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4 Stars - 2 Reviews and 408 Opinions
Be careful, as it seems there are 2 hotels called “Art” in Athens. I stayed at the one located near Omonoia square.
The room was OK, even very small (even for European standards). The hotel claims to be artsy and trendy, but apart of the eclectic (more than artsy) decoration of the common areas, it seems they better meant "minimalist cheap ikea-like furniture". The room was clean, ok for a couple of days, but it would not be comfortable for a long stay (and even less for a business traveler!).
For instance, the TV was impossible to watch from the bed (of course my aim was not seeing TV during my stay; but this is just an example of the lack of logic of the room furniture). The bathroom was fine, with nice complimentary toiletries.
Good points: The hotel provides free internet access at the common area. Very friendly and helpful staff. Good breakfast.
The neighborhood was average, even not so central (for touristy purposes) and a bit dodgy at night.
Unique Quality: As summary: I chose this hotel as it looked nice and glamorous on the reviews, but I was disappointed. Not a bad experience, but I would not return, as I’m sure there are better options for the same price in Athens.
This hotel was the "splurge" of our honeymoon - 99EURO. Athens is generally more expensive than the islands, in housing, shopping, and eating, so this was to be expected, but the place was not quite as nice as we had hoped for at that price.
The bathroom was much nicer than anything we had used on the islands, first of all because plumbing is better on the mainland. A nice, high pressure shower head and a spacious, sparkling bathtub lived inside a roomy bathroom with a trendy glass door. Flushable toilet paper! Soap, shampoo, & bath gel provided by the hotel. There was also a phone in the bathroom... odd. My only complaint is that with all this they didn't think it was necessary to provide a hook to hang the shower head from, so you had to shower completely by hand.
The bedroom was small, but this was to be expected in a city hotel. My only complaint here is that even though we were on our honeymoon, they provided us with a bed that was really two twin beds smooshed together. This is common in Greece, but somehow every cheap hotel in the islands had managed to find us a double bed to share. This would have been OK if they had given us one set of sheets, but no -- two sets of sheets, all tucked in and separated. Not very romantic.
The biggest problem with this hotel, though, was the location. While clearly it was the nicest hotel on Marnia, it was on Marnia, near Exarhia and the Polytechnic institute, the dirtiest and least inviting section of Athens that we saw. In the tour guide, this neighborhood was described as "hip" but that's not how it seemed to us. Nowhere nice to eat, lots of pretentious goths to shout obscenities at you as you exit the busy, sketchy subway station at Omonia. Blech.
Unique Quality: The service and amenities provided by the staff were excellent. Free breakfast, free laundry, free internet, lots of amenities, good maid service, television.
A clean, comfortable and well-appointed hotel in a convenient location. However, this hotel is exceptional at this level in the standard of service provided. From our arrival we were encouraged to ask for help with any aspect of our stay in Athens, and when we did so the staff went out of their way to satisfy our requirements. Very impressive.
The Hotel Art is VERY nice. We were offered our choice of three rooms when we checked in. The rooms were all modern, spacious, neat, and comfortable. The staff were very helpful and knowledgeable. They went out of their way to be of assistance and were always friendly. It is located within 5 blocks of the metro so getting around Athens is easy, and the neighborhood is pleasant and safe at night. The breakfast buffet was wonderful!!!
As a single, slightly older lady, i was a little apprehensive about staying in Athens alone and finding a suitable hotel in which to stay. Well look no more- the Art hotel, Marni Street is well worth a stay. I was made to feel extremely welcome, with a pot of tea on arrival. 'Lizzi' in particular was very helpful, showing me the best places to go, how to use the transport and pointing out areas in which to eat, avoiding the tourist traps. A well-filled breakfast table set me up for the day, and i was able to make a couple of sandwiches for lunchtime as well. Nothing seemed to be a trouble to the staff. The hotel was spotlessly clean, and the rooms had nice firm beds. Room service was very prompt.Little personal touches made me feel right at home. I must admit, that at first I was a little concerned about the position of the hotel, as there is a section you pass through that has 'ladies of the night' and what looks like a hostel for the homeless, but in all honestly, i was not troubled by anyone. I will be going back to Athens again and i will definately stay at the Art hotel!
