King George, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Athens

Today, my sister and I were subjected to an absolutely unprecedented and deeply disturbing experience at the King George, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Athens. After an exhausting overnight flight, we arrived at the hotel by taxi, hoping for nothing more than a smooth check-in and the opportunity to rest. Instead, during the registration process, a concierge service employee named Cleopatracategorically and unapologetically informed us that we would not be allowed to check into our pre-reserved and confirmed room. Her reasoning was that she was allegedly unable to charge the payment to a virtual credit card belonging to our brother, a Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite member, who had made the reservation for us. Despite the fact that this method of booking has been used by him repeatedly around the world for his children and close family members without ever encountering any issues, she insisted that this was “Marriott policy” and that she would not accommodate us under any circumstances. As a result, we were forced to wake our brother in New York, in a completely different time zone, to explain the situation. Even after he personally clarified that this booking method is standard practice and has never been questioned at Marriott properties worldwide, the employee stubbornly refused to offer any solution whatsoever. For two hours, we were left standing at the front desk — exhausted, jet-lagged, emotionally distressed, and utterly confused as to what was being demanded of us. The employee’s behavior was irrational, dismissive, and openly hostile. I finally expressed to her that her conduct and attitude toward guests — particularly loyal members of the Marriott Bonvoy program — directly contradict the values and standards publicly upheld by Marriott International. We have stayed at countless Marriott properties across the world, in hotels of various categories, and have never encountered such rudeness, incompetence, and blatant disrespect. I requested to speak with a Senior Manager in order to formally file a complaint regarding both the incident and this specific employee. In response, she deliberately misled us, pointing to various staff members and falsely presenting them as Senior Managers, until those employees themselves confirmed that they had no such position. At the same time, my sister began recording the situation on video in order to document the events. At this point, the employee became hysterical, screaming and aggressively demanding that the video be deleted. We refused. She then called the police and began telling them fabricated stories in Greek. Without going into every horrifying detail of what followed, I will state only this: all staff members present in the lobby positioned themselves at the exit, physically blocking our way and preventing us from leaving the hotel. The police eventually requested that the video be deleted, clearly recognizing that the concierge employee was behaving in a completely unprofessional and unstable manner and that the situation could otherwise escalate indefinitely. My sister deleted the video, and we finally managed to leave the hotel. We left what is, without exaggeration, the most offensive, hostile, and least customer-oriented Marriott property we have ever encountered.

The King George is an excellent hotel for so many reasons. We were a family of four people with two rooms for one week over Christmas. Prior to check-in, the hotel confirmed all of our arrangements and asked for any assistance including reservations. The concierge team did an amazing job helping us find places to eat as my wife has celiacs. Every meal was wonderful. Check-in was an easy and they were able to provide a connecting room which was not requested but greatly appreciated as it enable our family (4 adults) to stay together. The rooms were beautiful and housekeeping twice a day was sure to make sure our rooms were clean and tidy everyday. Breakfast overlooking the acropolis was breathtaking eery morning. Chrisa Dimitriadou and the entire team were amazing every morning. The Buffett had something for each member of out family and the menu items were plentiful. I personally feel in love with the sampled eggs mixed with smoked salmon and chives. Finally, the whole team was spectacular. For example, I had read that the hotel did not have parking and was fully expecting to have to find a local garage for an evening for the rental car. To my surprise, they said just bring the car to the front and the bellman would take care of parking it and retrieving it for us. Location location location. This was center to everything and would stay no other place upon our return. Yes, we will be returning. Great Job King George! Well done.

I have been several times to Athens and always wanted to visit King George hotel. Finally we had the opportunity to get a room and it did not disappoint. The view of Syntagama square added a lot, especially since it was already decorated for Christmas. The staff were very helpful and professional and overall everything was smooth and convenient. I want to point out four minor issues (this the 4 and not 5 stars): - Gym is too tiny and kind of poor. Feels like it was a "check" on gym without much thought. - The chocolate on the pillow is always a nice touch, but why do you place the cheapest greek chocolate? It feels kind of lazy. - We switched a room because the bath in the first room was very bad, low water pressure and we had to get very close to the edge of the bath to shower. The second room was similar, but had a very nice walk-in shower... even though in this shower the showerhead leaked and I got a splash of cold water each time. - Breakfast is very nice, but I think you can do much better on the eggs preparation. For example, my scrambled eggs and egg white omelette were very dry. Also, the coffee is kind of mediocre and I expect more from a luxury hotel. So overall, very good hotel, that does need a bit of a touchup to make it prefect.

This is a wonderful, centrally located hotel with excellent service. Our room was small but quite comfortable and well appointed. We only stayed one night but enjoyed the hotel bar with its excellent view of the Parthenon and also the very good breakfast in lovely surroundings.

If you’re planning a stay in Athens, Greece, look no further than the King George hotel. It’s in an excellent location (no car needed), with sumptuous accommodations, excellent service and delicious food at their Tudor Hall restaurant.