Elia Ermou Athens Hotel — Hotel in Athens

We contemplated whether to share this or not but I believe in transparency and every traveler has a right to know.||We were finishing up on honeymoon in Greece and we had 2 nights in Athens before we flew back home. We got to Athens around 10-11pm and check-in was pretty uneventful. As soon we got to the room, I checked the bed and noticed there were black marks all over the right side of the bed. My husband called down to the front desk and spoke with Michael, (I believe the night manager) who told us that there were no other rooms available and housekeeping was gone for they day. Michael came up to the room and upon inspection of the bed, told us to "understand," that these were not dirty but simply discoloration from the washing machine. I did not appreciate being told to "understand" when we spend money on this hotel and it's not a huge expectation to sleep on clean sheets with no discoloration. Michael told us he can send up a staff member to clean the sheets. There was also an odor coming from the toilet, like a sewer smell. While this was happening, we were speaking to Expedia, and that's when we were told there IS another room available. We get to the other room and we were there about 3-5 minutes when I noticed ants. We killed about 5 in this time frame and when Michael came up again, he told us he didn't understand because the rooms were clean/sanitized for ants and cockroaches a couple of days ago and that they must have come through the window. I didn't appreciate the excuse because it it not our problem whether they came in through the window or knocked down the front door; there should be no ants in a hotel room! ||At this point, we didn't feel comfortable sleeping in a room with ants, so we moved to the original room. We had an early tour booked for the next day and at this point it was 2am so we just went to sleep. After our tour, we came back and spoke with another manager, Maria. At first, she told us she would refund us at least 50% of one of the nights but she had to speak with the general manager. After she spoke with the general manager, we were told under no circumstances can they offer us a refund. They offered us another room, a dinner, or a 45 minute massage at the spa. We declined all because a) we did not want to move again after we moved 3 times at 2am the night before nor can they guarantee that this room would have clean sheets, be free of living creatures, or the bathroom to not have a smell. b) If the rooms have ants, I can only imagine what they have crawling around in the kitchen. ||We ended up checking out of this hotel and moving to another one. We did not appreciate the way Michael and Maria handled the matter. Hope...

We contemplated whether to share this or not but I believe in transparency and every traveler has a right to know.

We were finishing up on honeymoon in Greece and we had 2 nights in Athens before we flew back home. We got to Athens around 10-11pm and check-in was pretty uneventful. As soon we got to the room, I checked the bed and noticed there were black marks all over the right side of the bed. My husband called down to the front desk and spoke with Michael, (I believe the night manager) who told us that there were no other rooms available and housekeeping was gone for they day. Michael came up to the room and upon inspection of the bed, told us to "understand," that these were not dirty but simply discoloration from the washing machine. I did not appreciate being told to "understand" when we spend money on this hotel and it's not a huge expectation to sleep on clean sheets with no discoloration. Michael told us he can send up a staff member to clean the sheets. There was also an odor coming from the toilet, like a sewer smell. While this was happening, we were speaking to Expedia, and that's when we were told there IS another room available. We get to the other room and we were there about 3-5 minutes when I noticed ants. We killed about 5 in this time frame and when Michael came up again, he told us he didn't understand because the rooms were clean/sanitized for ants and cockroaches a couple of days ago and that they must have come through the window. I didn't appreciate the excuse because it it not our problem whether they came in through the window or knocked down the front door; there should be no ants in a hotel room!

At this point, we didn't feel comfortable sleeping in a room with ants, so we moved to the original room. We had an early tour booked for the next day and at this point it was 2am so we just went to sleep. After our tour, we came back and spoke with another manager, Maria. At first, she told us she would refund us at least 50% of one of the nights but she had to speak with the general manager. After she spoke with the general manager, we were told under no circumstances can they offer us a refund. They offered us another room, a dinner, or a 45 minute massage at the spa. We declined all because a) we did not want to move again after we moved 3 times at 2am the night before nor can they guarantee that this room would have clean sheets, be free of living creatures, or the bathroom to not have a smell. b) If the rooms have ants, I can only imagine what they have crawling around in the kitchen.

We ended up checking out of this hotel and moving to another one. We did not appreciate the way Michael and Maria handled the matter. Hope...

Where do I begin! This hotel has everything that one would look for when traveling. Prime location, impeccable service, and amazingly responsive staff!

The hotel is within walking distance of the Metro train station, Syntagma, which we caught from the airport. It is literally in the heart of one of safest areas in Athens, which is perfect for families of young children. Also, there is a shopping center you can access on foot Monastaraki, which is a haven for shoppers!

From the time we checked in, it was evident that we were going to receive 5 star service! We were not disappointed, in the least. George, the bellman was pleasant and extremely professional. From the small things as making certain we had water to helping with luggage, he was attentive. Kalli extended herself to us and was efficient and had attention to detail with the smallest needs.

Last, but certainly not least, is Panagiotis and the Hotel Manager Stefanos. We had a situation arise at the beginning of our trip, that could have ruined the entirety of our stay. One of our pieces of luggage got lost, and it contained very important documents. We were not able to get redress from the police. After expressing this to Panagiotis, he immediately sprung into action. He took me step by step into contacting the U.S. Embassy, which was an invaluable suggestion.

Stefanos was called into the situation and he singlehandedly took the reins from this point. He was able to determine the necessary information to locate the lost bag, and communicated with me for 4 days. His diligence and determination provided the information to convey to the U.S. Embassy.

Now to give kudos to the U.S. Embassy. I have never been prouder of being a U.S. citizen as now. I felt protected and covered in a foreign country. I spoke with the Duty Officer Tim who initiated a claim. It was then "Tax" who carried the ball home. He made the final push to assure that we received our bag.

On tomorrow morning, we meet to pick up the bag from the Taxi Dispatcher, Paris who agreed to meet us when our ship docks in the morning. Paris never complained or asked to be compensated monetarily.

What an amazing adventure we have had in Greece! Sincere thanks and appreciation to the Elia Ermou Hotel, who provided a safe and secure home...