"I'll take a half dozen": Six boutique hotels in Greece to snap up right now
Meet the fresh baked boutique hotels, with or without Acropolis view, that are serving up the Grecian charm
Here at Greek Column, we like to joke about Acropolis views—as if you can judge the merit of a hotel on the basis of the things you can or can’t see from the window. Choosing a hotel in Athens on the basis of whether it’s got a view of the Parthenon or not is like deciding on a perch in Paris because it has a view of the Eiffel Tower: it’s not a prerequisite, just a petite perk.
As Arthur Miller (famous American playwright/briefly married to Marilyn Monroe/zoomers look him up) once said, “the theater must be bread, not cake.” Likewise, a hotel for us (meaning, for you) must be good enough to not have to resort to using views as a diversionary tactic from absence of core qualities. So, following is a relatively recent batch of hotels mostly in Athens and that you can book in confidence because of the quality and uniqueness of the property itself.
I encountered Asomaton by dint of its sister hotel 18 Micon Street, an upbeat urban bolthole that I included in an Athens story for the magazine Departures (which if you don’t have an American Express Platinum Card you won’t have read, but don’t worry, neither do I). This is a fantastic renovation of a onetime carriage-wheel-repair shop that channels a Wild Wild East spirit with a sleek touch. It’s a real find, replete with a plunge pool in the lobby and (yes!) an Acropolis view from the roof terrace. A stay here puts you within easy striking distance of Kerameikos, which after the Agora area is the most evocative archaeological site in Athens.
Word of Moon and Stars came to me via fellow columnist Kostis, and not just because sometimes it seems like he’s drifting off in outer space. Who, frankly, wouldn't love the name? It’s a labor of love, too: the family business run by Theodore and Vaso opened in 2020—no easy feat during an epic annus horribilis of lockdowns and such—transforming an Athenian art deco building into a collection of just five rooms and suites with names like Jack in the Box, The Ballerina and Cloud 9. Great hipster location at the edge of street-art haven Psyrri and near the Thiseio metro station, slightly away from the Monastiraki fray.
How do your like your Kolonaki? Some think that Athens’ poshest precinct is at its best when its narrow, boutique-and-French-bakery filled streets lick the rocky lower recesses of Mount Lycabettus, with the Acropolis staring back from across the city’s southern horizon. Helps to have good walking shoes to take on those slopes. Then there are the aficionados of what we like to call the “Kolonaki flats” home as they are to lots of nifty eateries, secret nooks and this boutique beaut which we learned about via our Australian colleague Sarah Bailey. Who could not, on a frosty winter’s day, warm to one of the six tastefully appointed rooms and suites? Suggestion: book the whole first floor, making “the ballad, the sonnet and the anthem” rooms your very own Athenian home away from home for a spell.
Like interior palms, zebra-print upholstered chairs and bodacious bathrooms? Well even if you don’t, you’re gonna love this new hotel for its location in Agias Irinis, one of the liveliest little squares in the very heart of Athens. Not too much, not touristy, and certainly not (contrary to the name) snobbish. SNOB Athens Luxury Rooms & Espresso Gastro Bar is in a renovated 1850 neoclassical style building. Used to be a printing house. Just a few rooms, but modern and fresh. Young Greek Chef Giorgos Kaperdas mans the kitchen, open daily til 3AM…we love that. Website tells you how long it takes to walk to the major archaeological sites nearby. But you’ll get into the vibe here, and soon see there’s more to this town than ruins. SNOB opened only last year and is already one of our favorites.
Yes, “the world-renowned estiatorio Milos proudly presents the very first luxurious gastronomy five-star hotel in the heart of Athens,” as they say, and the fish couldn’t be fresher nor the location better. The address of Kolokotroni 3-5 puts you so close to the Hellenic Parliament that you’re practically introducing a new piece of legislation. But even better, stay here and you can be tucking into some of the best locally-sourced Greek seafood there is without even having to cross a street, which is pretty neat. In case you were wondering, xenodocheio is the Greek word for hotel—let’s hear it for locally-sourced nomenclature, too!
TARSIA HOMES & SUITES, South Crete
This choice might strike some as odd, but hear us out. The south coast of Crete is long, difficult, beautiful and for the time being off the radar. You need a car. Maybe a couple of Dramamines too because with the exception of the modern road across the island from bustling Heraklion (“my hometown!” Kostis chirped), most of the roads will make you dizzy and the best beaches are the ones you need to get to by boat. Truly good hotels down here are few and often very far between. The folks at Tarsia Homes & Suites couldn’t be nicer and their collection of just six luxuriously appointed suites couldn’t be much sweeter. The famous beach at Matala is just a short drive away, but if you don’t feel like hoofing it fret not: at Tarsia, there’s a fine beach a mere ten yards from your own private plunge pool.
