The Best Hotels to Book in Athens for Every Traveller

It’s not often that you can stay in a five-star hotel with direct views of the Temple of Zeus, the Acropolis, the Hadrian’s Gate, the Marble Stadium and the National Garden – but that’s what this hotel offers. In addition to the views, it means these bucket-list locations are just a quick walk away. The Royal Olympic makes the most of its ideal location by offering guests a rooftop garden, so you can start every day with breakfast with the best view in Athens and end every day with a late-night cocktail at the rooftop bar. Prefer a drink by the pool? There’s a poolside bar. The hotel itself is elegant, artistic, detail-oriented and environmentally friendly. One amenity that stands out: the Royal Olympic has an on-site library.

Elegance, comfort and indulgence are what you’ll get at the Melia Athens, located in Athens’ city centre and a short walk to the metro station, which can take you quickly to some of the city’s most popular historic sites. This hotel is located in the “intellectual part” of Athens, where you’ll find charming bookshops and cafes. After exploring the city, you can relax in the on-site sauna, swim in the outdoor pool, or retreat to your room with its own spa tub. Finish the day with tasty Greek and Mediterranean cuisine served with impressive views of the Parthenon and Lycabettus Hill from its rooftop restaurant and bar.

If you want to base yourself near the Acropolis, the Herodion Athens is the hotel for you. This contemporary and elegant hotel is just steps from the Acropolis and Acropolis Museum and close to the Odeon of Herodes Theatre and National Museum of Contemporary Art. The Herodion features two different restaurants, a rooftop garden and luxurious rooms, with lovely touches such as fluffy bathrobes, slippers, private balconies, marble bathrooms, a rain showerhead and more. The best place to dine is at the Point a Bar and Restaurant, which boasts incredible views of the Acropolis – as well as a menu of fresh Greek and Mediterranean fare and cocktails made with local spirits.

Industrial chic meets achingly hip in this eco-aware boutique hotel, a short stroll from the Monastiraki flea market. Housed in a 1930s building that has served as a foundry, printing house and cultural centre, the hotel’s striking facade stitched with vertical gardens conceals 12 vast apartments. Original features – including bare brick walls, high ceilings, vintage record players and cast-iron furnaces – cosy up with state-of-the-art Coco-Mat bedding, bean bag floor cushions and vintage furniture. An edgy, after-dark music scene in the surrounding streets is the icing on the top of this stylish designer hotel’s cake.

Ergon Foods, an innovative Greek deli that promotes local producers, is a byword for culinary innovation in Greece. It’s no surprise that Ergon is heading up the city’s new craze for everything epicurean with Ergon House, Athens’ first foodie hotel. This culinary-themed, 38-room hotel in Plaka – the historical heart of Athens – has specially designated kitchen areas for hosting cookery workshops, along with its very own food market and specially curated minibar delicatessens in each of the airy modern rooms. Luckily, there’s also a well-equipped gym for working off those extra calories.

It’s impossible to speak of the best hotels in Athens without mentioning neoclassical grande dame Hotel Grande Bretagne, where Hollywood stars rub shoulders with heads of state. One of the city’s most venerable – and visible – landmarks, this swish crash pad standing opposite pom-pom-slippered Houses of Parliament guards on Syntagma Square opened its doors back in 1874. Nowadays, the stained-glass ceilings, antiques and oil paintings provide the spectacular backdrop for a plush, modern hotel – where first-class facilities include a seventh-floor spa with herbal steam rooms, a serail mud chamber and a heated outdoor pool.

Along a lively street once known as the city’s theatre district, City Circus is surrounded by boho cafes, traditional kafeneia coffee shops and edgy street art in Psyrri, one of the most happening neighbourhoods in Athens. A dignified 19th-century facade conceals a fun, funky hostel – its motto is “run away and join the circus” – where the clean, comfortable rooms range from doubles with views of the Acropolis to eight-bed dormitories. The decor is vintage-industrial with zebra-striped wallpaper, frescoed ceilings and wrought-iron balconies. Zampano restaurant, inspired by a Fellini opus, serves delicious bites of keenly priced, creative Greek cuisine.

To combine an exploration of the Greek capital with a beach break, head to the Athens Riviera. Divani Apollon is this beach-lined city suburb’s hidden gem. Just a 20-minute taxi ride from the Parthenon in the seaside suburb of Vouliagmeni is this glamorous hotel – which was one of the first to open along this rapidly-becoming-hip strip. It also has one of Greece’s largest thalassotherapy spas, making it the perfect place to unwind after a long day of sightseeing. “If you want to do as the locals do, you should also take a dip in the hot-spring-fed thermal lake just next door,” advises Niki Fotiou, the hotel’s marketing director.

Radiating out from the main square Plateia Karaiskaki, the multicultural Metaxourgeio district is one of the best places in the city to find hip budget accommodation, along with Acropolis views. Housed in a beautifully renovated 19th-century abode, Athens Lotus Hotel is surrounded by cutting-edge art galleries and a raft of intriguing restaurants. The 31 single or double rooms and suites have beds by Coco-Mat – a Greek-run company specialising in eco-friendly mattresses – wooden parquet floors and powder-blue walls. There’s also an atmospheric cafe bar – recalling a retro Parisian bistro – serving tasty snacks.

While the budget-friendly, centrally located Phidias Piraeus Hotel is the ideal stopover before heading off on a ferry to one of the islands, it is also the place to experience the buzz that is coming to define Piraeus. A ten-minute walk from the port, the standard rooms and spacious suites of this colourful modern guesthouse are within easy reach of Piraeus’s gritty, groovy Sunday flea market – where haggling for everything from vinyl to vinegar is a must – whilst the Athenian port’s legendary bouzouki (stringed musical instrument) haunts are just a stone’s throw away.

Renowned for its breathtaking rooftop pool, stylish rooms, private cinema and restaurant showcasing chef Vasilis Milios’s modern take on Mediterranean cuisine, St George Lycabettus shines like a beacon of luxury from the well-heeled streets of Kolonaki. This is one of Athens’ most exclusive neighbourhoods, which teems with hip art galleries and upscale antique stores. It’s an enchanting blend of neoclassical and contemporary and includes 16 eco-chic rooms with environmentally friendly fixtures and fittings. Guests can enjoy fine rooftop dining at La Suite Lounge, cool off with a dip at the Vertigo Pool Club or wind down with a relaxing treatment at the Aegeo Spa. Best of all, this ritzy 154-room hotel is just around the corner from the cable car that zips passengers to the top of Athens’ lofty Lycabettus Hill.

For a real dose of the authentic Athenian lifestyle, this cosy, great-value homestay in Elliniko – a residential area of the city ten minutes’ stroll from a beach and a bar-lined strip of coast that has excellent transport links to the city centre – is a real haven away from the city’s vibrant bustle. The dazzling white rooms with comfortable beds all have small patios or courtyards, along with private bathrooms. Breakfast, which is included in the price of your room, is served in the lemon tree-shaded garden slung with hammocks – and owners Majka and Dimitris will prepare and share an authentic Greek dinner with guests for a small extra charge.