Grand Hyatt Athens — Attraction in Athens

I'm going to preface this by saying that it takes a lot for me to leave a bad review.

Secondly I want to say that this review does not reflect the cleaning or mini bar staff. I want to comment particularly on Smaro who was wonderful and deserves recognition for how hard she works and how friendly she is - we loved meeting you, Smaro - thank you.

Starting first with the positives:

The cleaners, room service and mini bar staff were all very pleasant Room was a good size and very clean - bed was comfortable and huge (it was very firm, which we like, although not all do). the drinks were lovely The pools were well-maintained and clean - and the roof top bar had beautiful views Breakfast was consistently good - maybe limited options for vegetarians, though.

On to the unfortunately very long list of negatives.

The TVs are essentially redundant. We would have been happy to access premium films but the limited selection of obscure films was ridiculous. Failing that, we had hoped to access Netflix or Amazon- these also didn't work. We would have settled for watching videos on YouTube but the internet (while normally fast) mysteriously didn't work properly on the TV, so we gave up after trying for hours and couldn't watch anything and ended up watching TV on our phones propped up on a tissue box. We had to ask at reception 4 TIMES before we received any assistance with the tv. They sent up two engineers who stood about and did absolutely nothing. They asked if we had brought laptops and as we were both trying to switch off from work - no we did not. The service from reception, bar and breakfast staff felt inconsistent. Some were very pleasant, some surly. It was a battle to get coffee in the morning and when you got up to get your own after waiting a while, people would rush over. Self-service is fine, but it's frustrating to deal with inconsistence. We ordered 2 cocktails at the roof-top bar while on the sun loungers. We were essentially ‘told off’ by a member of staff for doing so - telling us to be careful and not drop stuff in the pool. One, this is unlikely when having just the one drink, and two, if this is a concern, DO NOT SERVE GUESTS AT POOL-SIDE LOUNGERS. It’s not difficult. We didn’t go back as honestly, it was just rude and again, not how you’d expect to be treated somewhere like this (or anywhere for that matter). The elevators are .. an experience. Entertaining when you have all the time in the world, frustrating when you would like to get somewhere in a timely manner. You cannot control the elevators from inside and it seems to have a mind of its own! You can be waiting for up to 5 minutes, so make sure to leave extra time as the closest elevator going in your direction, isn't necessarily the one that will come to you. We do not think this is the fault of the cleaning staff, but rather poor management or possible under staffing, however, we arrived to our room at 4:30 pm one afternoon and our room still hadn't been cleaned. Often room cleaning was late and coincided with us wanting to come back after a long day, rest and get ready for dinner. We would expect cleaning to be finished by 4pm at the absolute latest in any hotel, let alone a Hyatt. Do not expect to find bottles of water at the Atrium Pool on -1; we were told we'd have to go up to the 8th floor to get any - ridiculous. Again; we didn't expect these to be complimentary but we did expect them to be accessible. No air con in the gym There’s limited storage - we booked a junior suite with king bed for the two of us and we couldn’t unpack properly as well as there not being enough space to hang towels and robes. A small thing but annoying as it could be easily fixed with a bit more thought. Verify your bill as we had a mystery payment which came up on ours - and while this was removed, we didn’t receive any kind of an apology; on the contrary, we were made to feel like we were asking a lot when we politely asked it be looked into.

In short, just not good enough and...

This hotel offers a pretty solid experience for those spending even a few nights in the city, and is very close to a lot of fine dining and tourist attractions which may be key for its guests. The view of the Acropolis from the roof is obviously a big highlight and the sizable double rooftop pools and dining area definitely make good use of this space.

Across 8-ish floors of guest rooms and suites you’ll find hundreds of fairly similar spaces, with at least a few dozen having the coveted Acropolis view from a small slanted balcony - A clever bit of architecture.

There is even a third pool on the “1st floor”, just slightly above the main level “0”, where checkin and ground transport are located.

Rooms are clean but not in 100% perfect shape. Some damage to the lavish wood finishes is apparent but not a dealbreaker. Bathrooms are pretty well kept - a few mins of maintenance retouching could bring them back to new. Not a real problem.

High touch surfaces could use some sprucing up. But the bed was very comfy and the in-room temperature controls were perfect! You can make your room very cold or very warm on command with minimal noise.

A free shuttle every hour takes you to the lovely botanical gardens which are worth a visit!

Service is professional and simple. Staff won’t bug you at all but seem to always be available if you need them, in various public areas. The lifeguards are very friendly and offer to help out even for minor issues like sunburn.

