POSITIVES:
- Bella met me at the apt to let me in, despite my flight being delayed by 1-2 hours
- 2 large balconies with outdoor furniture for hanging out (if you bring your own 6-10 foot extension chord, you can use your laptop outside on the terrace in the sun on the 6th floor)
- sun hits the balconies directly from around 1pm onward -- breezy and sunny
- price is good for the amenities, including the dishwasher, clothes washing machine, and clothes dryer
- sunset views every night from the 2 balconies
- guaranteed parking spot in the 1st floor garage if you have a car (no parking in this area at all, let alone Athens where it's gridlock on every street)- reliable elevator to/from 6th floor apt. entrance- large grocery store 2.5 blocks away that has everything you need (called "ΑΒ Βασιλόπουλος"- not open Sunday)
- large refrigerator/freezer if you need to store a lot of food for a family staying a week
- good air circulation through the apartment simply by opening the square window on the staircase connecting the 6th and 7th floor + any window or door on the 6th floor- 6th floor children's bedroom mattress is comfortable (seems like a twin or double size for 1 person)
- you don't hear any neighbors- less street noise than apartments downtown -- Athens has a ton of noisy traffic!- safe building- lots of cotton towels, paper towels, and toilet paper! (you won't need to buy any)- 5+ large bottles of soap/shampoo are provided, if you don't bring your own
NEGATIVES:
- Wifi / internet connection is slow and cuts out often unless you are in the immediate vicinity of it. There is no signal on the 7th floor bedroom or balcony, so don't count on it if you are the ones sleeping upstairs. Even in the 6th floor bedroom, it cuts out.
- 1 small bathroom for the whole apartment, which is not on the main floor (i.e. 6th floor), so anytime you need the bathroom, you have to climb 10+ stairs
- location is far from center. If you try to take the bus, you will spend 30+ min. "each way" commuting. If you are more than 1 person, just take a taxi to save time.
- neighborhood is sketchy after dark. I highly recommend walking in the street on side streets at night to avoid the sidewalks that have too many shady, tight areas with low visibility given the quantity of parked cars. Just watch for speeding cars and bikes when walking in the street!
- Google bus schedule online is never correct for the departure time of any of the buses 2 blocks away (download the Greek app "OSAS" that supposedly has a more accurate schedule, but on my iPhone the app wasn't as complete as on an Android that a Greek person showed me)
- public buses are PACKED with people and are mostly standing room only at all times (you cannot buy tickets on the bus and MUST buy them in any subway stop through a machine)- there are modern radiators in the apartment, but they don't work. I was offered a small portable electric heater that only heats 1 small room, such as the small 6th floor bedroom. The apt. is cold in February after dark. Luckily, the weather is in the 60's during the day now in March. By next winter, the radiators desperately need to be connected. I saw and heard the thin radiator pipes in the hall (near the front door) that were exuding heat, which shows others in the building have radiator heat from that source...
- 7th floor large mattress on the platform base needs to be replaced because you can feel the metal springs -- there is no padding at all on top. I ended up moving to the smaller 6th floor bedroom that has a good mattress for 1.
- no solar water heater or on-demand boiler, so you must turn on the hot water heater (switch on wall in hall) 30+ min. before taking a shower to heat it
TIPS: Take a taxi to the building when checking in.The buses are too packed with people to bring any luggage on board, and the apartment is 2 blocks uphill from the bus stop with sidewalks that are too narrow for luggage. Download the "BEAT" taxi app for easy taxi use and not having to explain anything to the driver (just like Lyft/Uber).
FOR ANIMAL LOVERS: Athens has a lot of stray cats, which means I have yet to see any mice or rats, despite the quantity of trash in open dumpsters. In fact, there is a small cat colony of 3+ cats that live in the open garage on the 1st floor of this building. I love animals, so I bought a 2 kilo bag of the cheapest dry cat food at the AB supermarket (called "ΑΒ Βασιλόπουλος") 2.5 blocks away, and I fed them for the past 11 days. I bought 2 medium plastic food storage containers for the food / water labeled for the cats with markers. Please, if you are an animal lover, rent this apartment, and shop at ΑΒ Βασιλόπουλος to get food for the frig., consider buying a bag of dry cat food to feed them and to leave for other renters to feed them when you check out (I left 1 bag). The cat food is found on the top floor of AB, 6th aisle to the left near the end of the aisle, bottom shelf, only 2.56 Euros for 2 kilos, "365" generic brand, white plastic bag. Don't pay more than 3 Euros for a 2 kilo bag. There is 1 designated parking spot for this apt. unit downstairs. I didn't rent a car, but I fed the cats there at the wall in our designated parking spot since I saw empty styrofoam dishes already there. There is a short metal gate you open with