Oxon Flyer

Time to retitle the thread then. GOING has gone.

StuckinITH

I see the smilie. So, does this mean that it's staying on SPG? When I got married in 1995 and started taking my wife to Greece every year to see my family, this was her aspirational place to stay. Didn't happen until it became part of SPG. We then stayed twice on points for 5 days in the Westin part. Since I was not a high level member of SPG, my wife preferred this hotel because all the rooms have see view. And every day we managed to get the cabanas close to the sea. Pure Paradise!

heakja

We just checked out of the Arion after a three night stay. This was our second stay at this hotel. While the location is superb and the platinum suite was great (we got a deluxe suite on the top floor), the service was far from five star worthy:

- The door men did not say hello to us once. They were too busy talking to each other.
- The so-called club lounge is a joke in itself, but a low point was reached when I
asked for a diet coke in the evening and the club employee just said no to me and
left.
- Not once were we offered coffee refill at breakfast. Since there was a convention
going on, cleaning their tables was more important than to cater for the very few other guests who were there at the
same time.
- No wash clothes in the room upon arrival, turn-down was forgotten one night and they run out of the toiletries they
normal have in the suites.
- No “welcome back” at check in, no question about how the stay was at check-out (front desk was too busy calling
housekeeping to say that the room now was ready to be cleaned).

We had dinner at “Baku” at hotel Margi just one km down the road, and we were very impressed with what we saw. Stunning lobby and pool area, super friendly staff and delicious food. Arion may very well be the grand dame in this area, but management should not rest too long on its laurels. We would probably return due to the great platinum recognition and wonderful seafront location, but not for the service.

EuropeanPete

My experience at the hotel echoes that of heakja above.

I stayed for the first time yesterday. I thought it was a beautiful location, and I was upgraded to a large Deluxe Suite with a giant terrace and a great view. Matsuhisa (aka Nobu everywhere else) was international quality and looked gorgeous.

Service was mediocre at best. It took a while for a doorman to turn up to help us with our bags and for me the personal low was after a small room party my guests decided they wanted to strip off and use the steam room feature except nobody in the hotel could figure out how it worked. Come on guys...

hugovox

Are there any taverns walking distance from hotel or car is necessary to go for dinner?

ajnaro

That depends on how much you want to walk, but the hotels are located in their own separate area, a sort of park. The Westin is further in than the LC. You would have to exit the park and walk along a road for a while before you would come to a restaurant. I never did it, but I think that it would take a half-hour at least. The walk would be pleasant, along a beach area. We always rent a car at ATH airport and find it very useful to see the sights around the area as well as simply to get to the hotel.

Lappe

Closest restaurant outside the hotel complex would be Moorings in the Marina, about 500 meters from the hotel gate.
Next is the Ithaki upscale restaurant about 1 kilometer towards Vouliagmeni, great view and well known with locals.
There is a string of restaurants and bars on the eastern side of the bay about 1.5-2 kilometers walk.

We walked on many nights with a baby in a stroller.

remymartin

Thinking of staying here in a couple of weeks. Can I get food around 11pm? When does breakfast open?

The flight times are basically arrive late, leave very early.

Lappe

If traveling with the girl & some good luck with upgrade your best bet would be to order room service dining to the wonderful top floor suite terrace. Complete with a nice bottle of rose and you win.

Matsuhisa probably full on a weekend, but outside the resort most places probably open until 01am or later. Not sure about hours on weekdays outside high season. Closest is Moorings at the marina and plenty of choice across the bay about 1.5 kilometres away.

banzani

Looks like the sale of the resort has finally been completed. Any word on change of brand and/or renovation schedule ?

khabah

I've followed this story a little bit: the new owners plan to replace the Arion and Westin with two new "six-star" hotels, add fourteen bi-level villas to the Astir Palace plot and renovate the marina. No word on what will come of the abandoned Aphrodite Hotel [what was to be W Athens before the bubble burst in 2008], but I'd imagine that will be knocked down as well.

Interesting [and unforunate] developments, but I think we'll hear more details soon enough.

khabah

thaliajen

I booked the Westin for one night, our last in Greece. Anything I should know or worry about?

We're at Hotel Bretagne for 5 nights, then Blue Palace in Crete. As we're flying home from Athens, we decided to book a bit closer to the airport and chill a day at this Westin. I know there are two separate hotels here and the prices are pretty much the same. Am I right to choose Westin over the Astir? I'm a Lifetime Plat and after over a week at luxury hotels, I thought it would be nice to stay where they have a lounge, not so fussy, etc. Did I choose the right one?

heakja

Never stayed at the Westin, but have been to the Astir four times. If there is a deluxe suite available at the Astir, you will normally get it. They treat their platinums great. The Astir and its rooms is a bit old schoolish, but I personally love the huge bathroom in the suite. If you are visiting during high season, the westin may be a better bet. The standard rooms at Astir are small and ugly. The Astir actually have a small lounge, but the drinks and offerings are rather poor. The lounge do however have large balconies on both sides which is great if you happen to have a room/suite without sun exposure.

ajnaro

Having stayed at the Astir several times I agree 100% with the above. I would just add that the view from the Astir suites is absolutely breath-taking.

thaliajen

Thanks for the info. It'll be the last night of our Greece trip and we are in suites everywhere else. I notice that the Astir Palace is offering rooms for LESS that Westin. We'll be there the 12th of May, just before high season starts. So is this hotel nicer than the Westin? With the lower rates, I'm happy to change my reservation. We're leaving early the next day for the airport, so I don't need a late check out. It's just a stop to regroup before our flight home. And I'd definitely be happy to get a Plat UG of any kind. I'm just wondering which hotel is most likely to upgrade, and honestly, which is better. The pool at the Westin looks nice, but this is a higher category hotel.

I'm also confused as to if these properties somehow overlap? Are they near each other?