Athenaeum InterContinental Athens

In summary, this hotel was the one very bright spot on our disastrous trip to Greece. The plan for our trip was to spend a few days here exploring Athens, then a week on a private boat tour of the Greek islands. On arrival, everything was great. We had paid for an upgraded room with a balcony and a view of the Parthenon. The room was spacious and clean, everyone was friendly, and the room service food was delicious. However, on the first night of the boat tour, my wife became extremely sick and had to be rushed to a hospital. Thus began our second, unexpected stay at the Intercontinental, for almost two weeks. The staff could not have been better at accommodating all of our unknowns. We repeatedly had to extend the stay based on doctor's advice. This part of the trip, we had started in one of their Premium Accessible Rooms. This room was quite nice, large, with a walk-in shower and plenty of space to stretch out. In the middle of the stay, we arranged a paid upgrade to the lounge floor to deal with the boredom of being stuck in the hotel. It was truly one of the best hotel lounges I've ever experienced. Full breakfast and light lunch/dinner, along with a large balcony overlooking the Parthenon, and a top notch lounge staff. Spent much time there waiting until my wife could travel. I can wholeheartedly recommend this property for a visit to Athens. The accommodations are nice and the employees are excellent. If you can afford it, it's definitely worth the upgrade to the lounge floor. Once we've processed the emotional burdens of this trip, we hope to return for a real vacation and visit this wonderful property and team again.

This is a great hotel, well-run and well-managed, superb symbol of what the InterContinental brand stands for. It's clean and well-kept, the employees are pro-active and seem to enjoy their jobs. The lobby, conference center and surrounding restaurants are beautiful. I've had a few requests (mainly to housekeeping to replenish some items) which were fulfilled properly and quickly. Great dinner at artbistrot (albeit on the expensive side for the neighborhood) and breakfast one morning, and thoroughly enjoyed all dining options. I have not managed to try the Premiere restaurant, since it was closed on the days I was not jet-lagged (a lot of places in Athens would open for dinner only around 7-8). One suggestion (if the hotel management is reading this) - how about a self-serve coffee/tea station at breakfast? When it gets busy, the employee in charge of coffee just seems to be over-whelmed. The only part you have to consider is the hotel's proximity to old town and Acropolis - it's not far, but the walk requires navigating busy streets and pedestrian crossings. The neighborhood is also a bit rundown, with some houses looking abandoned. However, it seemed safe at all times, and everything that hotel controlled (lobby, restaurants, cleanliness, housekeeping requests) was executed well. I'll stay here if I return to Athens. Transportation-wise this InterContinental is close to a tram station (about $1.20 a trip, covers good portion of the city) and maybe 7-10 minutes walk to a subway station. Heads-up that Athens' "legendary" cake shop - Konstantinidis - is maybe 5 min walk away. If you're into mille-feuille (and traditional desserts like baklava), it's well-worth a visit for a takeout. Same neighborhood also contained quite a few coffee shops.

We had a wonderful stay at the intercontinental hotel in Athens. We had booked a one bedroom suite and we were very pleasantly surprised by the size of the room. It was huge, with very big balcony with an amazing view of the Acropolis and the Parthenon Temple, Filopappou Hill and Lycabetus Hill. The room had two bathrooms with lots of amenities and it was always spotlessly clean. There was turn down service every evening. We had access to the lounge, which was really worth it. This lounge had the best and most varied food and breakfast in any hotel we have stayed at with lounge access and at early dinner time there was even cooked food! The views from the lounge were magnificent and the staff were extremely helpful and friendly. The hotel is off the centre but well connected with many buses passing in front of it a Syngrou Avenue, kasomouli tram stop being 3 minutes walk away and the Syngrou- Fix metro station about 7 minutes’ walk. A taxi ride from central Athens to the hotel is about 5 euros, only 5-8 minutes away, and it is a bit more when you pick up the taxi outside the hotel. The spectacular Stavros Niarchos Cultural Foundation, excellent for a stroll, lunch, a visit to the library or the opera, is a short ride away. We would definitely recommend this hotel for families or couples and we are looking forward to visiting again. In the past we have been staying at a lovely hotel which is in the centre, but for the same price, the size of the room and the lounge access at the Intercontinental, are non- comparable.

Five us of us stayed in two rooms for two nights before heading to Crete. The staff was very helpful with transportation arrangements and dining recommendations. The rooms were incredibly spacious and clean. We appreciated the amenities. We were very happy with our stay. The only drawback was the distance from the metro.

WISH ZERO or NEGATIVE STARS WAS AN OPTION. STAY AWAY! AVOID! AVOID! AVOID! IF, IF, IF, you are slightly considering staying here, DO NOT PURCHASE A NON-REFUNDABLE RESERVATION. They stick to their guns on that and do not provide any exceptions, even for medical reasons. The hotel is located in a sketchy area with LOTS of graffiti around. We did not feel safe. The hotel was the worst we stayed at during our trip. It is old and ugly inside and outside. Not sure how it is rated as a 5-star hotel. Pictures are from less than a block away from the hotel on our Uber ride out. Terrible