Just came back from a six days stay in the Royal Olympic - have to say, with very mixed feelings.
The location is excellent, walking distance to the Acropolis, Plaka, Syntagma square. Staff reasonably helpful - especially the staff at breakfast. They couldn't provide with any tourist information, though - all they could give us was the flyer of a travel agency.
One of the main reasons which attracted us to this hotel was the heated pool and the pool bar with live piano music. Although the weather was really good - had been around 20 degrees for the week we were there and the week before, they were closed for "winter". I wonder if heated means that in the summer the sun will heat the pool because I could hardly imagine it needs any extra heating in that period.
We booked a standard room with pool view. The room wasn't quite up to a 5 stars standard. Hard bed, a small bathtub, no robes. Not very bad but not quite there. The 5 stars kicked in when we looked at the minibar prices, though! 7.5 EUR for a 330ml beer, 9 EUR for a mini bottle of gin. 15 EUR to get breakfast in bed - I imagine this was just the fee for the service because breakfast was included in our deal.
Although it was March, the room got quite warm during the day and we tried to use the air conditioning – only to find out that it wasn’t AC at all, it was just a noisy fan which didn’t make any difference at all. It wasn’t quite that big of a problem for us but I can imagine it could be a disaster in summer time.
And then, on Monday morning, the worse came. They started hammering and welding on the fire escape on the building opposite to us (belonging to the hotel). Quite a nightmare when all you wanted was getting away for a few days and relax! We tried to ask for a different room but it was not possible – the only option they offered us was to get an upgrade to suite for 120 EUR per night, way too much for our budget. They also told us that the bed is exactly the same in all the standard rooms. We did check two suites, nevertheless, and they did really look 5* - excellent sound proof windows, large tub, large bathroom, large room, even the beds were in a completely different category – I can’t remember about the AC, though.
In conclusion, don’t really expect 5* at the Royal Olympic unless you pay the extra for one of those suites.

regular rooms are like a 3 star hotel and there was renovation at the time,at 08:30 you wake up with drilling voice...If I go to Athens I am not going to stay there for sure...

This was by far the worst 5-star hotel I have ever stayed. I must note that I have stayed in one of the regular rooms, no view, lower price. Yet there was none of the 5-star amenities available. No minibar in the room as a starter. The shower cabin was so weird, once you get a shower, the bathroom was filled with water. There was a construction going on starting at 8:30 in the morning, try keeping up with Athens night life and waking up at 8:30, it is not a good combination.

The best thing about the hotel was the breakfast, a decent continental breakfast, and cleanliness of the room.

Overall it's not worth paying that much money. When you pay less, at least you can settle with what you get in return.

I just returned from a pleasant stay at the Royal Olympic in Athens. I chose this hotel based on its affordable price and 5 star rating.
The hotel did not offer a shuttle from the airport so I relied on public transportation in a strange city to take me there. Luckily, I researched the route before hand. Upon exiting the Akropoli metro station (a mere block and a half away.) I almost immediately regretted my decision. The road was littered with either tangerines or oranges and paper trash was blowing everywhere. Stray dogs were roaming and the neighborhood itself did not give a very hospitable appearance.
The hotel was very easy to spot. It stood out among in its decaying neighborhood. Bellhops were waiting outside the door and immediately took our luggage inside.
The hotel staff was very polite and courteous. Check-in was a breeze. It took less than two minutes to be on our way. I had booked a single room for two adults and a child. To my surprise, we were given two single beds in the main area and a second room with another bed.
After we settled in, I grabbed the room service menu out of habit. I have never ordered room service, but I always look at the menus. Wow, those prices were absolutely ridiculous! 5.50 Euro for a 250 ml can of coke! But, as I said, I have never ordered room service. I like staying in luxury but I am a very frugal person.
The room itself was nicely styled. The linen smelled clean and the bathroom was very shiny. If looks were everything, this hotel would have gotten an 'Excellent' rating.
The room included a 110 V outlet for Americans. I thought that was a great idea. I plugged my laptop in but did not get a charge. I noticed the circuit breaker was flipped, so I hit the switch. After a few minutes of charging, the circuit breaker flipped again. I unplugged my laptop charger, and while doing so, nearly pulled the outlet out of the wall!
I have a European outlet adapter, but there were no open outlets in the room! There was a lamp in the small bedroom, so I had to unplug it to charge my laptop.
I then decided to check the balcony and view out. Like I said, I ordered a standard double room, so I wasn't expecting much of a view. Boy, I'm glad I didn't have any expectations because that view was HORRIBLE! The first thing I see is another building that I believe is part of the Royal Olympic with car bumpers and tires on the roof. That, along with the pigeon poo, was about all the view I had. The door to the balcony seems to have been built backwards. The only way to open it was to go behind the curtains and open it while trying not to rip the curtains. For whatever odd reason, the curtains could not completely open to either side of the door.
The room had a thermostat for an air conditioner. I automatically assumed it would help cool the room. It may have been February, but the room was somewhat warm. Needless to say, there was no air conditioning and the room got pretty hot during the night.... hot enough to keep me awake.
When we returned to the room after our daily excursions, room service had always done a great job at cleaning. However, they did not always restock the toilet paper. There was no shower mat available. Luckily none of us slipped on the slick shower floor.
All in all, I had a pleasant stay. The location was a pretty good spot (a few minutes on foot from the Acropolis and Hadrian's Arch) On day two, I saw that the neighborhood is not as bad as my initial impression. The area cleans up quite nice. There are several marts and restaraunts in the area if you don't feel like going much of a distance to eat affordably.
The pizza place at the corner serves up a great taste. Down the road a little way is a Subway restaraunt. I did not eat there but I liked having the option so close. A little further was a place called Smile Greek Restaraunt. The prices were reasonable, but you do not get very much for your money. The service there was EXCELLENT, perfect even.
Breakfast at the hotel was good. There was a pretty good variety. With that said, grease was the flavor. The only thing that wasn't greasy was the cereal. However, it was top notch, especially if you arrive in time for the fresh, warm food.
Although the hotel isn't perfect, I feel it is worth another stay if I decide to return to Athens. I would recommend this hotel to travelers.