Review: SPG, King George Hotel, Athens, Greece
Starwood has a strong presence in Greece. They’ve got about 10 properties and have just added a few more of the Design Hotel properties in the past couple of months. Their two flagship properties in Athens are the Grande Bretagne and our hotel of choice, the King George.
This hotel is A STEAL at a category 5 hotel, and is in my opinion incredibly underpriced. Now that I realized I typed that, I hope no one from SPG ever reads this, and if you do, please don’t change this. I’d like to come back here again! We had two free night certificates for a Cat 1-5 hotel that we earned from a promotion a few months back. The normal price for this hotel was 300 euros and up, so by using our two nights we saved well over 600 euros.
As an SPG Platinum member, once you hit 50 nights one of the benefits you can choose as a gift are 10 suite night awards. You can request from the hotel to have these suite nights applied to your reservation, and usually 2-5 days beforehand if there is space available, you’ll be upgraded into a suite.
Luckily for us we were upgraded from a Classic Room (about 200 sq ft) to a Deluxe Suite (about 600 sq ft). When we checked in we were welcomed as Platinum members. We chose breakfast as our amenity (considering the price was 42 euros a person, this is an amazing deal. Stay tuned for the breakfast pics).
Originally we booked the Classic Room with a King Bed and when we got to our suite upgrade we noticed a gorgeous, spacious, classic Queen room. Oops.
There was a seating area with large TV
And a large couch, decorated with flowers and a bowl of Werther’s originals.
There was also a welcome from the manager of the hotel, a small box of chocolates and some local liquor.
The bathroom was twice the size of a normal bathroom with the toilet and shower separated from the rest. It was all decorated in gorgeous marble.
There was also a large soaking tub.
We’ve tried sharing a queen bed before, and it doesn’t usually end up well, as I have been known to elbow Ben more than a few times during the night. So in the interest of marital bliss, we went back and talked to the front desk. We thanked them for the upgrade, however we needed a suite with a King bed as we originally reserved. After a few moments they said they could find us a room, but it would be a few hours before it was available. If we wanted to go out and see some ruins or grab a bite to eat, when we got back in the afternoon it should be ready for us.
Since it’s Greece, we didn’t need an excuse to go eat.
Grilled Feta
Mousakka
Lamb and Potatoes
We went to go walk around to some of the ruins to walk off the calories before heading back to the hotel. When we arrived the room was ready. This one, just as good as the prior room.
A King size bed
Seating area, unfortunately, with no view…
A larger desk and seating area…
And luckily, another box of chocolates and liquor set.
As it was pretty late by this point, we decided to call it a night and get a quick start on the morning and our ruins tour.
This hotel is, in a word, gorgeous. It’s lined with antique furniture from the turn of the 20th century. It has a large lobby and public seating area, and since there are less than 100 rooms, it never really feels too crowded.
One thing I want to mention before we move on to our next post. The hotel itself doesn’t have a gym or a pool. Its sister property next door, the Gran Bretagne, does. We’ll have a post on the spa facilities in a different post, but they are just as luxurious and relaxing as you could imagine from a hotel of this caliber.
If you have the chance to stay here, do it. The hotel is centrally located and in a perfect place to go out walking to explore the city. From the hotel’s lobby to the Acropolis was a short 20 minute stroll, and the other main ruins are only about a 15 minute walk away through quaint city streets. At 16,000 points a night, this is an exceptional value, and one that you should act on quickly if you have the chance.
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