leo-chan

me too

Here

claes059

Thanks. I did read your review of the GB and of the WIstanbul Many reviews of the WIstanbul seem to mention the small rooms and dark atmosphere.
You are lucky, to have those great upgrades a Platinum member!

BlissWorld

I had a good lunch at the Grande Bretagne on the rooftop. The view of the acropolis was excellent.




Thanks for showing us what the room looks like.

We stayed at the Arion Astir Palace last time and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The ocean view was amazing and LOVED the private beach and infinity pool. Although it's further away from the city, the Arion complex provided free shuttle. Totally different feel.

claes059

Thanks for your reply. My first reservation was in the Arion Astir Palace. Regarding my plans to visit serveral museums I changed to the Grande Bretagne. Did visit ur Arion Astir Palace pictures on Flickr, and it just looks great. I guess it was a resort? Perhaps next time in combination with the Grande Bretagne. I guess I won't go back to Rhodos.....!

SanDiego1K

It's great to have your report. I know a number of folks headed to this hotel thanks to the Free Weekend Nights promotion. I, myself, will be there this fall. Could you tell me a bit more about the metro? Was one line from the airport to the hotel, or did you have to transfer? How much did it cost? Were there escalators or elevators at both ends, or did you have to carry your suitcase down stairs?

claes059

Thanks! On the airport is one metroline so you cannot miss it. It is comfy but can be sometimes crowded during the ride. At Syntagma square though most passenger go out and there will be space enough to move your suitecase out of the metro. When I went out, I had the wrong exit and arrived at the Syntagma square, lower floor, so I had to carry my suitcase. On arrival, at the right side in the metro station is an exit for the GB hotel. I had to carry my suitcase downstairs though when I returned to the airport. So I guess you have to carry the suitcase. I did not see escalators. I do think the station must have this, since it is very modern. You can email the GB, they have all the information, they did know the dep.times of this metro when I left. It leaves two times an hour from Syntagma square. You can see clearly which metro goes to the Airport on the digital information boards on the platform with times of dep.

You can buy a sort of 3-4 days pass for all the public transportation, so including the ride to and from the airport. I think it costs 15€. See for yourself at: http://www.amel.gr/index.php?id=232&L=1#c499

If you need more information you are welcome!

sc flier

SanDiego1K,
I have the official ATH Airport Access map (2009) in a package ready to send to you. It covers the metro lines and the airport express buses.

When we arrived into ATH last year, the metro line was temporarily out of service for a new station that they were building along the route, IIRC. We instead took one of the airport express buses to Syntagma. The bus stop at Syntagma is on the opposite side of the square from the GB, but there are no stairs required. Very easy on nice buses with plenty of luggage storage space. When we returned to the airport late the next afternoon for our flight to Santorini, we returned the same way from Syntagma back to ATH.

claes059

How long does the bustrip take? It is rather far from the airport to the hotel and considering the famous trafficjams in Athens it can take alot of time. I guess the metro was 40 minutes.

claes059

Just did some exploration on the metro athens site and found information for you:

The metro of Athens provides facilities at the stations and within the trains in order to facilitate people with disabilities.

Ι. FACILITIES (AT THE STATIONS) FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Inclined structure of the curbs (ramps) at the pavements around the stations as well as inclined surfaces (ramps) within the stations at the points where altitude changes
Elevators inside all the stations, with sound announcement regarding the position of the elevator and special embossed buttons for use by blind people and for communicating with the person in charge of each station for providing help

This is what I was thinking, since the stations are very modern. Hope you find the information useful!

transportbiz

I agree this is a very nice hotel with a fantastic breakfast, and those views from the restaurant are hard to beat. I didn't get the upgrade you did, but still a nice room with a view of the Parliament building (good and bad, as also usually the site of protests). Yeah, hard to imagine 25 bucks for a mojito, but hey splurge a little I always say on vacation. Enjoy the drink and the view, then have a cheap Gyro for lunch the next day.

The pool area at this hotel is also very nice, but fills up often, and the staff can be inattentive there unless you are female and look nice in a bikini. The lovely spa, gets a bit overused at times, and looks a bit messy, but the indoor pool that's there is hardly used at all. Fantastic location, easy Metro access, and nice walking on mostly pedestrian streets to the Acropolis.

sc flier

It was around 30 minutes, and there were no traffic problems. The route of the bus is pretty much the same as the metro line. And I think that our bus only made 2 short stops along the way from the airport. I don't recall stopping at all on the way back.