The public areas are kept to an even higher standard than the rooms it seems, and you’ll really feel the 4.5 / 5 star ranking coming through. Even the staircases on the first few levels feel quite elegant. The flowers in the revolving doors at the front are a cute touch.

The major negative for me: Elevators! They’re small by North American standards and fit only around 6 people comfortably. The controls are all external, so you’ll request a floor and then wait for a single elevator that takes you to that floor. With a bank of 4, it should be faster than it is. I wish they had twice this many. We frequently waited minutes for a short trip and the stairs would have been faster — so we did that half the time. But lots of people can’t do that and must wait (e.g. those with a disability or bags to carry).

Having to interact daily with the elevators was really annoying and made the experience of going floor to floor more frustrating than it had to be. But for an accommodation that’s mostly about sleeping and having a home base during travel, don’t sweat this detail too much.

Taxis are easy to call to the front door, and there are 2 EV chargers out front as well! Awesome to see.

The Breakfast buffet is a costly 29 Euro in summer 2025, but there were myriad fresh and local options so if you’re hungry it can likely be worth it. I try to be respectful by not being too aggressive with photos in dining spaces but was able to snap a few.

The gym is pretty small but modern as well. Do European travelers not use gyms? For the size of the hotel this surprised me.

Meeting spaces and large conference rooms also abound across the first few levels, so there’s clearly some appetite for that as well. You’d likely find a lot of cross traffic from general guests but it’s not too tricky. Ground level also has a large sitting area / bar.

You’ll pay for the privilege and the spectacular view here, but you should be able to get everything you need at a good standard of quality. Yes there are fancier 5-stars out there, but you’re in the heart of the action here - and that commands a premium. Now go see the Acropolis,...

As a World of Hyatt Explorist member, I expect a higher standard from Grand Hyatt properties. Unfortunately, Grand Hyatt Athens did not live up to that reputation. From the beginning, it was clear this hotel does not reflect the quality of a true five-star experience. It feels more like a four-star hotel, and not a particularly well-managed one.

I arrived at the 3:00 PM check-in time and was stuck in a long, disorganized line. The app did not allow me to check in, so I used the designated line for elite status members. Despite arriving before others, I watched as three families were taken ahead of me. When I brought this to the front desk’s attention, I was asked why I had chosen that line at all. This response showed complete disregard for the purpose of status recognition.

While waiting, I overheard staff telling multiple guests that their rooms were not ready. The front desk agents moved very slowly, and my own check-in, which was handled by Christos, took over 30 minutes. The entire process lacked efficiency and structure.

The room itself was clean but basic. The bed was acceptable, but the pillows were far too soft. The filling shifted entirely to the sides as soon as I laid down, leaving my head unsupported. This would be especially problematic for guests with neck issues.

More frustrating than that, the air conditioning did not work. I reported the issue to the front desk and was told someone would be sent to fix it. No one ever came. By the second night, the AC was still broken, and I spent yet another night in an uncomfortably hot room. There was no follow-up, no repair, and no apology.

Other minor but important issues continued to arise. The room door was difficult to close properly, most likely due to weather-related expansion. I had to check multiple times each time I left or entered to ensure it was securely shut. In the bathroom, the shower head had visible rust and was missing a couple of nozzles, which caused the water to spray unevenly.

The Club Lounge on the mezzanine floor was one of the few highlights. It was well-stocked with bottled wine, drinks, snacks, fruit, and coffee. The space itself was pleasant and welcoming. However, no one monitored access, so anyone could walk in without verification. Even worse, elite status did not guarantee entry. I was told that unless you booked a specific room type or stayed a certain number of nights, you would not be granted access, regardless of your loyalty level. This was very disappointing and made it feel like status had little value here.

Some visual elements of the hotel did stand out. The lobby was beautifully decorated and created a strong first impression. The rooftop pool area offered stunning views of Athens and was easily the most attractive part of the property. However, even that space showed signs of neglect, with several pieces of furniture torn or worn out. These details undermined what could have been a premium experience.

Having stayed at many genuine five-star hotels around the world, I can confidently say this is not one. A true five-star property should offer consistent comfort, attentive service, and well-maintained facilities. Grand Hyatt Athens did not deliver on any of these.

In summary, while the property has a few attractive features such as the rooftop views and lounge layout, the poor service, neglected maintenance, lack of follow-through, and failure to honor loyalty benefits made for a disappointing stay. Unless major improvements are made, this hotel does not deserve the Grand Hyatt name, and it certainly does not meet...