Hotel Neos Olympos

My wife and I stayed here in August/September of 2011. We checked in, and the room seemed nice. On the second day, we asked the desk clerk about taking a trip to one of the nearby islands. He gave us a lot of information. Just before leaving, he asked us which room we were staying in. When we returned, we found that our room had been robbed! Apparently, asking advice and letting the house staff know you will be gone all day is a free pass for them to look through your belongings and take what they want.

This Hotel/Hostel is on the far outskirt of Athens but very close to the Train Station at Larissa. In fact, the nearest Metro station is Larissa, which, after exiting the station, all you need is to turn left with a 10 minutes walk.

I have decided to stay away from the centre of the city as I was having so much problems securing an economical room and really stumbled upon the Hotel quite by accident while I was searching through every lodging in Athens with frustration.

It's a rather old hotel but was given a face-lift for the Olympics in 2004 so the facade looks bright and shiny. For a rather off centre hotel, it does attract a healthy share of travellers - catering to both hotel and hostel demands so the place is virtually full.

I managed to secure a private hostel room with shared bathroom: There is a sink in my room for basic washings, a small balcony occupied entirely by the air-conditioning unit but is most handy for hanging out your clothes to dry, a pretty run-down TV and surprisingly 2 single beds. The rather spacious shared bathroom on each floor has 2 shower cubicles and 1 toilet.

There is NO lift, so folks who are given a room on a high floor - be prepared to climb.

Breakfast are available for 5 Euros (circa Sep 2006).

Despite the bleak initial look, with a little exploration, I managed to seek out bakeries & grocery shops littered around the vicinity of the hotel.

Unique Quality: The service was fantastic for a hotel/hostel of its class. If I got it correctly, the hotel is probably managed by a family (and its extended clan). I was having some problems with confirming my flights and the manager on duty was very kind to assist me. They were also very generous with answers to my queries.

The hotel runs its own air-conditioned cafe selling snacks (like doughnuts and pastries) and sandwiches. Price, most importantly, is not at all exhorbitant.

The BIGGEST draw is the FREE Internet use (in the cafe) for staying guests. Gosh, it really pays to save a few Euros per day!

Directions: Near Larissa Train Station.