Metropolitan Hotel - Athens, Greece 

Blankets had cigarette burns. Room smelled of cigarette smoke (non-smoking means they remove the ashtrays,,,). Room was dirty. Hotel was full of large groups of rowdy tourists. Hotel is grossly overpriced for the non-group travellers (us). Breakfast was 20 euros per person (are you kidding me?). The pool is very small and was under construction! This place is far from any attraction. It is a two-star hotel for American standards.

If you wish a non smoking room, make certain to state that in the reservation in writing and any other features you wish. Do not allow someone to tell you that it will be as you like without your specific requests in writing. If you wish twin beds, it must be written in the reservation as they are quick to say "it was not reserved that way". I found the air conditioning in some of the rooms to be quite inadequate. I finally asked to be moved to another room as it did not cool off at all after several hours. I was told the hotel was full, but I was upset that they could not make some restitution. Finally, I was begrudgingly given another room. After moving all the luggage, the air conditioning in that room was also inadequate. I am not particularly sensitive to the heat, but it is nice to be out of it especially when you have paid for an air conditioned room. Perhaps this was a way to save money? The lobby area and halls were air conditioned much better. The hotel is located out of Athens away from the tourist areas. You must use a shuttle which can be crowded and you must plan around it. Also it is possible that the shuttle driver will go on strike and you are given instructions on what to do should that occur. The shuttle has limited hours on weekends and does not run later than nine thirty back to the hotel. Taxis want twenty euros to reach the hotel from downtown. The breakfast buffet in the hotel was quite good and I recommend that. I do not recommend the high priced food otherwise and this extends to the mini bar and the bottled water available in the hotel. There is a Kiosk around the corner that sells water for a fraction of the price. Similarly, I would recommend going out of the hotel to the small tavernas for dining. They are quaint, clean and the food was tasty. Very reasonable. If you were with a tour, it was convenient to have the tour operator at the desk in the lobby. However, there were other draw backs. The internet time is five euros for half an hour .. expensive again. Also, we left very early in the morning, the lobby bathrooms are not located on the main floor. One hotel employee indicated the bathroom was on the second floor. It was up a flight of marble stairs that have no rail for part of the way. The stairs were in darkness. I asked the reception to turn on the stair lights for the person I was travelling with and was told they could not and there were other bathrooms downstairs. The girl was unhelpful. Otherwise, the property is attractive. The shower has a high wall to step over if you are short or older. Finally, for some reason the hotel provides a thick blanket on the beds, instead of a sheet to sleep under. It is an odd idea in the summer months. Do compare prices with other hotels.