Golden City Hotel — Hotel in Athens

The hotel is great for a budget holiday - let me explain!

All the facilities and amenities are clean - from the room, bathroom, to the bar downstairs and the breakfast area upstairs (which also offers a rooftop view of the surrounding buildings).

There is nothing to complain about as it pertains to the hotel itself.

It isn’t luxurious but it is absolutely worth it, especially if you’re looking to have a short stay in the city.

It’s a short walk away from the city centre, and archeological cites in the surrounding areas.

The security staff, Γιώργος/Georgios, was especially accommodating. A special thank you to him for conversing with us, being kind and advising us about the surrounding area.

He greeted us every day, we had nice chats - if you happen to run into him at the lobby of the hotel, definitely approach him. He bought us sweets from a corner store, without us asking or anything. Such a kind gesture, the next time we stay in Athens we’ll bring a gift in return!

He’s a good guy and means well, his being there made the stay better!

If you’re looking to stay in Athens to explore the various classical and historical sites - I recommend it.

I would suggest taking day-trips to visit other cities nearby - it’s well connected to surrounding cities.

Be mindful of the subway, it can be dangerous as the evening approaches into the night.

This brings me to my most important point - Ομόνοια (omonia), the area that surrounds the hotel.

It is the ‘worst’ neighbourhood in terms of safety in Athens.

Locals will warn you about it, you will notice that development in the area is stunted.

This is the case as a result of various historical and political reasons; multiple train lines weren’t developed until the 2000s, an influx of migrants as a consequence of WWII, political figures stealing funds meant for the citizens of the city, and so on.

The migrants themselves are not the issue, don’t be mistaken. The crux of the problem lies with the circulation of drugs, improper infrastructure for citizens, and human trafficking (whether for sex work or labour).

Do not walk around with your phone in your hand, if you want to take pictures, check your surroundings first.

Don’t linger on the streets as the late evening progresses into the night

This particular restriction devalues the experience, you have to be careful on your way back to the hotel due to the nature of the neighbourhood.

If you’re travelling with kids this will mean that you have to be extra cautious. For us, it meant having to be back in the hotel before it got too dark, which effectively cut our days short. For example, we couldn’t sit at a cafe or restaurant too late into the evening as we knew we’d have to walk through the neighbour that surrounds the hotel.

We were advised several times to take care of our personal belongings. Personally, I suggest keeping your handbag in front of you, and/or beneath...

Given its prime location, the Golden City Hotel is definitely worth booking — especially considering the prices and included breakfast. We stayed here for seven nights and have only good things to say about the staff & the hotel.||The staff is very friendly and always ready to help, even with our random, middle-of-the-night questions||||Some key bullet points:||||- The view from the restaurant at the 8th floor, where you can enjoy your breakfast, is very enjoyable as is the modest but tasty breakfast buffet. ||- Even more enjoyable (our should I say ...interesting) was the view from our room, which offered a little bit of everything. And I do mean EVERYTHING. You’ll almost feel like you're at the beach — minus the sea and sand, but with plenty of half-naked women / men / Xs walking around everywhere. ||- It was the first time that I actually believed the random ads on my laptop, claiming there were hot women in the area waiting for me!||- There are plenty of small local pharmacies operating in the area near the hotel, you'll be able to purchase local snacks and medical supplies (like needles) 24/7! For actual medication, I'd still advice to go to a licensed pharmacy.||- The beautiful and touristic parts of Athens, are only a short cab-drive away.||- If you don't mind walking, google maps will bring you to the same parts in about 20minutes.||- There are many good restaurants, all within 10-20min walking distance. Check out tripadvisor for some tasty options.||- Want to walk back to the hotel, but your phone died? No worries — like an actual compass, following the needles on the ground will guide you straight back to the hotel area! * Pro tip: the more homeless people you encounter, the...

Stayed here for a last minute 4 night break, had read the reviews prior to arriving and was a little concerned by what I read but here is my honest opinion after my stay. Hotel is super clean and covid safe. Hand sanitisation available as soon as you walk in. Masks a requirement. Hotel staff extremely friendly and helpful, no issue to big or too small. Breakfast is nice,simple but good. As part of covid procedures the cleaning staff do not enter your room to clean during your stay but anything you require is available by dialling 9 on your room phone and they bring it directly to your room and leave outside your door. Shop directly opposite the hotel for essentials if needed. Hotel has security staff working virtually round the clock to ensure safe facilities. All these good points aside the only downside is the neighbour hood which unfortunately has a lot of undesirables. The staff are quite happy to call taxis for you to various other district areas i.e plaka which is beautiful. I do not feel that the area is a reflection on the ability of the staff or hotel its just worth noting that the area is not safe to walk about in after dark. Although I do feel that the police presence is quite high which matches the need, also reassuring. I would return here with my partner but would not bring my children as I feel there is too much to see...