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TRIP REPORT: Hotel Grande Bretagne & Amanzoe (Greece)

TRIP REPORT: Hotel Grande Bretagne & Amanzoe (Greece)

Old May 15, 2016, 2:43 pm
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TRIP REPORT: Hotel Grande Bretagne & Amanzoe (Greece)

When we began planning our trip to Greece, our expectations were simple: 1) tick off a bucket list item (the Acropolis) and 2) spend time relaxing at one of the newer Amans. We ended up delighted by the Greek culture and the warmth and kindness of the people. When I was wandering though the streets of Athens looking for a specific address, three separate strangers offered to help me find my way. Cab drivers recommended walking neighborhoods and tavernas, and very politely coached us on how the taxi system worked in the city. Kalos orisate!

To the delight of our four year old son, we flew the Lufthansa A380 in business and returned with Swiss. Both airlines offered lay flat seating and adequate food, but they excelled at spoiling our boy with special childs meals, tote bags, stuffed animals, and little coloring books and logbooks with stickers.

Acropolis
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Old May 15, 2016, 2:52 pm
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Hotel Grande Bretagne

In Athens, the obvious hotel choice was the Hotel Grande Bretagne. It had the history, the location within walking distance of everything a tourist would want to see, and the most fabulous views in the city. The hotel was also beautifully maintained and very clean for a grande dame.

Grand Suite
DavidO booked us a Deluxe Suite and we were upgraded to a Grand Suite on arrival. We had 60 square meters of space with a small entry hall, and a separate living room and bedroom. The suite’s most striking feature was it’s very large terrace and if we sat in just the right place, we had views toward Lycabettus hill. The bedding was plush and comfortable. And the pretty marble bathroom had all the luxury features with two undermount sinks, deep tub and separate corner shower, but the layout was a little cramped when shared by three people.

Service
Every point of contact at the Hotel Grande Bretagne was wonderful; the butler, the restaurant staff, housekeeping, the front desk, the spa, etc. Room service was fast and executed perfectly. We had fantastic concierges that helped us navigate Athens with our little boy and when many of the attractions were closed for an unexpected holiday, they helped us put together an alternate fun itinerary. The spa made a temporary repair of one of my manicured nails while the concierge called around to find a nail salon that could perform a more permanent fix. Also, our son was treated to special bath products, colored pencils with a drawing pad and a children’s menu.

Food
The food was good but was a little short on Greek options for lunch and dinner. As a result, our favorite lunch was in the Plaka district. The hotel’s breakfast buffet with it’s sampling of Greek pastries and locally produced yogurts was wonderful, but the food could never compete with the view. The top floor restaurant served breakfast and dinner, and the best views of the Parthenon, Syntagma Square and the old Olympic Stadium were from the outside terrace. But even the inside seating had wonderful Parthenon views from almost every table thanks to the floor to ceiling windows.

Activities
Because we brainwashed our son with children’s books about Greece before our trip, he had his own hit list of things he wanted to see. We took him to the Parthenon, the National Garden, and the Changing of the Guard (Evzones). We also took him to the old Olympic Stadium, an impressive all white marble structure, where he was allowed to run wildly on the track. During down time, our son loved swimming in the hotel’s pretty rooftop pool and the pool in the spa.

One day, we hired a babysitter and took a private walking tour of ancient Athens. We saw the Acropolis, the Ancient Agora, the Temple of Zeus, Hadrian’s Arch, and some newly unearthed artifacts at the Syntagma Metro Station. We would have loved to see the Acropolis Museum but ran short on time.

Opportunities for Improvement
As much as we loved the Hotel Grand Bretagne, not everything was perfect. Our bathroom had scratchy towels. And we didn’t love the tour guide the hotel picked out for us. Maybe we just expected more from the birthplace of drama, but our guide was a little dry. We could have used more historical stories of murder, s@x and intrigue.