I booked about 4 months in advance, and was amazed at the value. It's possible that living in London, I'm just used to everything being ridiculously expensive, but EUR 70 for a double room for the night seemed to be a pretty good deal. The staff are extremely friendly (you're not just being processed) and unbelievably eager to help. Reception looks cool (none of the standard corporate hotel stuff) and the room are very new too.
I left on a Monday lunchtime, and asked if I could leave my bag at reception until an evening flight - they replied by saying I could keep the room for no charge until 8 pm that night
The only catch is that the area, Omonia, is really rather grotty - there are quite a few other touristy hotels in the area, but there's no reason to stick around any longer. I wouldn't go so far as to call the area dodgy, just that it's showing its age and scruffy. Somewhere a little further to the South or East - Psirri, Plaka (although some of it is very touristy) and Syntagma might be better bets. The hotel is however only a few mins walk from a metro though
Having said all that, the prices of rooms in places like Plaka are FAR more expensive, so you have to make a choice. Taxis are very cheap in Athens, so staying here is still a good bet
The lobby is beautiful but our room wasn't so impressive. It was clean and comfortable but very noisy - on a major street with lots of horn honking at night!! We were given the wrong room at check in, and our toilet broke. Realistically, you spend so much time outside of the hotel sight seeing that it doesn't really matter where you stay, so long as it is safe and clean, which the Art Hotel was. The staff was very kind and friendly.
Beginning with our 2:00am arrival, we couldn't have been more pleased with our stay at Art Hotel. The morning breakfast buffet was a great start to our morning and the staff was so helpful. One of the ladies working at the front desk spent hours trying to book us reasonable ferry tickets to Ios and then Ios on to Santorini--the computers were down at the ferry agency, so we were having trouble getting through. She told us to go enjoy our day of sightseeing and that she would take care of it--when we returned, she had everything booked--wonderful. They also provided us an extra early breakfast for our early morning departure and let us use their computer to check email at no charge. The room was great--very modern and clean. Also, this was a great location for getting around. Have already recommended to several friends.
Weak points -- Our room was spare, with rather mis-matched decor and no art -- which was rather strange for a "art hotel". The bathroom door was frosted glass without a tight seal or lock, which did not create any sense of privacy (just OK in our case since we were a couple, but perhaps not for others). I could not get the Internet working at all in the room which was a big disappointment. Instructions for the safe were taped to the top of the safe inside the dark closet and so very difficult to read. It was also not bolted down. The neighborhood is funky and my companion was a bit scared by the dirty, dark streets and many prostitutes we encountered on our walk back from dinner nearby.
Good points -- E$99/night was half of what we paid in the tourist area of Syntagmos. Very friendly staff, nice lobby, and good breakfast buffet. The room was clean and the double-glazed windows completely shut out the traffic noise from the busy intersection. The safe is large enough for two laptops plus cameras, etc. The fabulous National Museum is just a short walk away. Omonios station is a ten minute walk and its only one station away from the airport Metro.
I wish I'd had walking directions to the hotel, so here they are for you: from Omonios subway exit, take October 3 Street and walk away from the square (metal tube railing of the rounded part of the square is at your back) and turn left at the 4th intersection, then take the next right and the hotel is right there on the next corner).
There are lots of upscale boutique hotels opening in the area, which is clearly in transition. The merchants should join together to clean up the neighborhood and get bright lights put in on the dark streets. Although funky, we were never threatened.
Starting when we entered the hotel, we were greeted by a wonderfully friendly and helpful staff. I especially enjoyed Maria (I think this was her name). She helped make us dinner reservations, recommended restaurants, gave us cold water each day we got back in after some really hot days, gave us a map, and was very attentive to every request. The hotel was near the Omonia Square train station, maybe a few blocks further than I would like, but still walkable. It was very hot at the end of May, so walking to the train station was a little rough, but manageable. Great convenient location to the best museum in town, the National Archeaological Museum.The inside of the hotel was very nice for a European hotel. Very nice lobby and breakfast area. The room was an adequate size, and comfortable. We were offered our choice of two different rooms, which was very nice. Other than the location to the train station (my main means of transportation in Athens), I would recommend this hotel very highly. The room was very nice for the money, maybe just hang a few pictures on the walls.
Has anyone used this service? They are the only one that seems to offer online booking for a variety of hotels I was interested in (including the Art Hotel Athens) but I am a little nervous to give them my credit card number.
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