Arriving in Athens

GREECE

TRAVEL

Arriving in Athens

Monday 02 April 2018

Our flight arrived at Athens International Airport on time and before long we were standing in front of the arrivals entrance looking for the bus to the city.

It was just after 9 pm when we boarded the bus and the route would take around 50 minutes to get to the centre of the city and from there we would have to walk to find our hotel.

The accommodation we had booked originally, Othonos Apartment, was right next to the final bus stop but they cancelled our booking at the last moment even though they had charged Susan’s card several months earlier. Susan had to pursue a complaint through booking.com to get a refund and in the meantime, Othonos Apartment relisted the room at three times the rate.

The whole point of booking in advance is to give you that peace of mind that you have somewhere safe to go and sleep when you arrive so when a hotel or apartment pulls a stunt like this they clearly have little or no regard for their customers.

Because it was then close to our departure date our choice was limited and the prices in the city had risen so we ended up picking a hotel further out in what seemed like a less desirable area.

So, as we got off the bus at Syntagma Square we were very conscious of the fact that we were walking through such an area, in the dark, not really knowing where we were going or what the hotel would be like when we got there.

In the dark, the area looked quite run down with boarded-up properties and graffiti everywhere and as we passed Omonia Square, there were a lot of raucous young men hanging about.

We were relieved when we reached the new hotel, Ares Athens Hotel, the reception was clean and looked nice and the duty manager was very friendly and helpful.

We were also pleased with our room. It too was clean and it looked exactly like it did in the photos on booking.com.

It had been a long day and we were both tired and hungry. We hadn’t eaten since we had left Gatwick but we only had coffee and some cereal bars between us. It would have to do.

Getting Here

We took the X95 bus from just outside of the arrivals hall at the airport. The tickets cost about €6 each and we bought them from a nearby kiosk. It took just under an hour for the bus to get to Syntagma Square and there are quite a few stops along the way.

Staying Here

We stayed at the Ares Athens Hotel which we booked via booking.com. This was a great little hotel and although it seems like a long way from the centre, it is only actually a 10 minute walk from Monastiraki Square and there are plenty of cheaper places to shop and eat along the way without paying the tourist prices charged in the main tourist areas.

David Welch – View Profile

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