#10
Define Luxuy
We arrived in Athens on BA Club and transferred to the hotel in a Mercedes Vito van ordered through reception. The price from the airport to the hotel is €90. The driver was a very pleasant man and the forty five minute transfer went quickly. You have to walk to the hotel, our car was unable to drive up/park in front. It’s about 30 meters, so no issue. The hotel is located just off a main road and across from the Plaka Gate Café. There are a few souvenir shops, a couple of restaurants, a pharmacy, some ice cream parlours and a photo shop in the immediate vicinity. The walk to Hadrians Gate is 50 meters across a very busy road. The Acropolis museum is 200 meters away, a little further and you are at an entrance to the Acropolis. There is a metro station at the museum. When you arrive at AthensWas a sign prominently states that this is a luxury hotel. As we did, you will have looked at the smart internet presence and the positive reviews. As such one enters through the front door with high expectations. If your expectation of luxury includes uniformed staff and a glitzy reception, you will be disappointed. The downstairs of AthensWas is a modern space, with a purposeful reception desk adjoined by small waiting and breakfast areas. Everything is clean, the staff is welcoming and very friendly. Access to the rooms is via a small lift or the staircase. We had two rooms - one classic looking out the back of the hotel and one superior which faced the front. The rooms are small to mid sized. The decor did not wow us. The bathrooms have a walk in shower, sink and toilet. The superior room bathroom was short on surface area for toiletries, both rooms lacked hanging space for towels and bathrobes. All rooms have balconies with ashtrays - should you require one. There is a coffee/tea making facility - it is €1.50 per Nespresso capsule, not sure about the tea. The fridge contains wine, beer and water. The hotel provides a free bottle of flat mineral water during the stay. The room towards the road was not quiet with a lot of motorcycle and scooter traffic. It did not bother us but if you are noise sensitive or just need a good rest, you might want to opt for a room out the back. The lighting controls in both rooms are very confusing, there is no bedside light as such and the rear facing room was very dim and gloomy. From our room there was no view. You get an excellent view of the Acropolis from the 7the floor rooftop restaurant Sense. Perhaps if you opted for a 6th floor room you might get a similar view from the balcony. Housekeeping was good, although it would be nice if they could remove the rust/dirt around the shower rails which we saw in both rooms. The rooms could do with a box of tissues, so one does not have to use toilet paper to blow ones nose. The toiletries were premium from Koros, which is an indigenous brand. Breakfast is a menu driven affair, no buffet. The selection is good, the food is tasty, although the eggs with bacon could do with more bacon and less cooking fat - I harvested a whole thick serviette of grease from mine. The fruit selection is not wonderful. The orange juice is Devine. The ladies doing breakfast are exceedingly friendly and kind. We had an excellent birthday cake and a lovely rendition of Happy Birthday from them. If you are looking for lunch or dinner in the hotel, then the Sense restaurant caters high brow food. Otherwise you are in the Plaka, the place with the highest density of food outlets and souvenir shops on earth - felt anyhow. We found the Plaka food - even the restaurants recommended by the hotel - expensive and unappealing. Greek food is delicious, finding it in the Plaka is impossible.
So the verdict: if your definition of luxury is proximity to tourist attractions then this hotel is for you. If your definition of luxury is proximity to hotel staff, they are excellent, then this hotel is for you. If your definition of luxury is glitz, bang for your buck and glamour, look somewhere else. This is a good hotel. It is pricey for what it is. You pay for the location.