athens Riviera. The hotel is fun by a family and is quite easy-going. The Magri is popular among the affluent residents of the city. They visit the hotel quite often and can be spotted conversing at the Malabar pool bar or at Patio which is sophisticated restaurant with nine tables.
The hotel has an organic farm, and the restaurant uses many ingredients from there. Superb cuisines are served here. The hotel gives a memorable experience to its travelers through its friendly and attentive staff. The exquisite design of the hotels just adds up to its beauty.
The rooms are neutral with wood panels. Each room has either a pool or a pine view and is extremely cozy. Guests prefer to spend most of their time at the Asian-inspired spa or the sensational pool at the hotel. When you visit during the summer, do not forget to book a sunbed at the beach bar names Krabo. It is on a rocky cove above the headland where you will see beautiful, bronzed Athenians.
The Magri is in an ideal location. The most elegant sand beaches are just few steps away and the Athens Historical sites are close enough. The hotel is just like a heaven away from home.
3. Ergon House
Ergon House is not just a restaurant with room but a perfect place to immerse into Greece’s culinary traditions from a modern and urban perspective. The ground floor of the Ergon House is a constantly lively delicatessen, bakery, roastery, and dining room which has four stories with hydroponic vertical orchard on one wall and some typical Athenian graffiti on another. The rooms upstairs come in various sizes varying from S to XL which has a sleeping, living, and bathing areas. The rooms are decorated by cinder blocks, terrazzo tiles, and walnut-wood frames. You will find Greek artisan food prettily packed and kept in your room upstairs.
The restaurant of the hotel might not give you the best experience, but you always use the communal kitchen of the hotel and gather your own groceries to cook. During the summers, local youngsters gather at the rooftop bar. You can have a glimpse of the Parthenon from there.
4. Hotel Grande Bretagne
Hotel Grande Bretagne is one classic hotel in Athens. Since 1874, it presides over the Syntagma Square and is considered like an Athenian landmark just like the Acropolis. Treaty-signing politicians, matchmaking socialites, and undercover celebrities have been welcomed here. Hotel Grande Bretagne has been taken over by several corporates and has been redesigned too several times, but it still gives the feeling of being old-fashioned with the presence of colossal chandeliers, antique paintings, and highly polished marble.
This hotel is located right in the heart of the city and is at a walking distance of exclusive shopping areas, museums, and the business districts. There are 320 rooms in the hotel with the charm of old-world elegance and state-of-the-art facilities. The 58 suites provide additional benefits including a personalized Butler Service.
The gilded Winter Garden is kept lively by the piano player. The roof garden restaurant serves the finest Mediterranean cuisine and is worth taking pictures. The Alexander’s Lounge at the hotel serves some flawless cocktails which are deliciously unadventurous. Other amenities for the guests of this hotel include an indoor and outdoor pool and a wildly expensive spa. You can enjoy a wonderful view of the Parthenin from the excellent rooftop bar and restaurant of the hotel.
5. Monsieur Didot
There are many 20th century townhouses in Athens which are crumbling and crying out to be redesigned into beautiful Bread and Breakfast. Natalia Georgopoulou and Margarita Papaioannou, two best friends, took the initiative to revive a pale-pink property at a corner of Kolonaki, the Knightsbridge of Athens. That pale-pink property is now called as Monsieur Didot and is an astounding Athenian neoclassical house. The hotel is like a family house and has a homely feeling.
The Panepistimio metro station is just five minutes away from the hotel. Theatres, museums, publishing houses, and historic bookstores surround the Monsieur Didot. There are many cafes, bars, restaurants, and boutique too nearby. The hotel has a perfect setting from where you can experience the extraordinary ancient city and its historic, cultural, and creative glory.
The hotel has just six rooms which are calm. The rooms have unfussy furniture and offbeat art that is in perfect contrast with the buildings beautiful structure. The two best rooms of the hotel are The Tale, which has a separate entry door, and The Ode, which is a cozy penthouse and has a private sundeck. When you stay at the hotel, do not forget to ask Natalia to organize a Greek wine tasting on the secret rooftop.
You will experience a discreet luxury and relaxation while staying at this hotel. There are many natural materials and exotics plants which offers such a living experience that brings you closer to the principles of culture, well-being, and aesthetic pleasure.
