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 (EUR259.03), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Bringing a dash of old-world charm to Athens’ quirkiest neighbourhood, Monument is an elegantly epicurean newcomer just a stone’s throw from the Acropolis. Housed in a grand neoclassical building, originally designed in 1881 by the acclaimed architect Ernst Ziller, and recently restored with the help of the Ministry of Culture, this Hellenic hotspot has modernised mauve interiors, original frescoes and a smattering of designer furnishings. Not quite open – but hotly anticipated – this stay’s spa menu and finer details are a closely guarded secret, for now, but you can bet they’ll be nothing short of monumental.
Smith Extra
Get this when you book through us:
A bottle of wine, sauna and hamam access and, for those staying 3 nights or more, 20 per cent off all massages.
11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
Prices
Double rooms from £251.78 (€294), including tax at 13.5 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional government tax of €7.00 per room per night on check-out.
More details
Rates include breakfast with buffet and á la carte options.
Also
The hidden treasures of Monument have been restored by a team of experts from the Directorate of Conservation and Restoration of the Ministry of Culture – just look up.
At the hotel
Spa with hammam and sauna, laundry service (charged), free WiFi throughout. In rooms: minibar, TV, bathrobe and slippers, Nespresso coffee machine, and Molton Brown bath products.
Our favourite rooms
Claim your own slice of untempered Epicurean luxury, with the fairy-tale views of the Epos, whose private terrace surveys the Acropolis and the church of Agios Dimitrios in Psyrri. The Nidus room does one better, with a Jacuzzi topping off its rooftop terrace, as well as designer furnishings from Gubi and Frama.
Spa
The hotel’s wellness centre, which will include one intimate treatment room, a sauna, steam room and hammam, is designed to provide guests with a tranquil escape from the bustle of the city. We’ve heard their massage menu is just as thorough as their design, covering everything from backs, necks, hands and feet, as well as the signature full-body.
Packing tips
Pack only your coolest fits, so as to not be out-styled by the decor. And leave plenty of space for particular Psyrri finds.
Also
Unfortunately, due to the historic nature of the building, Monument is unsuitable for those with mobility issues. Please be aware, there is no lift at the hotel.
Children
Over-12s are welcome.
Sustainability efforts
Across the building, there are water-saving devices on taps and showers and refill stations to encourage guests to avoid single-use plastic bottles. The hotel also keeps it local by partnering with suppliers, tour guides and businesses from the city and its surrounds.
You’ll find Monument sitting pretty in Athens’ cool Psyrri neighbourhood, surrounded by trendy bars and restaurants, and one-off boutiques in the shadow of the Acropolis.
Planes
Eleftherios Venizelos, Athens’ international airport is 40 to 60 minutes away by car, depending on traffic. The hotel can organise transfers from €70 each way.
Trains
Monastiraki Metro Station is a five-minute stroll from Monument. To reach the stop guests can take the blue line directly to and from the airport, or the green line to Piraeus port.
Automobiles
The city’s narrow streets were made for walking, so switch wheels for a trusty pair of trainers.
Worth getting out of bed for
When you’re staying this close to the Acropolis, it’s only right to start your trip with swinging by the ancient citadel. Beat the crowds by heading there bright and early. Elsewhere on the area’s classical check-list there’s the Theatre of Dionysus, Hadrian's Arch and finally, the Benaki Museum, a neoclassical mansion that houses over 100,000 historical artworks and artefacts. Further afield, the imposing Temple of Poseidon is perched 60 metres above sea level at Cape Sounio. Varvakios Agora, Monastiraki’s indoor-outdoor food market is sensorially arresting, with vendors bellowing their best deals as wafts of fresh fruit and spices are carried on the back of the city breeze. The Monastiraki neighbourhood is one of the oldest, and liveliest in the capital, with flea markets, artisan boutiques and plenty of bars. Feeling arty? The EMST (The National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens) is housed in a former brewery and boasts work by Greek and international artists such as Stephen Antonakos and Nan Goldin. It’s also home to an impressive collection of video art which includes everyone from Bill Viola and Bruce Nauman to Marina Abramović and Sophie Calle. Speaking of moving images, there’s no better Saturday night at the movies than the ones at Cine Paris, Athens’ outdoor cinema with views of the Acropolis.
Local restaurants
For a Mediterranean medley with a side of sprawling views, reserve one of the terrace tables at Orizontes, a cliffside restaurant topping the city’s highest peak, Lycabettus Hill. Start off sweet with the Epirus feta cheese, served in dough, drizzled with thyme-infused honey; and lead with the rack of lamb breaded in Aegina pistachio with lamb jus, poached pear and a local spin on patatas bravas. Cherchez la Femme is an updated take on the traditional kafenio, where light, bright interiors and a menu of Greek classics (stuffed vine leaves, chicken souvlaki, moussaka, grilled octopus) are joined by a terrace made of people-watching.
Local cafés
With hanging plants, creamy lattes, full-to-the-brim paninis, and pastries so pretty you’ll want to mount them on the wall, Dope Roasting Co is a one-stop-shop for all things sweet and caffeinated.
Local bars
It’s Christmas all-year round at Noel, a holiday-themed spot where you can jingle your way through a menu of saintly cocktails like the Our Lady of Aparecida (with orange, apricot, spices, pimento, and a generous helping of rum) and the Black Madonna (a rum-based old fashioned made with Pedro Ximénez sherry, cherry, tonka-infused amaretto and vanilla bitters). For more traditional tipples head to Warehouse, an industrial-chic wine bar in the Exarcheia area with a 500-bottle-strong cellar, 100 of which you can sample by the glass (not all in one night, we should add).
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this neoclassical hotel a stone’s throw from the Acropolis and unpacked their artisan ouzo and flea-market finds, a full account of their epicurean break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Monument in Athens…
Fashion comes and goes, but style is eternal; if there’s anything Athenian hotel Monument has learned from its 19th-century neoclassical home, it’s this. A tucked-away treasure in the fabric of this ancient city, the hotel’s building was originally designed by Ernst Ziller back in 1881. Now, after a monument-al makeover courtesy of local architecture studio MPlusM, this exclusive address has been nursed back to its original Greco-glory with restored frescoes, carved marble balconies, a grand winding staircase, and columns galore, all enhanced by a combination of modernist and contemporary furnishings from the likes of Gubi and Frama. An intimate stay, each of the hotel’s nine rooms has been meticulously styled in understated mauve tones, with mirrored walls, luxe wood and gold accents to give them a whiff of Dionysion excess. There’ll be an intimate wellness area, too, but, like all great works of art, the full extent of this not-quite-open-yet beauty will remain closely guarded until the moment of its unveiling…
