King George, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Athens

Stayed at this hotel for 5 days, and the most noticeable highlight was the front office lady who greeted us with a warm smile every day and genuinely asked about our day — such a sweet gesture that made us feel truly welcome. I had a parcel delivered during my stay, and the staff handled it efficiently without any hassle. The location is top-class — right in the heart of Athens. While the hotel is a bit old, it is well-maintained and very clean. Breakfast was excellent, and the view from the dining area is absolutely to die for. In my opinion, this is one of the best places to stay in Athens — great location, good food, and outstanding service!

We stayed at the King George and were impressed from start to finish. The staff is hospitable, our upgraded suite was impeccable and the on-site restaurant was top tier. We happened to be in town during Athens Pride celebration so our suite overlooking the town square/park had exceptional views of the festivities including the concert and hourly changing of the guard at the Parliament building. I was thoroughly impressed by the surrounding area. Chanel, Dior, Hermes are all nearby, oh my! H&M, Zara, Nike and Under Armor are a short walk with cafes, bakeries and restaurants galore. We look forward to returning on our next Athens visit. Pro tip: Visit the adjacent luxury collection hotel for dinner and don’t miss the Tudor Hall restaurant. Amazing food and epic Acropolis views!

Great location with fabulous restaurant. The rooms and common areas were good but not quite as opulent or spacious as what we expected. Room service food was disappointing but the restaurant on site was good for breakfast and truly spectacular for dinner.

This hotel is in a superb location and perfect for walking to all the main sites in Athens. Reception staff are welcoming and our Titanium status was recognised by an upgrade to a junior suite which was quiet and comfortable. Breakfast is excellent and on a gorgeous terrace with stunning views of the acropolis . We used the pool in the adjacent Britannia hotel one afternoon and that was quiet and clean We would thoroughly recommend this hotel.

I wanted a super nice, central hotel in prime location and was willing to pay top dollar to get something super nice. I did pay top dollar, EUR 4800 for 4 nights (eg, EUR 1.200 / night). I walked out of there feeling disgusted with myself because I was dumb enough to fall for the tourist trap that rips off Americans who can pay. Here's what we got: 1. An interior suite (paid, no upgrade) with a view of an air shaft, no natural light, it was dark and depressing. When we woke up and went to bed, we had no clue whether the sun was shining outside, whether it was day or night. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect exterior light and windows to the outside world for EUR 1.200 / night. Did I mention the peeling wallpaper, moldy cracks in the bathroom, etc? They're basically milking the location and reputation of the joint to rip off Americans with money. I have paid far, far less for vastly bigger, lighter, better in shape suites in equivalent hotels in Paris, London, Rome, Milan, Tokyo, San Francisco, Osaka, Buenos Aires, etc. If this place cut prices by 1/2 or 2/3, then the price would be reasonable, at the prices they actually charge, it's a complete rip-off. 2. The a/c didn't work, the room was hot and stuffy, we couldn't even open windows to the outside world to get ventilation or air flow. When we checked out, the bell folks told us that the heating was turned on!! The temperature outside was in the 80's during the day, why would these people turn on the heating instead of the a/c??? Guys, for EUR 1.200 / night I expect the a/c to work, got it? 3. The first night on arrival our only meal had been on Lufthansa (actually quite good!), but we wanted a small bite to eat before heading to a work-related cocktail event with many people, hitting that on an empty stomach after a long day's travel didn't feel like a good idea. When we arrived at the upstairs restaurant, they served Michelin star fare, eg, foam of this and gelatinous mixture of that, bizarre concoctions mixing things not naturally mixed. I asked politely if we could please have a salad, calamari, caprese (tomatoes and mozarella), and the waitress just looked me in the eye and said "no". I explained our situation that we wanted a glass of wine and something very light and healthy as we'd be having dinner in a reception shortly, and the waitress looked me in the eye and told me to go next door and have a cheeseburger. Can someone please explain to these people that not all Americans eat cheeseburgers and that this is pretty rude - how would she feel if I told her to go chew on some olives? When I mentioned this to the manager on the next day, he told me their restaurant was a "fine dining" restaurant. Hmmmm, both my partner and I took that as a pretty direct insult, we're good enough to pay EUR 1.200 / night but obviously not good enough to appreciate fine dining. On the positive side, folks did speak flawless English and the location and reputation of the place are hard to beat. The 7th floor breakfast buffet is spectacular (why can't they get some of the mozzarella and tomatoes that they have in the fridge for breakfast out to serve as an appetizer at dinner when a guest asks??) as are the views of the Acropolis, parliament, Syntagma square. This place is also not as "busy" as is the Grande Bretagne next door. That being said, the staff didn't all seem that motivated - when we first arrived, they made a big show of helping with our luggage and holding open the doors, etc., after that we always had to pull and pull to open the heavy front doors ourselves, while the door man stood there serenely surveying the scene in Syntagma Square. Bottom line - this is a historical hotel where heads of state and other folks like that stay, you can impress the locals by telling them you're roosting in the King George, but honestly, it's a totally overpriced ripoff that gouges Americans while sneering at us. EUR 1.200 / night should get you working a/c and windows to the outside world, and staff that are polite and don't vent their preconceptions of Americans on their guests who're paying through the nose. Thank you.