6. Athenswas
Athenswas is the only five-star hotel on the magnificent walkway near the Acropolis. Here you will get a chance to meet some ancient Athenians. The hotel is quite calm and contemporary. The classical Athenian references are perfectly contrasted with modern design classics. Above the Le Corbusier leather armchairs you will find remarkable black and white marble torsos.
The classic rooms of the hotel have small veranda with a jardiniere. The rooms are elegantly furnished and fully equipped with marble bathrooms and luxurious fittings and amenities. The Residence Suites have a mini bar and a worktable. They located at the front of the building which overlooks the wonderful plane trees. The suites are quite spacious and beautifully furnished.
The hotel has a smart rooftop restaurant where Greek food like lamb baked in edible potato parchment, a seabed salad garnished with verbena, and sea urchin is served. You enjoy your meal with a beautiful view of the Parthenon. Although the service of the restaurant is quite patchy and the wood-paneled, carpeted rooms are a bit dull during summer, the location of this hotel is just perfect.
7. The Foundry Suites Athens
In a blind alley is a hidden foundry which is clad in a patchwork of exposed stone, huge Crittall windows, and climbing plants. The interiors of the hotel have original industrial details which is fused with mid-century antiques and bold wallpaper. There are customized wooden and metal bed frames and wardrobes. This hotel is perfect for you if you are planning a long trip.
There are 12 suites in this hotel which are like apartments and have proper kitchens and sunny workspaces. These suites are luxurious and are unique with a contemporary and industrial style. It creates a modern environment of a new age hospitality. The rooms have high ceilings and hardwood floors.
The hotel delivers a perfect and beautiful breakfast basket to your room or to the magical roof garden. You can eat your breakfast while enjoying the mesmerizing view of the Parthenon. Also, go to the roof top to enjoy the beautiful view of the sunset and do not forget to take with you lively Greek wine from the cellar in the basement and wood-fired pizza.
8. Perianth Hotel
The curved balconies of the Perianth Hotel look over the lively café scene on Agia Irini Square. It is named after the domed Byzantine church. The interior of the hotel sets the mood of the 1930s. It is designed with black marbles, grey terrazzo floors, and tubular bronze lighting. The interior of the hotel is inspired by the Athenian modern movement. The sofas are dusky pink with sage green throws. To keep things fresh, there is a dash of modern art.
Amenities for guests include free access to yoga, meditation and martial art classes conducted at the deeply calming Zen Centre on the first floor. You can enjoy the pizza and Negronis at Il Barretto which is the in-hotel restaurant downstairs. It is prime perch for people-watching.
9. Shila
It is easy for nay tourist to walk past this twenty’s residence in Kolonaki and never realize that it was the city’s most peaceful guesthouse. It is when you step inside the Shila hotel and wander, you will get know what it feels like to be in the bohemian home of an art collector. The hotel has a salon which is softly lit and has a Strauss piano, antiques are upholstered in vintage fabrics, the library has such wonderful books which will make you want to read them.
There are two ethereal ground floor suites which have verandas shaded by a loquat tree. Climbing the marble staircase to the first floor you will find four huge suites with velvet divans, floating beds, and sultry bathrooms with rough-hewn marble sinks. You will also find a swing in each suite. The suites have delicious treats and toiletries created by local chocolatiers, parfumiers, coffee shops, and chefs.
The best part of this hotel is the roof garden. It is an urban jungle of plants, day beds, and outdoor showers. This hotel is unique and one of a kind. It is a rare treasure and feels genuinely nice when lived in.
10. Four Seasons Astir Palace
The Athens Riviera was put on map by the Astir Palace in the 1960s. The Four Seasons gave a glossy makeover to this place which was exactly what was needed to this coastline. A hotel, which was not ancient and fully modern and by a seaside, is what Athens needed. It has subdued bedrooms which epitomize stealth wealth.
Wealthy visitors quaff Champagne cocktails in Martin Brudnizki’s trio of sexy restaurants and their glamourous wives relax in the waterfront spa. Across the bay youngsters can whizz on water-skies. You can also simply relax on a floating sunbed and watch the day pass by. You can also enjoy the parade of superyachts drifting by and see the mesmerizing sunset over the Saronic isles.