Having read all the reviews here, we were quite excited when we could reserve a so-called "superior" room. But our experience was a bit disappointing...

Upon arrival, we were greeted with smiles and were offered two complimentary drinks, which was nice. Unfortunately, no room was available for early check-in and we had to leave our luggage in their luggage room and head to Acropolis and then come back later in the afternoon to check in.

The good thing about the hotel location is that it is very centrally located and within walking distance to most major tourist attractions. But on the flip side, it is certainly not the best neighborhood in Athens. Other areas, such as Lycabetus, seemed much nicer and cleaner. Also hotel is on a very crowded and noisy main street. Rooms have double pane windows which do help with the street noise, but don't completely eliminate it. If you are staying in any of the front rooms, don't bother openning the window!

In any case, we were given a room on the third floor, which we later realized was a smoking floor, even though we had specifically asked for a non-smoking room. The smell was so bad that we asked to change the room. The only room we were offered was a smaller room on a lower floor. So we decided not to change. But in the morning, both myself and my wife, woke up with severe caughing! So we thought we had no option but to change the room. Called front desk again, and to our surprise, we were told that someone has left early and we can have one of the so-called "Acropolis View" rooms on the 6th floor, but it was not ready and we had to wait till later in the afternoon to move to the new room. So we came back in the afternoon and realized what "Acropolis view" really means! You had to practically sit in the corner of the room, looking towards the opposite corner to see Acropolis on the top of the hill. If you laid on your bed, or sit anywhere else in the room, all you could see were the windows, the roof, and the air conditioning units of the opposite building. So we decided to move to a small room on the first floor instead. In my opinion, the front rooms offer much nicer view of Olympian Zeus columns as long as you are OK with the street noise.

We finally moved to the new room, realizing that they only had one set of towels, etc. in the room. So we had to call room service again and wait for another 20 minutes or so, to get a second set.

The sheets, towels, etc. were very clean, but the room floors were not so clean. Put some white socks on, and walk in the room for a few minutes and you will see what I am talking about!

The next day, when we came back to our room at around 3:30pm, the room was still not cleaned. When we complained, we were told that we should have specifically activated the "Make up room" sign, and that they will send room service again. We left the room, and after coming back, noticed that they had cleaned the room but had forgotten to replace the shampoos. Had to call room service again and wait another 15 minutes or so, before we could take a shower!

Finally, upon checkout, we had been charged extra for mini-bar usage in the room, which was again a mistake, as we had not touched anything in the minibar. So they had to fix the error and credit the account back.

As for the hotel staff, they were friendly and helpful overall.

Bottom line -- While Athens Gate can be considered as a good hotel overall, I don't believe it deserves all the high marks it has received on this site. I have not stayed in any other hotel in Athens, but I have stayed in many 3-5-star hotels elsewhere in Europe and I have not had as many issues as I had with Athens Gate. I may well stay in Athens Gate again, but it will certainly not be my first choice.