Esse Athens

I have mixed feelings but let me get this out of the way - I would go back. The hotel is very new, not even a year old (so I'm told). It's a boutique hotel so if you're looking for luxury this is not that kind of place but it was luxurious in it's own way. The bed was comfortable, the shower was very very nice, the view of the acropolis was nice, but not necessary. The breakfast was delicious and the friendliness of the staff was fantastic. Matina, Virginia,Evaggelia, Giorgios were all outstanding. So what was wrong....well in a boutique hotel you won't get a lot (if any) drawer space so we lived out of our suit cases for 6 days (but we expected that). And while the hotel staff was incredible, the reservation staff was not. And while I would like to say to stay away because of that, the reality is the hotel itself was really quite nice. Just make sure you book at the right moment, check your emails for any promotions because if you miss it, even by a day, they are unforgiving. I missed an opportunity because I was not near my emails for 4 days and so my upgrade went from $24 a day to $84 a day. I mean, come on - and they wouldn't budge. We upgraded to have a room with an acropolis view (we had to move after the 2nd night to get it) and then the telescope in the room didn't even work. UGH. I still think they should reimburse me some of the upgrade money.

This hotel is simply amazing. Elegant. Clean. The breakfast is so good. The rooms perfect. The staff was so caring but special shout out to Virginia. She was so perfect in helping me arrange taxis, and so many other things. She made sure my stay was exceptional and I am recommending this hotel to all my friends and will stay here when I come back. I loved walking around all the streets. Just so good!

We stayed here for 2 nights be fore a cruise. They gave us a later check out to be closer to our cruise boarding time. They also held our luggage for us when we arrived because we were early and when we left because we weren't ready to leave the city which was wonderful. The room was quite comfortable with a beautiful view of the Parthenon. A great hot tub on the patio that we used several times and a beautiful washroom with dual shower heads. Also the location was great and within walking distance to many desired locations, eating options and of course ice cream shops which we love. Overall we had a great experience here and would definitely recommend!

We just spent 3 days in Athens before our cruise. Each day was spent on foot in all the downtown neighborhoods. Esse is located in Plaka which we think is the best location. Rooms are smaller and cozy but perfect for us. Very clean with all the amenities. Staff was fantastic and helpful. If your headed here from the states, call the front desk and ask any questions you may have. They will help organize, plan or advise making your trip less stressful.

The good: not too far away from everything, about 10 minutes walk to all tourist interests. AC is cold. Shower and sink water flow is very high. Breakfast is as good as any other hotel in southern Europe, which is very high standard. The coffee they made me is better than $8 artisan organic fair trade home roasted in SF/LA The bad: I upgraded to Apollo room street view. It’s small and in a weird corner location adjacent to the cleaning storage. I suggest you not wasting money or spend more to upgrade to suite. There’s constant construction noise. Morning, afternoon, and night there’s hammering drilling randomly and fire alarm once. if you are a light sleeper, I suggest pass. The property is not well maintained, scratches everywhere. Amenities shows usage. They had to call me once to enter my room (I had do no disturb on) to fix a water leakage for downstairs rooms. The Ugly: I haven’t found one clean towel. They all look like someone has wiped their bottom after a dump with. I had to buy a new one, wash it myself and dry it. I am glad there’s a heated drying shelf in the bathroom, although the plug is in a poor location, difficult to plug in, even more to unplug.

Esse Athens is central to Plaka (old Athens) so you’re steps away from shops and restaurants and even historical sites. The views from the room is AMAZING overlooking towards the Acropolis. The cozy hot tub on the veranda definitely made this place a real gem. The staff were super friendly and very happy to help. They spoke decent English and we had a good chat about the Greek Islands. We didn’t need any help specifically as we had been in Athens before and were comfortable to explore on our own. The interior of the rooms are tastefully decorated with black marble and wooden flooring. I did like the double shower and the super spacious bathroom though the water under the shower door would get everywhere on the bathroom which made the bathroom really slippery. HOWEVER, the one main issue we had with the hotel, in particularly the room we stayed at (and I believe it is the only corner room with a hot tub in the property) - it had weird stains on the walls and emitted a very musty smell, which I can only assume was mould that had been painted over. The smell was really strong and I was concerned about our health (and my asthma) while staying inside the room for too long. I’m uncertain if this is something they could ever resolve but I thought I’d point it out to the next person who stays there. What I’m most surprised about was that for the mini bar, they only provided 2 teabags and 4 coffee pods. We were told that any extra teabag or coffee pod would cost us €2.50 each. We felt that for what we paid for, we were expecting a little more than this. The breakfast was provided by a cafe at the end of the street as the hotel restaurant was still under renovations. The food was delicious but service was a bit lacking despite that we were the only other table that morning. We had to hurry them as we needed to go to the airport right after breakfast. Because this is not part of the hotel, this is mainly just a caution for those who expect a speedy service. All in all, I think this could’ve been an amazing property if not marred by a couple negatives indicated above. I’m also not sure if the price we paid was necessarily worth it. For reference, we paid €750 / A$1.3k per night which I think is super steep for a small studio room in Athens in the middle of May (shoulder season). I felt that there could be better offerings around the area if you can forgo the hot tub with the views.

Great boutique hotel. Very simple lobby, so unexpected how nice the rooms are. Small, but very comfortable (Cosy room) with a double sink bathroom and great shower. The customer service is excellent!! Location is great. Right next to the Pláka, but quiet. Would def stay again.

A small boutique hotel, so no big fancy lobby or pool, or lobby bar but it that had everything we needed. The reception staff were very welcoming, warm, and eager to help and please. We had two twin beds side by side to make a larger bed but they were very comfortable to sleep in. We had a partial view to the Acropolis hill which was a very pleasant surprise. The location was perfect for our purpose to visit Athens. Most of our Athens goals was within walking distance, but the Monastiraki train station is only 10 mins away, and there are plenty of taxis. No need to rent a car around Athens. Their free breakfast is so worth the price. I am very glad that I chose this hotel, and would definitely stay here again on my next visit.