Grand Suite
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Grand Suite Bathroom
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Grand Suite Terrace
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Plaka
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Olympic Stadium
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Evzone
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Last edited by Ericka; May 15, 2016 at 3:21 pm
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Old May 15, 2016, 3:09 pm
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We are now experiencing technical difficulties! Photobucket just crashed. More soon, I promise.
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Old May 15, 2016, 3:12 pm
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Nice trip, hope to do something similar (+ some nights at Romanos) in the near future.
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Old May 15, 2016, 3:16 pm
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Amanzoe

We hoped to take a helicopter from Athens to Amanzoe, but our son was quite ill when we had him on a helicopter in the fall. We opted for the Aman car transfer, but the last hour and a half of winding (though highly scenic) roads nearly got the best of him and affected Mr. Ericka as well. Our son did better on the return trip with a little motion sickness medication.

Our first impression of Amanzoe was that the Aman website picturesand they were really nice picturesdidnt do it justice. This may be Amans most striking site. Thanks to its location on the peninsula, the sea and mountain views extended 270 degrees around the main restaurant and public areas. The sunlight reflected off the calm waters in the morning and at sunset in truly magical ways. And lavender and jasmine grew in abundance on the property, making the resort smell as great as it looked.

Pavilion 21
We contacted GM Sven Van Den Broeck before our arrival and asked him to suggest a pavilion with a beautiful natural view and few rooftops. He selected pavilion 21 which was one of the original sea view pavilions when they used to sell them that way. Our pavilion view was exactly what we hoped for and the setting was also incredibly private.

The pavilion had very high ceilings, with floor to ceiling white and grey marble, light colored woods and numerous sliding glass doors to open the interior space up to the outside. There were the usual his and hers oversized Aman bathrooms and changing areas with an awkward few steps in between (be careful)! The pavilion was generously sized but open-concept, so we put our sons bed in the entryway (around the corner from us and separated by a wall). We found our bed to be a bit hard and requested a mattress topper which was helpful. Outside, there was lots of space with cozy loungers, a large dining table and a striking green marble plunge pool.

Service
The Greek culture of hospitality worked well with the Aman service culture. Service at Amanzoe was excellent. We were never asked our pavilion number. All employees projected family and warmth and they knew what activities we were going to do or had done that day. As Americans with a small child, we ate dinner early and returned to the room early to put our son to bed. This caught housekeeping off guard the first night, but they quickly caught on and adjusted to our schedule. Also, our son was given a puzzle and small sea animal toys on departure. And the cook staff were quick to make him whatever he wanted to eat, whether it was on the childrens menu or not.

Food
Three words; yogurt, cheese, honey. And the tomato and feta based greek salad. And the baklava. Opa! We were also impressed by the Greek wine the sommelier recommended to us. The only food that we didnt like at Amanzoe was the taramosalata, a traditional creamy dip that tried to pass for the milder tzaziki, but ended up slapping us in the face with the flavor of fish roe. For our in room barbecue, the chefs prepared a variety of salads/sides and grilled a dozen different types of meat and fish. It was an obscene amount of food with each item being more delicious than the last.

Activities
We decided not to see any of the nearby ruins, having just come off of four days in Athens and a recent trip to Epheses. But we still managed to do some fun things with our son. We started with the honey farm tour; a beautiful piece of property run by a very welcoming family. It was great to learn about the honey making process and see the bees in action, but the best part of the tour was the honey tasting and the opportunity to buy the different varieties. The next day, we chartered Amanzoe One for four hours. We docked at Hydra and shared a donkey ride (actually pony ride LOL) with our son, after which our captain found a private cove for a yummy Greek picnic. We had time for a few other stops along the way, including a fly-by of Spetses.

Amanzoe had a full service spa so we made sure to set aside some adult time for massages. We especially loved the spas use of lavender (a flower found all over the resort) in the oils. Our guided hike of Ermionida without our son was a great way to get some exercise, but not quite as beautiful as we had hoped. In hindsight, we could have gotten the same brisk walk on a tour of Nafplio.

Opportunities for Improvement
When things went wrong at Amanzoe, the resort was quick to make up for it. As an example, the chefs offered to make a special order of baklava for our last night on property. They said it would take about a half hour and they would deliver it to our room. Unfortunately, it took closer to an hour and a half but they were gracious enough to comp it. More puzzling was the night we had booked a babysitter and guest assistants sought us out to confirm the time for the sitter no less than 5 times. After all that, the sitter did not show up at the correct time so one of the guest assistants ended up taking care of our son.

