Call me a travel nerd, but I create spreadsheets for all of my travels. I work meticulously to compare hotels, amenities, prices, locations, pictures, star ratings, and views when booking a room. I even read through the reviews to make sure they were not written by bots or are deemed “paid” reviews. You can never be too sure.
As a skeptical traveler, I shy away from vacation rentals that do not have real pictures or reviews. However, recently, a too-good-to-be-true hotel showed up on my husband’s search. The destination was claimed to be in a very desirable neighborhood within the historical district of Athens, Greece called Plaka. We are big fans of historical sites and have a passion for ruins hopping. This place had all of the main attractions: The Acropolis, featuring the iconic Parthenon, Erechtheion, and Temple of Athena Nike. Plaka also offers glimpses into ancient Greek life and architecture through the Ancient Agora and Temple of Olympian Zeus. We stayed near the historical sites of Syntagma Square, Arch of Hadrian and Theatre of Dionysus. We took the bus to The Oracle at Delphi, where the hotel was supposed to be located. There was only one problem though, there had never been a hotel in that area before and the hotel was still under construction. It was like a mirage – no one had ever heard of it!
Our room, named The Iconic Suite, promised magnificent views of the Acropolis from an enormous private terrace with a hot tub. Call me jaded, but I believed this was a scam! Nevertheless, my husband had complete confidence in our booking. But I wasn’t sold on the idea quite yet, so I convinced my husband to call the hotel weekly to ensure we were not destitute upon arrival. I also looked up other hotels, as a backup plan and obsessively checked reviews until the day we arrived. Once our plane touched down, even our cab driver in Athens had never heard of this hotel. They were sure no hotels existed in that area.
But to my surprise, I was proved wrong! The hotel was completed a few weeks before our arrival. IT WAS REAL! Our cab drove up the narrow streets and dropped us off in front of a pastel-yellow boutique hotel. When we entered, we were warmly greeted by the host, in what appeared to be a high-end clothing store. Our luggage was shuffled off and we were presented with a complimentary daily breakfast, with a variety of 5 exclusive menus delivered to your room, featuring Greek delicacies. They have varieties to choose from including seasonal fruits with yogurt, honey and granola, eggs, avocado, cheese, peanut butter, Greek halva, butter croissant, salad, homemade jams, pancakes, crispy bacon, Turkey sausage, grilled tomatoes, baked mushrooms, with toast. They pair it with milk, coffee or fresh juice. The presentation was, to put it quite plainly, chef’s kiss. Our breakfast was promptly delivered to our terrace the following morning. We felt like Kings and Queens! To top it all off, we even had a velvet rope to our floor. Ordinarily we would not have been able to afford such luxuries, but we were fortunate to have booked during their pre-opening special.
True to their computer graphics, we had an amazing view of Acropolis from our expansive terrace. The view was even more unbelievable at night. The Acropolis lights up in gold and looks surreal, like it’s out of a picture book.
Prior to planning our trip, we were told two nights were more than enough in Athens. But honestly, I could have spent a whole week there! When booking a trip to Athens, it’s very important to do your due diligence and stay somewhere safe and somewhat accessible to your interests. We couldn’t have picked a better location for us. The people, the food, the views and the stay made this a dream-come-true. Lucky for us, A77 exceeded our expectations and ended up being a legitimate booking!
Written By Jacqueline Patella