i was truly looking forward to our stay at the grande bretagne. however, unlike many of the reviewers, i did not use points to pay for the accomodations. we shelled out 300-ish euros for a lukewarm at best experience. first off, the keys didn't work. had to deal with that after a long journey. then, my husband, ready to lie down and watch TV, turned it on -- nothing. he spent the next nearly two hours and two visits from the electrician to fix it. by then it was around 7 p.m., sun still high in the sky. still a bit of time to relax by the upstairs pool, or so we thought. it's already closed.

what's next? the inside pool in the spa. but alas, bad luck again. a half dozen kids runnning wild, screaming and doing canon balls in the pool without a staff member in sight to enforce the no-horseplay rules. THIS IS A SPA mind you.

but there's more -- we booked a king-sized bed, we got a queen instead. then off to dinner at the rooftop restaurant. we were seated right by the kitchen. my husband greased with the host 50 euro to seat us with a view of the acropolis.

so that's the bad. we did, however, enjoy dinner. the expensive view and the food were fabulous. the sheets were extraordinarily soft and what a great shower. i loved the spa area. it boated several relaxation rooms wth different types of therapy, everything from a herbal steam to a dry sauna. unfortunately, i didn't stay long -- the noise from the kids made it impossible to relax.

i don't mind paying top dollar for a great hotel experience, but this wasn't worth it.

My wife and I spent 3 GREAT days at this hotel. It was our 1st time to Athens after 10 days at sea on a cruise. We have traveled and stayed in some of the finest hotels in the world and I have to say this hotel impressed me. When we arrived by private car, we could not get to the front check in door because the president of Viet Nam was arriving and security and the Greece police would not let us through the security barricades. Our driver took us around back and helped us with our bags. As soon as the door man saw us coming up the side walk he swooped to our rescue and took out baggage. on the street and would not let us take care of anything else. We had to pass through security on the inside and went to the front desk where we were told we could check in on the 6th floor where we would be staying. We were very early - 11:00 am - and the concierge told us our room was not ready but he would have them clean in right away. I saw him get the cleaning people out of one room and direct them to our room across the hall and we were in by 11:30am! When they say they will take care of you they mean it. Between the concierge and our butler George, we could not ask for anything more. From dinner reservations to directions to help in the hotel they did it all and they did it RIGHT. We had an early flight - ^:30 am leaving the hotel at 4:30 am and I went to them for a wake up call, coffe and danish, and bell service for the next am and all were arranged as fast as I could get the requests out of my mouth. All were provided the next am within a minute of the time requested. In addition George our butler asked if he could provide the coffee and danish for free since we had to leave so early. Of course iI agreed. If you want to pay for luxury and really get it stay here! Our balcony over looked the Acropolis and the Parliment. We could watch the changing of the guard and the President of Veitnam lay an wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier. One word. AWESOME!! The room, view and staff CANNOT be beat!!!!

I adored this hotel. The room was just delightful; an extremely comfortable bed and a fabulous shower with an enormous rose that gives so much beautiful hot water I could have drowned !
The service was brilliant and they managed to wash and press and return a business shirt within a couple of hours.

We kicked off our 17 nights Greece and Turkey honeymoon at the Grande Bretagne. We chose the property because we were using Starwood points, but after reading the reviews and noticing that they charged over 500 Euros (about $800) per nights, I was expecting a truly luxurious hotel.

I understand the hotel's historic significance, and therefore the high price. But, I do not think that this hotel is in the same league as other European top hotels. The hotel itself is large. While we had a private concierge for our floor, it felt large and anonymous. The rooms are TINY. I lived in New York, I understand small rooms. Our room was basically a king bed and a desk. That is it. No room to really walk around. I felt like we were in a little box, and this was an upgraded room.

I have traveled my whole life and know the difference between European and American hotel standards, but there was just something missing here. The room decor was striving for elegance, and instead just looked pretty cheap.

Considering we used points, it was a fine hotel. But if I would have actually paid for the room, I would be outraged. I noticed many small boutique hotels, for one-third of the price.