On a recent visit to Athens to attend Travel Trade Athens 2014, I stayed at the Intercontinental Athenaeum Hotel. You’ll find some of the things I encountered outside of the trade show here, whilst this post gives an insight into where I stayed. In fairness, I didn’t get to spend much time at the hotel, but here’s a quick summary.
The welcome
I arrived late. I think I was a little too weary to appreciate the artwork in the foyer but was grateful that check-in was swift and I was soon in my room.
The room
I stayed in a spacious, well-appointed de luxe room with Acropolis view, king size bed, separate seating area and adjoining bathroom. Clean and contemporary but if you’re looking for something more traditionally Greek, then maybe this wouldn’t be for you. The bed deserves a special mention since it was extremely comfortable.
It enjoyed a view of the Acropolis which, albeit fairly distant, looked beautiful lit up in the night sky.
It was only the next morning that IÂ realised that the nighttime view was significantly better than my day time view – I had been obvlious to the fact that my view was almost obstructed!
The bathroom
The bathroom came complete with gown/slippers, hairdryer and Korres toiletries.
The facilities
Apart from the first night where I just ordered a club sandwich from room service, I can’t really comment first hand about the dining options.
The hotel’s signature Première Restaurant can be found on the rooftop, though, and reputedly uses  fresh Mediterranean ingredients with a French flair.
Breakfast served at Cafe Zoe on the ground floor was good – plenty of choice from cereal to fresh fruit to cooked options, and a chef on hand making omeletes if you so wished.
The hotel also has a spa and a small gym. I briefly made use of the latter and, although I was the only one there, was quite surprised at its small size given there are over 500 guest rooms.  At busier times, I would imagine there could be a bit of a wait to use more popular pieces of equipment.
Other nice touches
I was greeted with the lovely gesture of a bottle of Greek wine and a bundle of olive oil soaps on arrival.
I also found the concierge very helpful and accommodating when I made enquiries as to a good route for a jog.
Cost
The rack rate for standard rooms starts from around 180 euros per night, depending on season.
The best bit
The bed. Very comfortable!
The final verdict
A good hotel that could perhaps be more central but is still within relatively easy walking distance of much of the city (allow 20 minutes to reach the base of the Acropolis). A recommended choice and conducive to an excellent night’s sleep.
Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Daily Telegraph.
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6 Comments
Looks like a great choice if you are visiting Athens! This goes really nicely with another post I read earlier about top attractions in Athens and for anyone visiting TBEX later this year (are you heading there Paul?) it would be a good option for sure.
Definitely agree with you on that view of the Acropolis. I think if you had only looked during the day you would probably have been very disappointed, unfortunately that’s what construction does for you but the night time version certainly makes up for it!
Hi Chris, I have a ticket for TBEX in Athens but haven’t booked accommodation or anything like that yet. I am weighing up my options as unfortunately the event falls right in the middle of our children’s half term when we usually go away as a family. Are you going? There’s a picture of the venue here… https://www.aluxurytravelblog.com/2014/05/23/8-things-i-saw-on-my-trip-to-athens/
As for the view, I don’t think that thing you see jutting out is a temporary structure. I’m not entirely sure what it is or what purpose it serves (a fire escape possibly???) but it looked to be fairly permanent…
Looks like a good choice for the city, I normally avoid big chains in cities but this looks like it has the age on others of same price point! Particularly like your morning and night photos – always worth looking for the best time to get the unbroken view
Overall this sounds like a good choice and I would love the view of the Acropolis by night (and I’d quite enjoy the city version of the view by day too). The room itself looks very smart and spacious. Not so sure about the artwork in the lobby though!
The views and location are quite impressive for Athens. I love the lit up Acropolis at night time, quite spectacular. Simple and modern lines are the type of hotel that I am typically attracted to staying in like the InterContinental brands
Nothing like a night view of the Acropolis to welcome you to the city. What a surprise you must have had in the morning! Like Chris, I thought it was a construction crane, but now see it does indeed look permanent, like it’s ready to reach down with a hook and lift the infamous structure right off the hill! I think the artwork is an energizing, interesting sculpture.
