My partner and I stayed at the apartment for a week and used it as a base to explore the city. For this purpose, it worked fairly well, but we would have struggled to stay here had we been planning to spend more time in the apartment itself. As such, I have created a list of pros and cons for you to consider if you are thinking of booking this place.
Pros:
- The apartment is centrally located and is within a few minutes walking distance of a main subway station and some of the major historical attractions. Local restaurants, bars and amenities are also very close at hand.
- the Acropolis can be seen from the apartment windows.
- the air conditioning works very well and was an absolute lifesaver for us!
- the check in and out system was simple (although the provided instructions could do with updating to reflect recent changes - there is no longer an ‘ancient’ sign to mark the apartment door)
- despite its central location, the apartment is quiet through the day and at night.
- the apartment has a good television with access to Netflix.
Cons:
- the apartment had been surface cleaned but was tired and in need of a deep clean. It was clear that some of the glasses had not been washed and the kitchen sink plug was unsanitary, for instance.
- the kitchen is really only suitable for cooking very basic meals/ready meals as it is poorly equipped.
- the provided provisions are not sufficient for the length of stay (one towel each for a week and two toilet rolls, for example)
- the shower will only run warm water for 3-5 minutes at a time. We queried this on our first night and were told that the water was heated via solar roof panels and that, if we could not get hot water, we would have to switch the hot water on manually via the electricity board. We were also informed by our host to switch the hot water off immediately after use to save money, which was shocking as we’d paid for the accommodation. At no point during our week long stay were we ever able to get any hot water via the so-called solar power (despite us staying in July when the weather was extremely hot) and only managed to get a few minutes of warm water when we switched it on manually via the board. When we reported this a second time, our host ignored the message and only replied when we requested check out details four days later.
Overall, we had an amazing time in Athens and, although some of the issues with the apartment caused inconvenience, it certainly didn’t spoil our trip. Its brilliant location is its main selling point.