Botique hotels in Athens?

[CatFreelancer]

I would appreciate suggestions for medium-priced boutique hotels in Athens - also in the Piazza Navona area of Rome -(similar to the Orly in Santiago or the Banys Oriental in Barcelona.) (I will post to the Rome Forum as well.) I'd prefer a hotel in which a quiet room is possible, away from street noise. So a smallish "medium-priced" hotel in Athens? Maybe $150 - $250 per night? I don't know. Thank you in advance for any ideas. (If this has been discussed in the recent past, I would appreciate someone letting me know approximately where I might find the discussion on the forum. Thanks.)

[maryann ns]

More like budget price, but in a great location is Hotel Attalos. We had a decent room, breakfast and free luggage storage. It is close to the metro (Monasteriki?) and walking distance to the Plaka and Acropolis. It has a rooftop bar with great views of the Acropolis.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Review-g189400-d235705-Reviews-Attalos_Hotel-Athens_Attica.html

 

http://www.attaloshotel.com/

[CatFreelancer]

Thank you very much! The view from the rooftop looks awesome. :-) If any other readers have suggestions, please feel free to post! Thanks again.

[nick_arch]

As a local and according to CC rules, i am not allowed to post suggestions in Athens ( what a weird rule ) so, i 'll keep it generic.

 

Attalos is not a boutique hotel; i guess by "boutique" we mean a rather small hotel, not corporate chain with some persistence on some kind of "interior design" either classical or a bit more modern. Attalos is definitely medium-price or borderline lower price but not what we 'd call a boutique hotel here.

 

$150 - $250 is appx. 110 - 185 euros. That's a rather wide price spectrum and you can find a lot of options in there. What month are we talking about?

 

Since i cannot suggest any specific hotels, i 'd give a generic advice:

 

1. Check some of the larger booking sites, like http://www.booking/com, sort hotels by "review points from all" and then use the price range to limit your options. Anything above a 8,0 is a good choice.

 

2. Pick wisely location. This is half the success of an Athens stay. I 'd pick areas like Plaka, Acropolis Museum as a first option, then Syndagma, Monastiraki, Thission. If you wabt to see some of the central areas where i 'd book a hotel, here: http://g.co/maps/2vym7 . I 'd pick any of the green or yellow areas. I 'd probably pick the blue areas too they are very very central too. I 'd avoid areas like Omonoia and more to the North or areas that are far from the center. Keep in mind scale is rather small in Athens. Center is more or less walkable, i 'd say appx. 1 square mile.

Edited March 29, 2014 by nick_arch

[CatFreelancer]

Thank you, Nick!

[Jayneykul]

Our thanks also to Nick we have booked somewhere using your guidelines

[nick_arch]

Happy to help :-)

 

a. Always remember to read reviews. 'Booking' has reviews there too, so please read them.

 

b. 'Trip Advisor', i assume we all know it, is related to CC. CC is more for cruise questions, TA is more about longer stays or domestic travelling and visits. In each place, TA has a full list of hotels and a very very very detailed ranking that can surely help you choose. Do read the reviews and try to combine what you read in 'booking' and in "TA". Srsly, TA has done a fantastic job these last 10 years and the database to compare hotels is simply impressive. Greece corum / Athens forum in TA is quite active and friendly, so use both sites to draw all the info you want. Athens foruim in TA can be found here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g189400-i194-Athens_Attica.html

 

c. Please remember CC is what you first want to take a look at for cruise related questions. This is the place where you 'll find the best contributors for cruise questions and especially people like ( hey, i am not saying, he he ) that are knowledgeable locals or are visitors that love Athens and have done the port of call so many times they know things better than many Athenians, he he :-)

 

d. DO PICK wisely a location in Athens. Athens is a huge metropolis but the sites and places of interest for a first -time visit are located in a rather small central area, around the Acropolis Hill and along the Blue metro line for a couple of stations each direction around Syndagma Sq. This is where you want to stay to minimise commuting in the city and to enjoy the sites easily and in most of the cases on foot. Pick wisely location, it's 50% of an Athens stay success. Map with central areeas, again here: http://g.co/maps/2vym7

 

e. How to pick a hotel? Anything above 8,0 in booking is usually good. If you want to make it even more detailed, focus on those hotels above 8.5. Read reviews in TA, check locations. Athens has appx. 320 hotels.

In the center you can find more than 30 hotels that do rank in top places in both sites and are offered in a wide spectrum of price range.

I cannot make any specific suggestions in CC, still TA lists are so exhaustive that you can really get a lot of help and reviews there. Remember to pick a good location + a good hotel ;)

Edited March 31, 2014 by nick_arch

[kuldalai]

In Roma we like Pomezia Hotel .

 

In Athens a stunning find is Hotel Theoxenia at Piraeus.

[Larainerenee]

We enjoyed the Hotel Adriano in Rome. Great location, comfortable, clean rooms and good breakfast. Walkable to all the sights.

[maryann120]

In Rome I stayed at Elite Hotel, close to Spanish steps (http://www.elitehotel.eu). Small, but very clean. Very good prices for such a central hotel. Close to the metro station too. In Athens I chose Athos Hotel after my friend's recommendation (http://www.athoshotel.gr). Clean and central too. Close to Plaka, Syntagma, Thissio, Monastiraki. Metro station was very close as well. They also have a roof garden with view of Parthenon!

[CatFreelancer]

Thank you to everyone who has offered suggestions for hotels in Athens and Rome. I think we have enough now to do some research and find the perfect fit. Happy Travels to all!