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The room
I stayed in a spacious, well-appointed de luxe room with Acropolis view, king size bed, separate seating area and adjoining bathroom. Clean and contemporary but if you’re looking for something more traditionally Greek, then maybe this wouldn’t be for you. The bed deserves a special mention since it was extremely comfortable.
The room
I stayed in a spacious, well-appointed de luxe room with Acropolis view, king size bed, separate seating area and adjoining bathroom. Clean and contemporary but if you’re looking for something more traditionally Greek, then maybe this wouldn’t be for you. The bed deserves a special mention since it was extremely comfortable.
It enjoyed a view of the Acropolis which, albeit fairly distant, looked beautiful lit up in the night sky.
It was only the next morning that IÂ realised that the nighttime view was significantly better than my day time view – I had been obvlious to the fact that my view was almost obstructed!
The bathroom
The bathroom came complete with gown/slippers, hairdryer and Korres toiletries.
The facilities
Apart from the first night where I just ordered a club sandwich from room service, I can’t really comment first hand about the dining options.
The hotel’s signature Première Restaurant can be found on the rooftop, though, and reputedly uses  fresh Mediterranean ingredients with a French flair.
Breakfast served at Cafe Zoe on the ground floor was good – plenty of choice from cereal to fresh fruit to cooked options, and a chef on hand making omeletes if you so wished.
The hotel also has a spa and a small gym. I briefly made use of the latter and, although I was the only one there, was quite surprised at its small size given there are over 500 guest rooms.  At busier times, I would imagine there could be a bit of a wait to use more popular pieces of equipment.
Other nice touches
I was greeted with the lovely gesture of a bottle of Greek wine and a bundle of olive oil soaps on arrival.
I also found the concierge very helpful and accommodating when I made enquiries as to a good route for a jog.
Cost
The rack rate for standard rooms starts from around 180 euros per night, depending on season.
The best bit
The bed. Very comfortable!
The final verdict
A good hotel that could perhaps be more central but is still within relatively easy walking distance of much of the city (allow 20 minutes to reach the base of the Acropolis). A recommended choice and conducive to an excellent night’s sleep.
Looks like a great choice if you are visiting Athens! This goes really nicely with another post I read earlier about top attractions in Athens and for anyone visiting TBEX later this year (are you heading there Paul?) it would be a good option for sure.
Definitely agree with you on that view of the Acropolis. I think if you had only looked during the day you would probably have been very disappointed, unfortunately that’s what construction does for you but the night time version certainly makes up for it!
Hi Chris, I have a ticket for TBEX in Athens but haven’t booked accommodation or anything like that yet. I am weighing up my options as unfortunately the event falls right in the middle of our children’s half term when we usually go away as a family. Are you going? There’s a picture of the venue here… https://www.aluxurytravelblog.com/2014/05/23/8-things-i-saw-on-my-trip-to-athens/
As for the view, I don’t think that thing you see jutting out is a temporary structure. I’m not entirely sure what it is or what purpose it serves (a fire escape possibly???) but it looked to be fairly permanent…
Looks like a good choice for the city, I normally avoid big chains in cities but this looks like it has the age on others of same price point! Particularly like your morning and night photos – always worth looking for the best time to get the unbroken view
Overall this sounds like a good choice and I would love the view of the Acropolis by night (and I’d quite enjoy the city version of the view by day too). The room itself looks very smart and spacious. Not so sure about the artwork in the lobby though!
The views and location are quite impressive for Athens. I love the lit up Acropolis at night time, quite spectacular. Simple and modern lines are the type of hotel that I am typically attracted to staying in like the InterContinental brands
Nothing like a night view of the Acropolis to welcome you to the city. What a surprise you must have had in the morning! Like Chris, I thought it was a construction crane, but now see it does indeed look permanent, like it’s ready to reach down with a hook and lift the infamous structure right off the hill! I think the artwork is an energizing, interesting sculpture.