vgang

First of all I'd like to say that I am a relatively new member of FT but I'm really glad I discovered it and has become my daily obsession. One of the things I greatly enjoy in FT are the trip reports from the likes of SFO777 (he is just amazing) which are so well written that are the closest a lot of us would get to such luxurious travelling.

After a couple of months of reading reports, I decided it was about time for me to try mu luck on this forum, and as there have not been many reports for flights / accommodation in Greece, I thought my weekend trip to Athens would be a good opportunity. I hope you enjoy it and look forward to your comments. For you information, all photos in this report were taken on an Iphone 5. I promise to upgrade qualitywise next time around.

As I currently reside in London and having been invited to a friend's wedding in Athens on Saturday 26 July 2014, I decided to book a late Friday flight to Athens and a late Sunday return to London so that I could spend almost two full days in sunny Athens without getting any time off work. After a bit of researching and with direct flights being in excess of GBP800 return, i decided to book the following flights at less than half the price, which would give me the opportunity to fly Iberia and Iberia Express for the first time, and if in luck, also visit the MAD lounge:

25/07 LHR-MAD 19:20 - 22:55 (Iberia)
25/07 MAD-ATH 23:50 - 04:10 (Iberia Express)
27/07 ATH-LHR 20:25 - 22:20 (British Airways)

The days passed and at the day of my flight I left my work in the City a little bit earlier than usual (TGIF) and went to Bank Tube station to catch the central line to Holborn, where I would change to the Piccadilly for Heathrow Terminal 5.



Having departed shortly after 16:00 I expected to be at the airport around 1:30 later, giving me plenty of time to visit the Galleries Lounge. Unfortunately that was not the plan of TFL as a train breakdown and God knows what else resulted in arriving at Terminal 5 at 19:15, i.e. 3 hours later and 5 minutes before my flight's departure. Thankfully my flight to Madrid was delayed for at least an hour and a half, which also meant that I could not make it in time to Madrid to catch my connecting flight!

Due to the hailstorm earlier in the day, there was an abundance of delayed/cancelled flights which resulted in a long queue at Customer Services, however when it was finally my turn a very helpful BA representative gave me the last seat on the direct BA flight to Athens at 21:40 which would get me in Athens about the same time as my original flights.

So, problem solved and a couple of hours bonus time in the Galleries Lounge (South) which as expected was rammed. Nevertheless, the hours passed easily and even my new flight's delay of about an hour did not feel as bad, especially after we were all moved to the First Lounge after 22:00 and the bubbly started flowing. I could really get used to this.



At T-20 I made my way to the Gate, used the priority lane which was empty and boarded the aircraft.

British Airways Flight 634
London Heathrow to Athens
Airbus A320 (GEUUH)
25 July 2014
Scheduled: 21:40-03:10+1
Actual: 23:09-04:13+1
Seat: 26F (economy)

I took my window seat at the far end of the Airbus A320 and patiently waited for the rest of the cabin to fill. While waiting, I took the obligatory legroom shot and for a rather average height guy like myself I would say that it was just enough; wouldn't like to have this seat if I was taller though...



Following a short taxi to the active we took off and shortly after meal/drinks service commenced, with the menu including rock hard bread/butter, chili con carne with rice, crackers with cheddar and a Lemon and cranberry cake. The main and cheede were quite eatable, or it has just been quite a few hours since I last ate in the lounge.



With flight time being pretty short at slightly more than three hours, we landed safely at 4:13 in the morning and made my way to Vouliagmeni, the suburb of Athens where my hotel was located.
The Margi is located at the southern suburb of Vouliagmeni, one of the most expensive areas in Athens and only one to two minute's walk from three different public beaches.



The building itself is quite uninspiring, resembling of a 20-30 years old block of flats, however th interior of the hotel is impressive and worthy of being part of SLH. The room I had booked was a superior one (actually the cheapest available) which was quite big in size at 270 sq ft with a big double bed, a marble bathroom and a patio with an outdoor sofa. The main colours of the hotel are the light brown of the wood and deep red, while the lighting is kept at barely minimum throughout the communal areas.





One of the main attractions of the hotel is its lovely pool, which doubles as a bar after sundown. There are a number of sunbeds scattered around the pool, while food and drinks are offered all day long. The hotel is also home to both indoor and outdoor restaurants which I was unable to try due to my tight schedule. I was lucky enough though to spend 3-4 hours by the pool on Sunday, in anticipation of my flight later that night







Later in the day, a friend dropped me at Athens International Airport at around 18:30 hours and after a quick security check i made my way to the gate where I watched my ride back taxing to the gate, which coincedentally was the exact same aircraft that flew me to Athens two days earlier.



Unfortunately, due to a friend coincidentally flying at the same time from Athens to a different destination with a non - Oneworld carrier, I was not able to visit the BA Terraces Lounge in Athens, something that I am planning to report on in a future trip report.

British Airways Flight 641
Athens to London Heathrow
Airbus A320
27 July 2014
Scheduled: 20:25-22:20
Actual: 20:42-21:53
Seat: 8C (economy)

Boarding of the flight was completed promptly and we were soon on our way with a drinks service followed by a hot meal as usual. The drinks were accompanied with the new pretzels mix, while the dinner included meatballs with rice, greek salad and an orangey and very sweet desert. All in all a pretty good service and an earlier than expected arrival at London Heathrow, which is always a plus!





Thanks for reading my report and I hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know what you thought of it, as this is my first attempt and any feedback will assist.

Purim

Why does the hotel dry is bed linen by the pool? Looks like a clothes line behind the bathers, replete with pegs!

vgang

That is not bed linen; it's linen you can use in order to enjoy a bit of shade while on the sun bed. The below photo from the hotel website might give you an idea on how they are used.

onobond

Nice TR, thanks for sharing. This wouldn't be FT if nobody asked you for TPs. Did you get for planned or actual flying?

vgang

Thanks onobond.

I got the TPs for the actual flown route, which were also credited quite fast as well. I was expecting a delay due to the change, but BA proved me wrong!

TOMFORD

More pictures from Greece, more pictures from Greece!

offerendum

Good idea! Always nice to see.

vgang

I'll be visiting Greece and Cyprus again soon, getting some internal flights as well, so there is an excuse for another TR and more photographs. I'll try better quality this time!

DanielW

Looks like a great getaway!

Pity you couldn't stay longer.