Review: New Hotel Athens, Greece – A Room With No View
Let’s get one thing straight, the room did not have a view, heck, even on the roof top Art Lounge you could barely see the Acropolis, however, the hotel itself was absolutely top notch. Three words: Location, Location, Location. The New Hotel Athens’ best attribute is the location because it is situated on an easily accessible street to get out quickly to the main streets, surrounded by restaurants and shops and a 12 minute walk from the Acropolis.
The entrance is not on the main street, but off to the side street. You are greeted with a couple of steps up and two large mats.
Upon entering, you can see the unique walls in which the previous hotel items were used to adorn them. The front desk accommodates up to two guests at a time. Behind the front desk to the left is large staircase going up and to the right is a smaller staircase which leads down to the business area, spa and gym.
New Restaurant is situated just across the lobby and faces the main street. This is where you can get breakfast from 7:00am to 10:30am daily.
We took the red eye flight in so we were a bit jet lagged when we got in at 8am ish. A cab ride in from the airport was 42 Euros. We did have 2 large suitcases and 2 carry on so we aren’t sure if that played a factor on the pricing but we thought it was reasonable considering the distance and the taxi driver was so polite and assisted with all the luggage.
We got our first room which was 308, it was a decent room, nothing lavish and as mentioned from our title, no view as it looked into another building across. We were tired so we crashed but as the main street was just outside our room, we must have woken up 50 times from all the honking and car sounds.
The room itself was fine, nothing extravagant but it worked. The sink and shelf space was a bit small but it did the job. The desk was a decent size with a couple of charging ports which was enough to keep our phones going, it was a tight fit to get the charger in though. No charge ports near the bedside that we could see. The toilet and shower was behind another door with the shower behind a separate door. Not the best design but I guess that’s the best that could be done with the limited space. Shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body lotion was provided by Olive Era which we really enjoyed.
As we woke up for the 51st time, we got out of bed to head out and walk the town. We greeted the front desk and spoke to them about the noise so Thanos immediately checked and offered to move us to a quieter room which we happily obliged. We went up to the Art Lounge to grab a bite while they got the room ready. As we were hungry by this point we decided to eat and enjoy the views on the roof top. This is where you can actually see the Acropolis, however, it is only from one corner of the patio area and if there is a person at a table, it feels like you are intruding on their space. Mount Lycabettus is in plain view from the roof top patio and dominates the scene. If you wish to read up more on Mount Lycabettus, I have a separate blog post on it here from a few years ago.
The Art Lounge is tastefully done with hip artwork. The views are great so we enjoyed a drink on the patio but moved into the restaurant to eat our fantastic charcuterie board (cheese, meat, fruit and bread sticks). We also a Greek salad, although it was slightly different than your usual Greek salad. As we enjoyed our dinner, Panos, introduced himself and handed us our new room keys. The staff in the Art Lounge do not have name tags, but each and every one of them were so friendly and absolutely attentive in taking care of the guests in their restaurant.
As sun set, the site of the Acropolis just became more beautiful.
As we departed the Art Lounge and headed to our new room, we were greeted with a studio sized room with a quieter location although the view was non-existent. However, we have to say that this was completely fine by us as we would go for quiet over a view any time. Besides, your eyes are closed for 8-9 hours anyways, right?
Upon entering room 401, the room was similar to 308 with the sink front and center, with the toilet and shower to the left. The closet and robes were also in the same place with the closet being a bit larger. However, you do see a very large green couch in front of you with the desk to the far left and a much larger open space with the queen bed.
As you head below to the bottom floor, you will find the business center, spa and gym. The business center had a desk with a couple of computers and four chairs. There were a couple of lounge chairs and a variety of books. A phone booth for an art deco feel.
There is also a spa but when we checked it out, nobody was there.
The gym wasn’t huge but it packed quite a few machines, treadmills, elliptical, yoga equipment, dumbbells and benches. The weight machines were from Life Fitness so pretty high quality equipment. Lots of mirrors adorned the walls which made the room seem larger than it really was.
Location is everything and the New Hotel has it. It is less than a 5 minute walk from Syntagma Square (Starbucks and McDonald’s right there too) which gives you access to the Metro system. About a 12 minute walk to the Acropolis and even a shorter 7 minute walk to the Plaka. Restaurants are abundant in this area so you will never get hungry. There’s a small coffee and pastry shop across the street, the two ladies there were so nice and we grabbed a cappuccino, fresh orange juice and two sandwiches for about 10 Euros.
PROS:
- Location is so central
- Food at the Art Lounge was fantastic
- Front desk Thanos (yes, like the Avengers) was fantastic and handled all our needs
- View was great from Art Lounge with Mount Lycabettus front and center with The Acropolis slightly around the side of the patio
- Well equipped gym, spa and business center
CONS:
- Depending on the facing of your room, it could be a bit noisy from the street traffic
- No coffee or tea station in the rooms
Thanks
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