GREECE, Athens - St. George Lycabettus Lifestyle Hotel 5*

If you want to improve your physique, I recommend this hotel, it is on a decent hill called Lycabettus, the center of Athens is within walking distance

Address: St. George Lycabettus Lifestyle Hotel, Kleomenous 2, Athens 106 75, Greece

Web: www.sgl.gr

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Hotel St. George Lycabettus was not exactly the best choice. For one thing, I don't know why it has 5* (probably only because it has a concierge and a bellboy, I'd rather give it 4*), but in addition, you can walk up quite a steep hill from the subway with your suitcase, sometimes even up the stairs. The metro is not the closest.

How to get to the hotel from the airport

The train and metro station in one is located in front of the airport hall, walk a short distance outside, follow the Train arrows. Upstairs in the lobby there are ticket machines. Choose Airport - Athens, it lasts 90 minutes and costs 9 Euros per person, you can pay by cash or card. Then you will come down to the platform. One says Trains and the other says Metro, so go to the platform that says Metro. The only line that goes directly from the airport is blue. You can't go wrong when you get on the subway, there just aren't any others going there. The journey to the center of Athens takes about half an hour. The closest stop to this hotel is Evangelismos. Then you walk approx. 750 m. On a straight line for a while, and then up to a steep hill. If you have any mobility issues, I definitely do not recommend this hotel! Or you must taxi all the time. You'll go back uphill to it every time. When you arrive at the hotel, the porter will offer to help you with your suitcase. After we pulled the suitcase up the hill, it was such a help to me, you know what, why wasn't he already waiting at the subway? :))

St. George Lycabettus Lifestyle Hotel 5*

When you're looking for a hotel in Athens, it's funny that almost everyone mentions that it's in the center and that it has a view of the Acropolis :) it's quite a relative term, what is the center, because it's quite spread out. And the Acropolis is on a high hill, so you can see it from almost everywhere.

Yes, this hotel, because it was on a steep hill, had a really luxurious view of the whole of Athens, you could see all the way to the sea. You can walk to the center, but it's not the closest, it's a bit of a walk, especially if you want to go all the way to the Acropolis or the Agora. Once you go down the narrow streets from the hill, you walk past the embassies, the parliament building and you are in the center. Opposite the parliament is the famous Syntagma square and from it the busy Ermou street, full of shops and restaurants, runs through the center. And here somewhere in the middle of all the hype is the Ancient and Roman Agora, and the Acropolis rises above them. There are never enough hills, so go for it! :)

Rooms

You can choose from several room categories, with or without Acropolis view, which are of course cheaper. We had the additional room Boutique Room with Private Balcony & Acropolis View. The room was quite small, but ok, city hotels usually don't have as spacious rooms as hotels by the sea. A bottle of water was waiting for us in the room to welcome us, which was refilled every day. The bed was very comfortable. I had a pillow that was too high which hurt my neck, I appreciate that they changed it on request. We also had a spacious balcony with seating and a view of the entire city, including the Lycabettus hill. A mini fridge was available. If you wanted to fill it with something and turn it into a paid minibar, it was possible to order it. Appliances here included a kettle and a selection of teas and instant coffee. In a 5* hotel, I would expect a coffee machine for capsules, as is common practice in modern 4* hotels. There were cups, glasses, a safe. TV and telephone available. Bathrobes and slippers if you want to visit the rooftop pool or spa. If the pillow does not suit you, there is a pillow menu, you can choose another one.

The bathroom had hand soap, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner, all in one piece even though there were two of us. If you would like to take a shower in the morning and in the evening, then you don't have much to lather up with. The bathroom was quite small, together with the toilet, and there was a smaller bathtub with a massage shower panel, given the size of the bathroom, a shower would have been more suitable. I was amused by the hair dryer on the wall, such a big box with a hose that almost doesn't blow, I haven't seen that in a long time either. 

Pool and fitness

On the roof of the hotel there is a small outdoor pool with a few sunbeds and a terrace with a bar, again with a great view. You can visit the pool even if you are not a hotel guest, you just pay for it. You can order a massage at the spa. I haven't been there, but it seems that there are no spas like saunas here. There is a gym where you can work out on your own or take part in a guided lesson.

Food

The dining here disappointed me the most. As for breakfast. Even in many four-star hotels I experienced better. Scrambled eggs and fried eggs, sausages, bacon, a few cheeses and salami, some fruit and vegetables, jams, pancakes, cornflakes, about 3 yogurts (I mean 3 pieces, not three kinds), some sweet pastries, from the usual just baguettes. There were no spreads, salmon, champagne, omelets as desired, different types of milk, as is also common, etc. To my complaint the manager answered me that they offer also ala carte breakfast menu, but nobody offered it to us. 

Coffee and tea were brought to the table by waiters. The juice was good, undiluted, but in 5* hotels they usually have fresh juices or smoothies. You can eat, you just expect something better. Breakfast is served on the top floor, so you have a view and you can sit inside or outside on the terrace.

The "luxury" restaurant La Suite Lounge on the top floor with an amazing view annoyed me the most. Yes, the view was really great, but that was all. It was my husband's birthday that day, I ordered a table for a specific hour and mentioned that we would be celebrating and that it would be great if they prepared a surprise for my husband, at least a candle in the cake. When we arrived we were shown to a table and the usher didn't even bother to move my chair even though I was dressed and had my hands full. They told us we could choose a table. Not only was the table not set, he wasn't set at all! As if they weren't expecting us at all! I would also like to mention that when I wanted to book a table at this restaurant online, they wanted to deduct 40 Euros from my credit card for reserving a table! I haven't seen it yet! I refused, and wrote to the chat on the hotel's official website. They offered to reserve the table for me and I didn't have to pay anything and confirmed that the candle in the cake was not a problem. I can't tell if a live person or an A.I. was talking to me, but in the end it doesn't matter. There was no surprise, the table was not ready, there was no candle. Totally unprofessional attitude! They ruined my husband's birthday. The table setting was suitable for somewhere in the dining room, it looked dusty, there were no tablecloths. The cutlery was being prepared by a young lady who didn't even know that spoons belonged to a right hand. This is the professionally trained staff that the hotel manager was brandishing when he responded to my review. I even didn't get an apology.  I ordered pasta with mushrooms, it was excellent. Second, I had a lamb chop and my husband a beef steak, we wanted medium. Both were well-done. I had boiled vegetables, as well as potatoes, completely cold and completely tasteless, it was not even salted. Does a Michelin chef cook here? Maybe he was just putting together a menu and someone is ruining his reputation here. For dessert, I had Pavlova with strawberries .. I was expecting the classic fluffy snow meringue. Instead, they brought me strawberries with whipped cream, with some kind of cream that didn't go well with it, and there were some crumbled meringues at the bottom of the juice. Probably a modern concept, but I would prefer a classic. So what, would you go to such a "fancy" restaurant, where you pay quite a lot of money, and you don't even taste it? I'm not even talking about the unprofessional service.

My summary is that the hotel is just playing with luxury, if it was 4* for half the price, I wouldn't mind, but 5* does not match either the services or the facilities. It's just not a five star like a five star.

My rating - 6 out of 10

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