Despite some of the negative reviews I read on Trip Advisor, I decided to stay here. The hotel was lovely. My room had a nice view. The location did not bother me because if you really want to experience what Athens is like and be amongst the locals, this is the area to be. The streets looked a bit dodgy but it is not unsafe. And the Greek people are very friendly and nice. Also the hotel is walking distance to the major attractions and close to a metro.

The staff at the hotel was excellent. They answered the million and one questions that I had. The breakfast was nice. Good value for money .

Located near Omonia Square in the Psiri district (NOT Plaka as a few websites said) the BW Zinon is not hard to find, especially if you hunt beforehand for some maps. The hotel is on the corner on side streets (Zinonos/Keramikos off a major thorough fare (Pireos aka Panayi Psaldari). The location is real Athens not touristy but we felt safe. It is more ethnically diverse than much of the rest of the city, but also means that the food stores etc are much better value - there's a brilliant gyros place at 19 Zinonos and a sensational little food store selling spanakopita and other Greek delicacies for loose change a few doors up (#16?). About 15 mins walk from all the major attra\ctions past the markets and other interesting places. Near the metro (Omonia) and heaps of buses.

The hotel has a big, marble lined lobby, and large bar area which doubles as the breakfast area. Our room was on the 7th floor - 706. We didn't mind walking up the stairs when we weren't lumbered with luggage but there are a couple of lifts - typically little European but modern. Room was neat and tidy, big enough but double room has twin beds which was a bit of a hassle. View of a concrete wall if you cared to look out the window over the balcony but we didn't care coz we were out a lot. Had air con if you were to stay in summer.

Breakfast was plentiful with a European style spread. Good selection of cereals, fruit and vegetables, cold meats, pickles, breads and cakes including tsoureki - delicious Greek cake/bread. Something for everyone. Best of all was the Greek yoghurt and honey - yum.

The service was outstanding. The day reception guy (Maximos) and the night guy (George) really went out of their way. They answered all our questions, helped us book a last minute island cruise, arranged a wake up call to make sure we got there (we hadn't thought of it), set up breakfast for us 20mins early before we had to leave for the early morning bus for the cruise, etc. Much of this was at their initiative and we found this very impressive.

We left with a good impression, and happy to recommend.

The staff are great at the hotel and always welcoming. The room was suprisingly spacious and clean. Our view of next doors brick wall wasnt great, but beggars cant be choosers. The hotel is very centrally located however. One little thing that appealed was the free computer with internet in the reception. This probably costs the hotel very little, but just makes a stay that bit more enjoyable, saving you from tramping around to find an internet cafe. Overall, this hotel was pretty good and I would recommend it to others if you weren't after anything amazingly flash.

The price was right - this is the main advantage of the Hotel Zinon.

Friendly and helpful staff, clean and newly decorated rooms, average breakfast.

Rooms were very small and a double is two twin beds. No English language station on our TV. The shower was the smallest I have ever seen.

Area around the hotel is a bit shabby but we saw no bad or threatening behaviour, although there were many young men just hanging about on street corners.

Ten minutes walk to the nearest metro in either direction.