Athens: 52,000 Rooms, And This One Was Worth the Detour

Any travel article that tells you it knows the best deal or the best hotel in a city is probably stretching the truth a little. There are so many to choose from, even in small cities, that the likelihood of any journalist or publication having enough information on every one of them to tell you with any authority what is the best is vanishingly small.

The Athens area, for instance, has about 700 hotels. There are separate hotels on separate floors of otherwise unmarked buildings. There are glorious palace hotels, apartments that have been turned into AirB&Bs, and hundreds and hundreds of 2, 3, and 4 star hotels everywhere you look. The estimate I saw made it more than 52,000 rooms.

So the best? Who knows?

But I have found a truly excellent deal, and I thought I’d pass it along to you to pass along to your clients.

It is unpromisingly called Versions Luxury Suites. It may actually have suites, but mine is not one. I got a regular studio hotel room on the first floor of this four storey. I paid $122 for it, so my expectations were limited.

I was surprised.

It’s in the centre of the centre of Athens, a two-minute walk from the Agora, about 4 to the nearest metro station (Monastiraki), and walking distance to most everything else you’ve likely heard of in this city.

The management was instantly responsive by WhatsApp, provided extra towels in advance, stored my luggage before check-in, and had my room ready an hour early.

(Photo Credit: Bert Archer)

The room itself is small but not dire, the bathroom up to date and genuinely well done, with a three-directional shower and a sink with enough countertop for toiletries. There’s an open wardrobe, a queen sized bed, windows facing two directions, and electrical outlets everywhere, including both sides of the bed.

And then there’s the rooftop. It’s five spiral flights of marble stairs up. There's a small elevator that'll take you as far as the fourth floor, but the rooftop is only accessible by stairs.

Everyone has a rooftop in this town, where most buildings top out at five storeys, and the view here, or in most places, is as good as any five-star terrace. That view includes, of course, the Acropolis, which is high above the whole city. What may set this one apart is the privacy. I was the only one up there the whole time.

The hoteliers own the bar and restaurant attached, and you can buy a drink, or whatever you like, and bring it up with you. Despite being in the centre of the touristiest of touristy Athens, when I asked the bartender about the differences between the differently priced ouzos, he said, “Eh, they mostly taste the same,” and sold me the cheapest, 100ml for €5. When I asked for water with it, he didn’t try to upsell me bottled water, but handed me a chilled litre of tap.

I’m writing this on the rooftop, my perfectly fine ouzo beside my laptop, a little stunned by how unmitigatedly lovely it all is while craning my head to take in the full 360 view up here.

I was going to say the only minor caveat was that there didn’t appear to be wifi on the roof, but as I’ve been writing, the management - who leaves the premises every day just after check-in but remains responsive - got back to me on WhatsApp in about 15 minutes with the password for the fourth floor router. I haven’t managed to get it working yet, but how’s that for service?

Now my only complaint is that I’m just staying here the one night.

It’s rare that I have nothing but praise for a hotel. There are always niggling little somethings. Not this time.

Luxury Suites Versions

112 Eulos / 18 Astiggos

Psyri-Monastiraki, Athens

https://www.theathensversion.com/

 

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