As promised, here is the full review.

Before the trip, I researched several hotels in Athens, mostly Marriott, Hyatt and IHG.  Both Marriott and Hyatt are in not so good locations.  The King George and Grand Bretagne command 500-600 Euro or 60,000 points per night.  Way over priced for my taste.  I also booked the Marriott NEW Hotel in Plaka area. But the room is small and can only accomodate up to 2 people each room.  And I do not like the fancy decor of the guest rooms.

So I finally settled on the Hilton Athens.  The main reasons are locatioin and the fact that I like to empty my HH points.

After the trip, I feel this is one of the best choice I made.  Never any regret.

Check In

We took the taxi from the airport to hotel.  We could have taken either the train or bus.  But since we have luggage and we are a family, train or bus fares won't save us anything.

At check-in, we were upgraded to club level room on the 11th floor.  The room was not ready (at about noon time), so the staff gave us the access key to the club lounge for drink and some light snack.  It is good.

Front desk:

Front entrance:

Front:

To Byzantino restaurant:

Room

Our room is on the club level 11th floor.  We were on the city side since the Acropolis side was all full.  There is an outdoor patio and the view is good.

Service

Both front desk, bell service and club lounge staff have done a good job.  No complaints.

Dining

The breakfast was included.  You can have breakfast either inside the club lounge, or at the Byzantino restaurant.  Byzantino is much better.

The club lounge offers evening snack, beer, wine and some hard drinks.  The food was light, but the beer was great.

Location

The best part of the hotel is its location.  It is at the East side of the city center, closer to the airport.  It is like 10-15 minutes walk to Syntagma Square, but it is just 5 Euro taxi ride.  x95 bus to airport is just outside the hotel entrance.  The train station is just on the other side of the road.  

If you like the crowd, sure choose the KG or GB, or even the Marriott New Hotel in Plaka.  But we need to catch an early flight to a greek island, so I chose the Hilton instead.  To me, this is a better choice than the other hotels.  The cost was like 49,000 points each night.  Well worth it.

From the roof top bar area, you can see the Acropolis in the distance.

Overall

Since we only stayed at Athens for a couple of days and we spent most of the time outside, I did not feel to book a huge luxury hotel just to sleep.  Hilton fits our needs very nicely with the good location, decent club lounge and excellent breakfast.

I highly recommend it.

Pool

The hotel has a small indoor pool and a very large outdoor pool.

Gym

Hilton Athens is an iconic building that stands prominently at the intersection of Vassilissis Sofias Avenue and Vasileos Alexandrou Avenue, opposite the National Gallery of Athens.

Upon entering the hotel through the main entrance on Vassilissis Sofias Avenue, the front desk is situated on the left side of the big and brightly lit lobby. There is also a priority desk for Hilton Honors Diamond and Gold members on the right side of the lobby.

I was greeted and welcomed by the friendly front desk staff. The check-in process was done efficiently.

Room

I booked a standard guest room. As a Hilton Honors Diamond member, I was allocated a twin room on the same floor as the Executive Lounge (11th floor) with a balcony and view of the Acropolis. The room was clean and comfortable.

A welcome gift (a bottle of Faré red wine) and a welcome card were placed inside the room.

Outside on the balcony there was a table with two chairs, which was a perfect place to enjoy a view of the Acropolis.

Although the room overlooked Vassilissis Sofias Avenue, it was not too noisy and I managed to get a good night’s sleep.

The bathroom was decorated with marble and had a bathtub and a separate shower box.

Executive Lounge

The Executive Lounge is situated on the 11th floor and is open daily from 6am to 10pm (though it is closed for cleaning weekdays 11 to 11:30am and weekends 11:30am to noon).

There is also outdoor seating available on the balconies with a view of the Acropolis.

The staff in the Executive Lounge were friendly and willing to help.

Happy Hour drinks and canapes are available from 6 to 8pm. The drinks selection consisted of Symbosia red and white wine, beer and spirits (whisky, vodka, gin), as well as soft drinks, tea and coffee. The food selection was quite limited. There was 1 hot food item (during my stay, the first evening it was braised salmon, and seafood paella the following evening), as well as some sandwiches, salad and olives.

Breakfast is available in the Executive Lounge from 6:30am until 10:30am on weekdays and 11am on weekends, with a selection of continental breakfast items (cold cuts, smoked salmon, pastries, bread, yoghurt, cereal), as well as a few hot cooked food items. A much wider spread is offered in the Byzantino restaurant.

Breakfast in the Byzantino restaurant

The breakfast buffet is available in the Byzantino restaurant situated on the ground floor by the lobby on weekdays between 6 and 10:30am and on weekends and public holidays between 6 and 11am. There is an extensive selection of high-quality food available, from continental breakfast items to hot cooked food, from cold cuts and fruit to Greek pastries and omelettes. In short, there was something to suit all tastes.

Facilities

The fitness centre and the Hiltonia Spa are situated in the basement of the hotel.

The indoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room are open on weekdays from 6am to 11pm and on weekends from 8am to 9pm. Access to the indoor pool is free of charge for Hilton Honors Silver, Gold and Diamond members and Executive level/suite guests, otherwise there is a charge of EUR 15 per person.

A 360-degree virtual tour is available at https://www.hiltonathens.gr/360tour/

The 25-metre outdoor pool is open from May to October.

Location

The hotel is very conveniently located around 5 minutes’ walk from Evangelismos metro station (which is connected directly to Athens airport on metro line 3).

Bus X95 to/from Athens airport also stops in front of the hotel.

Overall

Overall, Hilton Athens is a functional, modern hotel. I would not hesitate to return there when I next visit Athens. However, if there is one area for improvement, it would be the evening canapes during Happy Hour in the Executive Lounge.