Hermes Hotel Athens Review

 

After a lot of research and review reading, I selected the Hermes Hotel for my first 2 nights in Athens, before a cruise. I was looking for a comfortable, well-located property that wasn't part of a huge, American chain and this did the trick.

My shuttle driver from the airport didn't have too much trouble finding the hotel but it is hidden on a VERY small street in the Plaka area of Athens, not far from Syntagma Square. I swear, some of the streets SHOULD be one way but they were not.  Yikes.  We made it.

I'd asked for a room with a double bed when I booked, and they were able to assign me that type of room. However, they wanted to charge me more.  I said, I thought that when I booked, the type of room said two single beds or one double, on availability. The lady who checked me in asked a manager and they didn’t charge me extra.  I'd say it was shortly before noon when I arrived, and I think I had bit of a wait for my room. I was assigned a room on the 6th floor and when I entered, I noticed that it was very hot.

Exterior

Double bed

Small desk

After a couple calls to the front desk, and a few visits by housekeepers and supervisors, we were able to get the room to cool off. I think it was really hot as the sun shined into the room early in the day. The a/c is operated via remote control and once she explained that I should hit the snowflake, I was all set. (TBH, it didn’t look like a snowflake.) She laughed though as I’d set it to 68F, which the supervisor said, “is kind of cold”.

The room was small by American standards but fairly roomy compared to other European hotel rooms I've seen. My room had a small fridge (which smelled really bad, BUT when I let the staff know, they swapped it out for a brand new one which was nice.) Small flat screen TV with just a couple channels in English. (BBC and maybe a sports channel), a nice sized balcony, closet, safe, small desk, and enough outlets for my purposes. Lucky for me, the Olympics were still taking place and you don’t necessarily need sound to watch that.

The balcony was very big

The bathroom was a nice size. I will say that the water gets VERY hot so be careful. Pro Tip: hotels in Europe tend to NOT provide washcloths/face cloths as they're considered "personal items". If you want them, get a pack of inexpensive ones at home, bring them with you, use them and throw them away. I took several, used one each day and then threw them away.  The provided toiletries were nice as well. 

Not a huge bathroom but it worked

There was also a small closet with a safe inside

The mattress in my room (605) was a little too hard, or maybe just old, for my liking as I could feel the coils and didn't sleep all that well. That said, the room was sufficient for my 2 nights in the hotel. I probably should have asked for a couple more pillows.  The housekeeping supervisor offered to place more mattress pads or blankets on the mattress, but I decided I could rough it for my stay.

I booked a rate that included breakfast and I will say that the spread was very nice. It's a buffet, even during Covid, but there are gloves provided and plenty of hand sanitizer. I didn't see the gloves, nor the sign that says to please wear gloves, on the first day but I was obviously tired from an 8+ hour flight. I was gently reminded to wear them. The breakfast attendant nicely told me to do so, and she said "it's OK, you didn't know, it's your first day! Now you know!"

The breakfast featured scrambled eggs, bacon, various cold meats and cheeses, cereals, pastries, fruits, yogurt, juice, coffee and more. It was very good and a great way to start the day. They offered both a regular coffee machine and a fancier espresso machine. A lot of coffee in Greece is Nescafe instant but one of the machines dispenses Douwe Egberts coffee which is quite good.

The breakfast room 

I will say that the elevator is VERY small, just big enough for 1 person and luggage. Also, one evening, due in part to the wildfires north of Athens causing power interruptions, there was a sign suggesting to NOT use the elevator. Oops. I wasn't going to walk up 6 flights with a bad knee. It’s funny, most elevators’ doors open on their own.  This one had a manually operated exterior door which was unique to say the least.

Tiny elevator

The hotel was a bit noisy, coming mainly from the hall.  The housekeepers were not the quietest and sometimes you could hear guests. That said, my room was 2 steps from the elevator, yet I didn’t hear anything from that. The balcony did have a great view of the city and was VERY big so that was nice. The hotel is in a fabulous area for dining, shopping, and sightseeing so that was a huge plus. All in all, while I prefer more 'creature comforts', I would not hesitate to recommend Hermes Hotel to friends and clients.

They also stored my bags for me while I awaited my transfer to the ship (opted to bring my luggage down at breakfast since I overpacked!) They also sold cold bottles of water for .50€ for a small bottle and I want to say 1-2€ for a liter size.

Lobby lounge area

Lobby lounge area

I made my reservation as soon as I booked the cruise and I think my rate was about 70€ per night plus tax. This was not a prepaid rate, it did include breakfast and I will say that the closer it got to the dates of my stay, the more full the hotel got, resulting in higher rates.  I’d advise booking early.  Greece also charges a tax that’s about 1.5€ per night and that is paid at check out, usually by cash.

All in all, this ended up being a great choice and while I prefer a more modern hotel, and maybe more creature comforts, in hindsight, I'd stay here again if the nicer places were way above my budget.