Hotel Grande Bretagne, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Athens

There are five things I look for in a hotel: (1) cleanliness; (2) quiet; (3) comfortable bed; (4) excellent internet service; and (5) air conditioning/heat. The Hotel Grande Bretagne failed in four of the five criteria. TERRIBLE NOISE: My wife and I booked a room for four nights at an average €1,650 a night. We were in room 706, the top suite floor overlooking the Acropolis. Unfortunately, apparently most if not all rooms on the seventh floor are under the roof top dining room. The dining room floors are marble. Commencing at 5:10 am and continuing through 11:00 pm we were subjected to the continuous scraping of dining chairs as patrons were seated, left and repeatedly went to the buffet during breakfast, as well as other restaurant noise. When I requested a room change, I was told the hotel was fully booked. UNCOMFORTABLE BED: The bed was hard and dropped off on either side of the midline because it apparently hasn’t been replaced in many years. INTERNET SERVICE: The internet service is poor and somewhat difficult to access. However, for €15.00 a day one can upgrade. To pay € 1,650 a night and to have a hotel try to chisel an additional €15.00 a day for internet service is outrageous. AIR CONDITIONING: For some reason, it seemed to get hotter during the night regardless of how I tried to lower the air conditioning temperature. The rooms are on the smallish side but well appointed, the hotel has an elegance and housekeeping is good although room service was late and resulted in our not eating most of the ordered breakfast. Regardless, the bottom line is the hotel fails in four of the five above criteria and, therefore, I recommend booking at another hotel.

A beautiful hotel, stunning rooftop restaurant and delightful staff. Breakfast was excellent too. Highly recommend.

Delicious We actually went back a second time to try different foods. The atmosphere was wonderful and we were looking out at the Acropolis and Parthenon.

A wonderful experience. We stayed here for a night before we went onto a cruise. They were very accommodating and gave our 2 year old daughter some lovely gifts. Our room had a gorgeous view of the acropolis. Everyone was polite and friendly and the service was impeccable. We hope to return to Athens and will probably stay there again.

Superb property, good rooms, indifferent service. We were probably unlucky arriving just as a cruise shipload were checking out. The line was right round reception so we left our bags and checked in later. Room not ready but, no worries, Reception would give us a call when ready - didn’t. And that pattern was repeated too often for a top luxury hotel. Breakfast service good, dinner service in the Winter Garden pretty average. The Winter Gardens does provide very good food but way overpriced. Too many staff with an abrupt manner. The hotel is well placed on one of the main squares. The top attractions - the Acropolis and the very fine Acropolis Museum are a 20 to 30 minute walk away - the last five minutes being very steep. Taxis and on-off tour buses go to the foot of the Acropolis through Athens’s traffic choked streets.