Pavilion 21 Bedroom
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Pavilion 21 Bathroom
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Pavilion 21 Dressing Area/Bathroom
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Pavilion 21 Sea View
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Pavilion 21 Privacy
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Aman Details
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Honey Collection
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Amanzoe Bar
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Lavender
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Greek Salad
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Amanzoe One
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Beach Toys
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Old May 15, 2016, 3:18 pm
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Summary

We found Greece to be a special place with special people, and we were very happy with our choice of hotels. There are a few things worth noting, though. We had originally scheduled this trip for the last week of May and had to change it to the first week due to a family wedding. As a result, we encountered much cooler temperatures and some rain. This was a great time to go as it relates to ruins and sightseeing, but not so much for beach and pool activities. While the pools at both of these hotels were well heated, the oceanand outside airwere not. Also, Amanzoe has scheduled kids activities during the summer months which is something our little guy might have liked.

Kitty
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Old May 15, 2016, 5:56 pm
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Thanks for the report. My wife and I stayed at the Grande Bretagne a few years back for a coupe of days before a cruise leaving from Athens. I agree with your comments as to the hotel, the food, the views, and the Greek people.

Do the dogs still guard the hotel's front door and help the traffic police at rush hour?
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Old May 15, 2016, 9:40 pm
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As always, Ericka, a wonderful report. My husband and I stayed in that suite (or similar) at the Grande Bretagne in the 1980's. Great stay. At that time there was a son et lumiere show on the Acropolis each night. Now, that was magical and unforgettable watching that from our terrace.
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Old May 16, 2016, 1:30 am
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Glad you enjoyed it. I too did the in-pavilion BBQ for my dad's birthday in '14 and whilst costing 500, you're not going to put it down as a bargain, they supplied so much food that I felt it could have fed 6.
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Old May 16, 2016, 4:49 am
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Thanks for the report! Amanzoe looks beautiful. We were considering this exact trip for end of September and beginning of October but the prospect of less than idea weather changed our minds. Still it's on the list of things to do and the low/shoulder season packages and pricing at Amanzoe definitely look very attractive.

Fdw
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Old May 16, 2016, 10:33 am
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Utterly fantastic! Thank you for this, and timely too, as we will be there next week.
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Old May 16, 2016, 1:25 pm
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Thanks a lot, Ericka. Very happy that you enjoyed you stay.
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Old May 16, 2016, 8:01 pm
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We had a nice pre-cruise stay in Athens a few years ago. We loved going to the rooftop pool for a dip after the hot day. The new Acropolis Museum was particularly excellent. The hotel helped us out as it was in the middle of one of their economic crises and we had heard of taxi strikes.

Glad you enjoyed your stay!
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Old May 16, 2016, 9:43 pm
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Originally Posted by FlyingDoctorwu
We were considering this exact trip for end of September and beginning of October but the prospect of less than idea weather changed our minds.
I'm not sure you're right here, FDW. In our experience, weather in this part of Europe has always been superb in late Sep/early Oct. That's when we did several trips to Turkey to tour the ruins and the sea was beautifully warm. I can't remember it ever raining!

By the way, I'm in Rhodes right now. It does seem that several crises have hit Greece hard, though I doubt if that sort of thing affects the Amanzoe crowd. Anyway, the economy and the migrant thing has had a major impact on tourism here. Our hotel, the Rodos Park Suites, is virtually empty and last night we dined alone in one of the top fish restaurants. Prices have skyrocketed since the imposition of higher taxes - it's quite a shock to see on the menu of fairly ordinary taverna a special set dinner for two at 300 Euros.

Amanzoe looks quite sensibly priced considering everything. Lovely report, Ericka.
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Old May 17, 2016, 1:51 am
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Originally Posted by Pausanias
Prices have skyrocketed since the imposition of higher taxes - it's quite a shock to see on the menu of fairly ordinary taverna a special set dinner for two at 300 Euros.
Cant talk for Rhodos, but on Crete it was much cheaper. Perhaps a very special dinner at the Hotel, but not in a tavern.
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