NYX Esperia Palace Hotel Athens — Hotel in Athens

The Budget Inn of Athens when it comes to service. The Motel 6 of Athens when it comes to rooms and amenities. Excuse my sarcasm, but this hotel is light years away from reaching 5-star quality. Strong recommendation to hotel management to invest a few gyros worth of euros into training staff the basics of hospitality, etiquette, organisation, execution, and common sense. It’s probably not the staff’s fault; it’s likely the staff’s managers’ fault for being so coupon-clipping cheap to invest into staff’s success, and therefore falling an Olympic stadium short of having a good experience for visitors. From entrance to elevators to individual rooms, everything was built by Micky Mouse, and nothing makes any sense. A king bed is actually two twins put together; enjoy your honeymoon with a gap in between you two - the quickest way to throw you into real marriage 😅 Rooftop pool closes at 6pm, what?! The whole purpose of booking this hotel was to enjoy the sunset after 6pm, and chill by the pool with a drink during evening hours til 10pm, at least - not here... There are 4-5 digital controllers per room to control lights, curtains, air, ambiance. However, none of them are wired correctly, so majority of buttons don’t do anything (dummies). Lights shut off randomly while one is in the bathroom due to incorrectly installed motion sensors. Shower floor isn’t slanted enough so the entire bathroom floods after a 3 minute shower. Air conditioner turns off when there is no motion detected in the room, so you have to keep moving to keep it cool 😂 also, refrigerator is similarly hooked up to motion sensors, so it only starts to cool when you enter the room - don’t hope to keep your food/snacks cool in the fridge either. After room service, sheets looked extra wrinkly; wouldn’t be surprised if they just made the bed with old sheets. Oh, and nothing gets replenished after room service - coffee, water, etc. Staff is so awkward and untrained with basics of etiquette, they actually made us feel very uncomfortable by either staring at us (sometimes below our belts), or banging brooms or other equipment while we were trying to enjoy a peaceful time by the pool on the rooftop. Moreover, when we asked for a corkscrew, the staff sent us up and down to each onsite restaurant. Nobody could help us until we talked to 5-6 people, who finally sent 2 people to our room to open a bottle of wine for us. The whole process took 40 minutes just to open a bottle of wine. Just overall a mumbo jumbo place with zero common sense and no playbook. Staff is extremely disorganised, unprofessional, and disrespectful to guests, in my humble opinion of having been to a generous handful of 5-star hotels across our planet. It just feels like it should be at most a 3.5 star hotel, all check marks considered. One positive is the location, but hey, plenty other hotels in this area ;) One major advice to those unlucky ones who have and will fall for this tourist trap of a hotel - don’t judge the Greek book by this hotel’s cover. The staff at this hotel does not remotely represent the majority of the amazing and warm experiences you will have on the streets of Athens. Go outside and explore! But don’t leave food in...

Review for NYX Esperia Palace Athens – Luxurious Stay with a Few CaveatsWe stayed at NYX Esperia Palace Athens for four full days – two couples, each in an Executive Suite with access to the business lounge.The welcome was warm and efficient, and we received our rooms exactly at 3:00 PM, as per hotel policy. The suites were clean, stylish, and well-equipped with amenities such as disposable toothbrushes, shaving kits, loofahs, a hairdryer, and more. One of our suites, located on the 7th floor, even had a partial view of the Acropolis, which was a lovely bonus.The room’s climate, lighting, and curtains were all operated through digital controls, designed to pamper guests — although, in practice, they were not very intuitive and required a bit of trial and error. For instance, turning off the bedside light required getting up and walking to a control panel.The TV included Israeli channels (11, 12, and 13), which we appreciated. Breakfast on the 10th floor was excellent, offering a wide variety of high-quality options, and the waiter service was above average.One of the highlights of our stay was the exceptional care provided by Ilia, the hotel's Public Relations Manager. She guided us almost from the moment we arrived until we left — recommending excellent tavernas, booking taxis, restaurants, and arranging a private guided tour. On our last day, we were also warmly greeted by Dionysia in the lounge — charming and attentive.That said, there were some drawbacks:Reception service was inconsistent – not all staff members were welcoming; some appeared cold or offered forced smiles.The business lounge was disappointing – small, crowded, with modest food and drink offerings and uninspiring seating. It felt more like a repurposed room than a proper lounge.The pools require advance reservation, with no room for spontaneity. Usage hours are segmented (e.g., 1–4 PM or 4–7 PM), and spots after 7 PM are very limited. The rooftop pool area is crowded, and the adjacent restaurant is also open to non-guests.Rooftop restaurant experience: One evening we returned from a night out and hoped to enjoy a drink with a view. Although two front-row tables overlooking the Acropolis were available, we were initially told they were reserved. Minutes later, we were informed we could sit there for a €25 minimum spend per person. The sudden shift from "reserved" to "available for a price" was off-putting — especially as hotel guests staying in suites.The guided tour recommended by the hotel involved nearly 4 hours of driving during a 5-hour trip, leaving us with very little time at each stop. We suggest skipping it.Bottom line:The hotel is modern, very clean, and the suites are luxurious. Service is mostly excellent, particularly thanks to Ilia and Dionysia. However, don't count on spontaneous access to the pool or rooftop restaurant — enjoying those requires planning ahead, much like booking a theater show. If you value well-designed suites and structured experiences, this hotel may be a great fit. If you’re looking for flexibility and full-day pampering from hotel facilities — you might find it a...

Well-located hotel right next to the metro and the best parts of Athens, with nice - if a little small - rooms. The finish is beautiful, the views excellent, the buffet fine. Bathrobes are the most comfortable we’ve ever used in a hotel and the beds are super comfortable. Everything is beautiful.

But there are a few things that dragged my rating down. Get ready for a long review.

First, the check-in process was a nightmare. You fill out a tonne of forms in the days leading up to it, then when you arrive there is still a HUGE line that took 30 minutes. And no guidance from staff about what’s happening.

Second, the pool/cabana area has a super unreliable booking system. You tell them by WhatsApp, but there seems to be two different WhatsApp systems and nobody records your booking correctly. We showed up and got told they had no record of a booking, even though we had the WhatsApp chat and showed them. Then we booked (in person at pool) sun beds for the next day and when we showed up they claimed sun beds weren’t available. So they just really haven’t got their processes sorted out.

Third, and most annoyingly, this is an expensive hotel with a finish and marketing clearly pitched at young adults, but it is FULL of children. Screaming, splashing, crying, obnoxious children. The pool is not “luxurious and exclusive”, it’s a children’s playground - it is stressful and unpleasant. The buffet is PACKED and families bring their children.

Other things: for a five star hotel to have no minibar is pretty poor - I fully expect to pay for stuff, but not even having the option? And the service is totally inconsistent - some people get served repeatedly on the rooftop, and nobody gets served in the foyer. And the music on the rooftop is just stupidly loud - can’t have a conversation without yelling (and pretty impossible to sleep if you’re here on a weekend).

We asked the concierge to book us a car to Piraeus on checkout and told her we needed a big one for three large bags and three people. She said she’d book it, but instead booked a normal sized taxi - absolute nightmare. Oh and if you want to be able to charge to your room it’s up to YOU on check in to tell them and offer your credit card, otherwise you can’t. Just very very poor service for a “5 star” hotel.

This hotel could easily solve a lot of its problems by making a decision about who its target market is: if it’s young high paying adults (who NYX’s marketing, music, design and services all seem to suggest), then go adults only and get rid of the wretched children. If it’s families, then make that clearer on the box and charge less for the whole experience because it’s just not...