Athens, Greece

AthensWas

Price per night from$283.98

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR260.79), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Black, white and sleek all over

Setting

Acropolis adjacent

On a buzzy pedestrian street in the centre of Athens, sleek AthensWas has incredible views of the Acropolis and on-trend restaurants and shops practically on its doorstep. It’s the perfect mix of past and present.

Smith Extra

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Guests staying in the Superior Deluxe Suite, AthensWas Suite or Hellenic Suite will receive a bottle of wine; all other guests will get a welcome drink on arrival.

Facilities

Photos AthensWas facilities

Need to know

Rooms

Twenty-one, including eight suites

Check–Out

Noon. Check-in, 3pm, both are flexible, subject to availability. Guests arriving early or leaving late are also welcome to store their luggage.

Prices

Double rooms from £253.12 (€296), including tax at 13.5 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional government tax of €10.00 per room per night on check-out.

More details

Rates usually include à la carte buffet breakfast and all local taxes. Guests staying in Superior Deluxe rooms, the AthensWas Suite and the Hellenic Suite will get Acropolis Museum tickets.

Also

Arrange a private half-or full-day tour of Athens for a bespoke hit of history and culture.

At the hotel

Free WiFi throughout, 24-hour gym, meeting room. In rooms: Korres bath products, Nespresso coffee machines, HD TVs, minibars.

Our favourite rooms

We particularly like the higher floors for their views of Athens. Seekers of quiet and calm may enjoy the Classic rooms – with private balconies overlooking the peaceful courtyard – best. The splashy Helenic Suite has a huge terrace with a day-bed, for Acropolis-watching by day and stargazing by night.

Packing tips

Bring running shoes to follow the hotel’s jogging map, an alternative way to see the sights. Or for the lounging-inclined, pack your sunglasses and sunscreen to take in the incredible city views as you laze away the day on roof terrace.

Also

Grab a design book and a drink and head to the vine-strewn urban secret garden of the courtyard for a mid-afternoon lounge session.

Pet‐friendly

Pets will have to stay behind – they're not allowed at the hotel. See more pet-friendly hotels in Athens.

Children

Welcome everywhere except the Deluxe rooms. Cots (free) and extra beds (free for under-sixes; €70 a night for older kids) can be added to most rooms; there are three sets of interconnecting rooms, and the Helenic Suite and Grand Suite can be joined.

Food and Drink

Photos AthensWas food and drink

Top Table

For the best views, head to the terrace for your meals. And if you’re after an especially romantic evening, private rooftop dining can be arranged.

Dress Code

Modern minimalism; extra points for monochromatic attire to fit in with the decor.

Hotel restaurant

The à la carte breakfast has a wide variety of traditional cold and hot dishes to chose from, and is served in the Modern Restaurant or up on your balcony. The Modern Restaurant, on the ground floor, has an outdoor courtyard leading off from the indoor space. The lobby’s black-and-white-marble theme continues into the restaurant, which is dotted with vintage Italian designer chairs and Greek walnut. The menu’s packed with modern Greek cuisine, from small plates to main meals, and a fantastic wine selection too. There’s also a rooftop restaurant – aplty named Sense – that serves similar Mediterranean cuisine (think paprika-peppered grilled fish, split pea fava and courgette risotto), but with incredible views of the Acropolis.

Hotel bar

In Modern Restaurant’s bar, try one of their signature cocktails: the Athens Marathon, Golden Century, Parthenon’s Glow or Olympic Spirit. AthensWas also has a rooftop bar that enjoys panoramic views of the Acropolis, Lycabettus and the city as a whole, from the mountains that define its eastern and western boundaries, to the northern horizon and the sea to the south.

Last orders

Breakfast is served from 7am to 11am, lunch from noon to 5pm, and dinner from 6pm to 11pm. Sense is also open for dinner from 6pm to midnight.

Room service

The full menu is available for room service at any time, day or night.

Location

Photos AthensWas location
Address
AthensWas
Dionysiou Areopagitou 5
Athens
11742
Greece

The hotel is smack-bang between the Acropolis and the Arch of Hadrian; it’s about a two-minute walk to either one.

Planes

Athens International Airport is 40 minutes away by car. The hotel can arrange transfers for €45–100, depending on time and car type.

Trains

Athens Railway Station is 15 minutes away by car, and is served by trains from Corinthos, Nafplio and the surrounding area. The hotel can arrange pickup from the train station for €20–30.

Automobiles

A pay-to-park car park is 600m from the hotel.

Worth getting out of bed for

You’re right in the historic heart of the city, with the Acropolis, its museum and the Arch of Hadrian all a two-minute walk away from the hotel. The National Gardens are also nearby, about a 10-minute walk away. Take the cable car or, if you’re feeling energetic, walk up Ploutarhou Street to reach the church at the top of Mount Lycabettus, 277m above sea level. More panoramic city views await at the summit of Mount Hymettus, a picnic-perfect spot overlooking Athens. One of the easiest ways to get acquainted with Athens is to follow the Ancient Promenade, a pedestrian zone that connects the city’s iconic sights, including the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Acropolis. Die-hard design lovers can get even more of a fix of contemporary works at the Benakis Museum on Koumpari.

