MarkP24

Any updates on the renovation? Are the elevators as slow as everyone says? How was the service? 5 star hotel or more of a hotel factory?

fmkgb

Bumping previous questions. I'm particularly interested in additional thoughts on the location. Traveling early November.

david55

The location sucks.....I think that is pretty clear by many of the previous posts. Not close to anything historic and on a real busy street. My understanding is the hotel is primarily used for cruise passengers before embarking....and a few business types.

MarkP24

Understood. But what is the status of the renovations? How was the service? And is the elevator still super slow?

jchiang53

I stayed here in July, so it was the peak of tourist season and had 2 renovated rooms. Like others have said, the locations kind of sucks. You can walk to the main tourist attractions, but it's probably a 30-45 minute walk (depending on what part you are going to). Uber isn't dependable there and taxis weren't either unless you were willing to pay them 2-3x the normal rate.

The hotel was really busy while we were there and the elevators were definitely an issue during peak times. It seems like they connected another building to the original building but kept the same number of elevators.

The service was not great. A lot of employees just didn't seem to care. There was no concierge available at the desk most of the time and trying to book a car service to the airport through the hotel was a bit of a challenge.

Lounge was fine and there is a breakfast buffet upstairs as well.

MarkP24

Thanks! Pretty dismal picture. Thanks so much!!

MarkP24

Does the Club Lounge have a breakfast offering or is it just soft drinks throughout the day, and an evening spread with drinks?

jchiang53

I know they had food and drinks through the afternoon, so I think (not 100% sure) they had breakfast available as well. I'm not sure about the evenings but I would guess there are some food items available.

MarkP24

They have rates for breakfast that exceed the standard rates for club rooms, so my guess is breakfast is not included.

slariz

So it seems like this hotel isn't a great idea for a 2-night stay? Sounds like there are multiple issues with room maintenance, service and location - the comment above about not being walkable to anything and taxis charging 2-3x normal rates to go to this hotel makes me think it isn't a great idea...

david55

I think your deduction is correct. There are much better hotels..... many of them just opening in the last few years as well as some wonderful well established.

MarkP24

I highly recommend the Grande Bretagne. Exceptional service, and great location.

slariz

Thanks! The rates for our dates are pretty cheap compared to other hotels but I guess that probably reflects the overall situation. The Hyatt options here are lacking, and I try to stay with them as much as I can to use Globalist benefits, but perhaps it isn't worth it for even 2 nights. I can put up with a lot to maintain Globalist status!

Yeah I bet it is! Certainly at those rates... not sure it is a fair comparison. They aren't even in the same galaxy, let alone ballpark for price comparisons.

david55

I have always felt that stays in Athens first should be considered for location and comfort ....secondary is allegiance to a brand. As you can see the Hyatt options are lacking and you will lose out on some of the joys, experiences and comforts by trying to stay " loyal".

scubadu

People literally do that everyday, all over the world, in the relentless pursuit of maintaining status. It's hardly unique to Athens...

Regards