Looking at the map, I would guess that the metro stops about 10 times between the airport and Syntagma.

claes059

Well 30 minutes is really a short time! I have taken the bus once from the old airport many years ago. This airport was closer to Athens city and it took appr. 30 minutes to Syntagma square.
Yep the metro does have a lot of stops, but it hardly takes any time! It goes very fast!

sc flier

FWIW, my arrival by bus was late at night, so it should be no surprise that we didn't encounter much traffic. Our departure was late in the afternoon (following a late checkout at 4:30pm), and while I don't recall exactly how long it took, I don't recall being stuck in any traffic problems.

My Metro Headache
We did use the Metro to go to the National Archaeological Museum one day, though, and were frustrated by them suddenly deciding to close one of the stations (Omonia Square) mid-afternoon for some mysterious security purpose. Station entrances were closed and heavily guarded. From what we were led to believe, it was a planned and rather common action at that particular station. Only 1 of the many policemen spoke English, and only limited information was provided about the closure. With hundreds of people coming out of the station at once, there was little hope for getting a taxi. There were no buses arranged as a substitute. Like most others, we walked the rest of the way to our destination -- about a mile back to Syntagma. But we already had been on our feet most of the day.

My best guess is that the stations along one of the Metro lines closed for some politicians to get home or to transit underground between Parliament at Syntagma and the train station, but this is purely a guess. If someone knows better, I'm interested in hearing it. But my faith in the dependability of their Metro system is jaded by that experience. If my theory about the whole line being temporarily closed for the benefit of politicians is right, does the same happen sometimes on the airport line?

Trams
Our experience with the above-ground tram was not so great, either. The trams are clean, modern, and attractive. The stations are technically advanced with electronic schedules for upcoming arrivals. But the trams are terribly slow even on long, unobstructed straightaways. In the downtown area, they move slowly, get stuck at traffic lights, and can easily get delayed by cars in the way.

Pickpockets
Recalling all this in this post reminds me, too, of our constant vigilance for pickpockets in European cities (and other tourist cities). I simply don't like the idea of arriving after a long flight into an unfamiliar Metro station with my hands full of luggage -- and that's even worse if stairs are involved.

Syntagma Station Elevators
On the Athens Metro website, there is a panorama view of the middle of the Syntagma station in which the elevator is clearly visible (to the right of some ticket machines). There are escalators visible going both up and down (at the time of the photo), but I cannot remember where that elevator comes up to ground level. I *think* that the glassed-in structure in the photo below is probably it. So that puts you into the Square. To get out of the Square and into the GB, you either have go up the stairs (visible on the left side of the photo below), or walk to the other end of the Square, cross the street to your right, and then walk back up the gently sloping hill to the GB -- pretty much the same effort involved if you get off the bus.



I do not hate the Metro
I'm definitely not suggesting that people should not use the Metro. It's generally nice, new, and clean, and it's probably usually very dependable. If planning to take the Metro and/or the Express Bus to and from the airport for a short stay, the fairly new 3-day tourist ticket for 15 Euros is probably a good bet since it includes airport access by both methods. We walked a whole lot on our two days in Athens, and are fairly fit individuals. But nearly any opportunity to shave off some of that walking time is probably a good idea -- even if it's just to travel one or two stations from your current location.

Sorry for going so OT! But since I am OT already, I'll add...

A recommendation for a good sit-down meal if killing time at the Athens Airport: The Olive Tree. Upstairs from the check-in counters. Landside. We ate here before our evening flight to Santorini.

Free public wi-fi access at Syntagma Square: www.athenswifi.gr/en/
I can't vouch for this and don't know that I'd ever use it. But it could come in handy and might be accessible from many rooms in the GB.

sent

I used my Ipod touch to access this free wifi connection at Syntagma Square. Good connection and was easily able to email my Greek friend this way about our plans for later that night since our Verizon phones are worthless in Europe. Much better than paying 22 Euros or whatever the Hilton was charging to rob me for internet access.

jeffreyt

How are things in Athens now (unrest wise) and should I be considering the GB?