Local restaurants

Locals love Mani Mani for its authentic Greek fare. Dionysos Zonar's is another local upscale restaurant with panoramic views of the acropolis. Seafood restaurant Varoulko is set on the seafront at the Mikrolimano marina, which is about 15 minutes by taxi from AthensWas.

Local cafés

Head to Mama Roux on Aiolou, an ideal brunch spot, serving organic burgers with fresh salsa. For a simple Greek taverna with Acropolis views, look no further than the rooftop terrace of Strofi Tavern. Psarras on Erechtheous is a pretty taverna with outdoor seating on the slopes of Plaka, where you can savour traditional Greek food washed down with a glass or two of retsina. It’s been open since 1898 and is still a favourite with locals.

Local bars

Combining a bar with a gallery space and a music venue, Bios at 84 Pireus (+30 210 342 5335) provides Athens with a unique injection of cutting-edge culture.

Reviews

Photos AthensWas reviews
Kasper Iversen

Anonymous review

By Kasper Iversen, Houzz proud

Before arriving at AthensWas Hotel, I had been on a family holiday in Crete just a few weeks before. It was a bit too fresh in my mind: the all-inclusive chaos and greedy cocktail-guzzlers. I could still hear the screaming kids by the crowded pool area and smell the giant fish buffet. And yet, here I was again, on a flight from London to Athens: an ordeal that put Mr Smith and I a few hours behind schedule. 

The cabin doors opened and we squeezed onto the Athens Metro, but not before encountering a member of staff who’s arrogance reminded me of the warning issued by my personal trainer, who is Greek, back home in London. I excitedly told him of my trip, to which he said: ‘No, no Kasper, don’t expect too much. The customer service in Athens is nothing like the level you experience in London’. The realisation that this could be true lowered my expectations somewhat.
 
We popped up into the hustle and bustle at the very center of Athens. Dionysiou Areopagitou street, Leicester Square’s long lost Mediterranean brother, would be our home for the next couple of days, a spot swarmed with eager waiters on the lookout for the next opportunity to recite their English sales pitch: ‘Come, come. Sit, please. Food, very nice. Good price’. Tempting as this was, we politely declined, ploughing on towards the refuge of AthensWas Hotel. The glint of its sleek glass façade caught our eye and we passed through the sliding doors into not just a blissfully air-conditioned hotel, but a bubble of serenity. The hotel exudes calm and liberates you of any stress from the get-go. It’s not the kind of luxury hotel where bowing butlers in stiff uniforms loiter by the door, waiting to cart your luggage off to your room while a glass of champagne is foisted on you – and all the better, because let’s be honest, all you want to do at this point is take off your shoes and have a pint. Here, the receptionist welcomes you into a simple yet stylish lounging spot next to the foyer. 

With just 21 rooms – hello, peace and quiet – there’s an independent, family-run feel to this stay. Our Deluxe Suite was beautifully designed with a sultry colour scheme throughout: furnishings in deep grey tones, dark-wood panelling and no less than three layers of curtains – more than enough to keep the scorching Athens sun out and ensure a good lie-in. A bar area in the corner had a refreshing selection of snacks and a Nespresso coffee machine to keep jet-lag at bay. The spacious bathroom was equally stylish, composed of moody marble, granite and opaque glass. 

Sometimes minimalist style is an excuse for the most meagre of interior-design artistry. But AthensWas realises that the devil is in the details. Details like: how thoughtfully Danish Flos lamps are positioned wherever you might need light – a detail you’d normally only notice if it’s missing. My Scandi heart also warmed to see a Danish-designed phone, and even the Alessi tissue-box perfectly matched the decor. Most guests won’t scrutinise these things in such detail, but for a design snob like me, they mean a great deal. However, one thing that won’t go unnoticed is the absence of the paper signs that hang from door handles. Here you simply slide your finger over a touchscreen panel on the wall to ask staff to ‘Clean up’, ‘Please wait’ or ‘Do not disturb’: a polite and elegant solution.
 
A Deluxe Suite highlight was undoubtedly the view of the Acropolis, which sat just a few hundred metres from our spacious fifth-floor balcony. The hotel is so incredibly central that you’re spoilt by the archeological marvels around you. Although there is a slight downside to the location – we asked the receptionist where we could find a good, not-too-touristy restaurant and he answered regrettably: ‘Well, then you’ll need to take a taxi, I’m afraid’. The solution: we took the lift straight up to Sense, the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant. It was fantastic and served an exquisite selection of intricately-crafted Greek and Mediterranean dishes. The indoor dining room was stylishly furnished with Philippe Starck’s iconic Costes chairs, but we ended up on a romantic balcony with arguably the capital’s best view.
 
The meal raised our expectations for breakfast the next morning, served downstairs in a pretty sunlit courtyard. Again, we were not disappointed – freshly squeezed juices, coffees and teas were brought, swiftly followed by a spread fit for a Grecian god, or two… AthensWas stays true to its Hellenic roots: its international dishes have a Greek twist – think delicious homemade pancakes with Greek yoghurt and honey and scrambled eggs with olives and spiced sausage. And all were served on plates and not lined up in a buffet. Our verdict: AthensWas a true delight.

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Price per night from $283.98