Divani Apollon Palace & Spa

We were really looking forward to our holiday. The pictures of the hotel and beach looked lovely and the website very promising. However, we soon realized the only thing luxury about this hotel was the prices!! After paying 5 star prices for accommodation, we were shocked to see our bill for 25EUR for wifi; 27EUR for 2 waters from the mini-bar (the only place around that you could get water, as they won't let you buy any to bring to your room from the bar). The spa looked amazing, but at 100EUR for a 30 minute massage - that even tops the best spas in London! They even managed to have some deal with the taxis to charge tourists a crazy premium. Catching a cab from the hotel cost us 35EUR to Athens - from the road just outside the hotel - 16EUR. I'm not normally too hung up on price - but given there is no where around the area to get food and drink and that the nearest public tram to the city is 5km away - they really rip off their guests!

Unique Quality: Spa looked amazing, but the prices were more than double even London - so not worth it!

Directions: beach nearby, but that's about it.

The same sea on a bright and sunny day.

Thanks to VT, while composing these pages, I've relived all those moments that I spent in Athens. And I can relive again whenever I want to :-)

Here's a view of the sea when the clouds turned dark.

The hotel has a balcony in every room and the architect ensured that every room had an unobstructed sea view. Great design.

This hotel is located in the Kavouri area - a supposedly posh suburb of Athens. Location-wise its not so ideal, but comfort-wise its hard to beat. If you want to stay close to the sights like the Acropolis, Plaka etc. you are better off staying in the city.

And talking of service - from the receptionists to the entire staff in the hotel - everyone had a sincere warm smile all the time. Will I got back to this hotel ? YEAH !!! Absolutely, no doubts about it.

Unique Quality: I had a great time at this hotel. The beach is close by and every room boasts a fab sea view. Took lots of pictures every time I sat in the balcony admiring the view. The sea looked so different at different times of the day. On days when it was cloudy, the sea also took on a dark color. Loved every moment.

Directions: Kavouri