srk123

I stayed there 2 months ago on an Award Stay. Upgraded to Concierge level. Very happy with stay. Close to only one Metro stop (Evangelismos).Trains run often and are clean. Great view of the Acropolis at night all lit up (a 2-mile walk if you like to walk). Restaurants are overpriced--take a 4-Euro cab ride to the Plaka where there are plenty of restaurants. Went out to the Olympic Village (there is a metro stop there), but everything was closed to the public--is it open now?

mario33

I wont say it was "open", but I walked through the grounds and managed to get into the main stadium which was undergoing some maintenance work.

GoProf

I stayed for five nights in March of last year using 100,000 points. They were well spent. I found the staff to be very friendly and helpful. Gold got me great views of the Acropolis from the 10th floor.
I also almost missed the hotel. Luckily some one from Athens on the bus pointed out the Hilton to me or I would still be riding around never to return. Its nicely situated for walking around or using mass transit. The airport bus is definately worth using. Its fast and cheap. Slept in the airport the last night as I had a 5:30 flight out anyway. The floor scrubbing machine did cause a lot of noise most of the few hours I was there.

mario33

Were you on PS reward ?

Otherwise 5 nights (Cat 3) would have been 125,000 points or am I missing something ?

Richard1148

I would like to take the airport bus rather than a taxi if I can convince my wife. Can somebody please advise where do we catch the bus from the airport, is it air conditioned (we are going in June), and is there a place to store luggage? Thanks.

JOUY31

There is a luggage storage on the arrivals floor. I have never used the bus, always using the taxi until my last visit when I used the suburban railway and connected to the metro. I reached Evangelismos (the metro station closest to the Hilton) so quickly (6€ instead of 25€) . OTOH, Athens is one of the EU cities where taxis are so cheap that I would not hesitate to use them.

Kiwi Flyer

Buses leave from arrivals area - turn right after exiting building bus stop and ticket office is next to footpath. Ticket is good for local bus and subway also (within 24 hours?) so hang onto it. Make sure get it validated.

Dont recall any air-con but it may have been switched off despite the warmth.

mario33

If you mean to ask whether there are specific areas in the bus for placing your luggage during your bus ride, the answer is yes but because the buses are always packed most luggages do overflow onto aisle and the standing area.

Please note that the bus service is not a "dedicated" airport shuttle, its more of a public bus service that caters to the local residents as well as travellers.

Richard1148

Yes that was what I meant. Thank you. One other question - will I need exact change for the bus?

mario33

No, you dont need exact change.

At the Airport, you purchase your tickets at the counter next to the bus stop before you board, but remember to have your tickets validated on the bus.

If you are travelling to the airport, you can purchase your tickets from the driver.

BumpMe!

Athens Hilton

Award Stay, 3 nights
HHonors Diamond

One Word: Good.

Getting There:
We took the subway, per advice from FlyerTalk, to Evangelismos. It was a long, yet cheap ride. We’re glad we did it. Although disoriented at first, we realized if we took the hospital exit we’d be in pretty good shape. We were pleasantly surprised to find the hotel right across the street. It’s a four minute walk.

When sightseeing from the hotel, we walked to everywhere.
The only time we took public transportation was to the hotel.
We found the walk to Plaka easy and safe. From there, we were able to reach any kind of food we wanted, the Acropolis, Ancient Agora, and the frenzied flea market area.

Check-In:
When trying to check-in at the front desk we were referred to the executive lounge.
We proceeded there to find a quick and painless process. We’d been upgraded we were told. We were given the keys there—no one walked us to the room, and that’s okay with me.

Room:
The room had two doors, and MissBumpMe! was so very excited about that!
Our dining and sitting area was the size of those in a decent-sized house.
Modern styling is not our thing, but hey it’s a suite!

A bar area off to the right contained everything you need for a party.
I kept waiting for a panel to swing open and a bartender to pop-out.
…No such luck.

Our view of the Acropolis was pretty impressive.
The night view, in my opinion, is striking.

A fruit basket and champagne greeted us. The champagne was STRONG, a hefty brut we’re not quite accustomed to. The strawberries and grapes helped it down! It was a nice gesture I wish more U.S. hotels would follow.

Lounge Access:
Our body clocks were very much out-of-whack here, so we were always ready for the wrong snacks or meals. Breakfast was, by no means, hearty—but filling nonetheless.

Evening selections were limited, yet good. I’ll admit there were some things we were afraid to try.
Allowing smoking in the executive lounge is my only beef. There is insufficient ventilation to rapidly remove cigarette odors from the rest of the lounge area.

We did not try any other hotel food, but the rooftop restaurant looks like it could be a fun place in the summer. Blustery conditions made it a little less inviting this time of year!

Check-Out:
We checked-out about 4:00am, taking the city bus (95) back to the airport.
The stop is out front of the hotel and to the right. (Literally a 45 second walk.)
Front desk staffers can tell you more about it. The fare was much cheaper than a taxi (your only other option at that hour), and the ride is just as easy.

Overall:
We have no complaints about the Athens Hilton. What’s interesting is the shift in service coming from Bangkok. In Athens we were left alone, and had to ask for things.
In Bangkok the week before at The Conrad, we constantly had people politely asking, “May I get you something?” That was not the case in Athens, giving us some valuable cultural perspective we lacked prior to this stay.

Athens was interesting, but we found we had too much time here.
We were antsy to leave after asking ourselves, “what else is there to see?”
For a city of smaller buildings, the Athens Hilton is a relative skyscraper.
The good news is it didn’t clamor like a skyscraper might.

If we’re ever headed back to Athens we might stay there again, but we won’t be rushing.

JDiver

"Efcharisto" for a nice report, BumpMe! We've booked an award stay at the end of May / beginning of June (basically 3 days until we board our cruise for the Greek Islands / Turkish Coast, winding up in Istanbul and another H stay,) so this is most helpful.

hotlancer

Thanks for the report. I am a Hilton Diamond as well and your remarks about your upgrade make me wish I had stayed at the Hilton instead of the Ledra Marriott on my mileage run back in November.

I was only in Athens two nights, but like you I found myself getting antsy. After seeing the Acropolis and the Parthenon and the 1896 Colliseum, and the Temple of Poseidon it seemed there wasn't that much else to see.

Did you see the ruins inside many of the subway stations discovered when they were excavating for the construction? Thats one thing I would have spent more time on.

Richard1148

A very nice report. I'm looking forward to our stay in May. I was considering taking the bus from the airport, but see that you had no problem with the subway. As you used both the subway and bus for your airport transfers, which would you recommend? We would be arriving at the airport around 3:00 PM from Santorini.

BumpMe!

Go for the subway, I say.
You're about guaranteed a seat on the train, while the bus is far less predictable.

Yes, there are some ruins in the Evangilismos station where you'll disembark for the Hilton. Also, you can see some across from the place where they do the changing of the guard.