"I chose St. George Lycabettus Lifestyle Hotel for the location in a safe, relatively quiet, upscale neighborhood of Athens. As a single mom, I was taking my teen daughter on her first European adventure, so I was looking for some place that felt safe and peaceful to retreat to after long days out while still being within walking distance of most of the places we wanted to see. Their website description is a “peaceful place to stay while staying closely connected to the energy of Athens” and the Lycabettus is absolutely that. I would book there again for this but with tempered expectations of the accommodations knowing what we do now post stay.
The hotel website descriptions:
“Premium Room with Private Balcony and Panoramic Acropolis View”
I booked this room category. A few days in I realized we were not in the room category we booked. I confirmed with the front desk the “Premium Panoramic View” rooms are the ones on the side of the hotel fully facing the Acropolis with it viewable from the room as well as the balcony. This is what I was looking forward to: the view of the Acropolis from bed. The Boutique Room with Private Balcony and Acropolis View is what we were given. These rooms are on the lobby side of the hotel with a view of Lycabettus Hill and the apartments across the way with the Acropolis viewable from the balcony only. I booked the “Premium” room and did not get it. Again, this was conformed by the front desk. After I confirmed the difference between the rooms, I explained that I booked the Premium room and we got the lesser room. He said the Premium room is “based on availability”. But I paid for that room category specifically?
“elegant…refined details to create a serene and sophisticated atmosphere”
Our room was quite a bit worse for wear being dusty, with torn and pulling from the wall wallpaper, marked and banged up walls. The furniture -while “modern”- is reminiscent of an oddly modern hospital room. Modern can be done with warmth as depicted in their website pictures, but in reality the room is completely absent of warmth or comfort.
The bed is a bit of a shock to lay on for the first time. It feels like laying on cardboard. Not in a nicely firm way. Literal cardboard. I’ve never felt a mattress like it. The headboard is banged up and crazy dusty.
The bedside lamps require that you get up to access their on off switch on the cord nesr the floor. There is an electrical short buzzing when they are on which caused us to leave them off. The shades are stained, damaged and lopsided. The lamp is on an unstable, shaky base.
There is nowhere to charge devices near the bed, with only one available outlet above the desk.
The closet is tiny with a handful of hangers. It doesn’t allow hanging a skirt or dress and certainly is not enough room for 2 people. There is no place else to store clothes, so we left most of our clothes in our luggage sitting against the wall, taking up precious space in the tiny room.
“bathed in natural light”
The lighting is stark and blaring (maybe install dimmers?) so we depended on natural light whenever it was available. The curtains are not black out so you will be woken by blaring sunlight and afternoon rest is challenging.
“modern bathroom design”
The bathroom is tiled on every wall and floor, with mold throughout. A lot of mold. Edges of the tile are damaged and poorly repaired in areas with long, lumpy swathes of what looks to be grout or adhesive slapped on in shamefully sloppy repairs. Shower fixtures are rusty. The sink is a stand with a tiny surface leaving little area to store toiletries. The faucet barely hangs on, flopping loose as it’s used. The lighting is stark prison lighting from behind when using the mirror.
“neutral tones”
Hospital core. White on white. Neutral tones can be inviting. That was not the case here.
The location of the Lycabettus is perfect. The neighborhood is walkable and we did walk from the hotel to the Acropolis and everything around Athens. It is quiet when you have the balcony door open so it is a perfect respite from the bustling city. There are a few front desk staff who are warm and helpful. The concierge we interacted with is a sweetheart. The staff, food and views at the breakfast buffet are exceptional.
I would book for the St George Lycabettus Lifestyle Hotel in the future but would note with management that I expect the room category booked and knowing the accommodations may not match the website description but are an acceptable compromise for the location."
