Charming reception, beautiful spacious room, lovely breakfast excellent location - I would definitely recommend it

We chose to stay at AVA on the basis of the glowing reviews posted on Trip Advisor. The hotel is in a great location, on the edge of the Plaka and within easy walking distance of all of the major sites including the Acropolis and Syntagma Square. While it isn't very impressive looking from the outside, the lobby is small but impressive with a marble floor and fabulous old lift.

We were greeted by a lovely receptionist on arrival who quickly checked us into our room and, when we were settling in, brought us complimentary champagne and chocolates which we thought was a lovely gesture. On a whole the staff were very friendly and helpful and were more than happy to recommend day trips to us and book them for us.

We stayed in a basic suite which was quite nice. The bed was excellent and very comfortable and the little kitchenette was very useful. Our only complaints about the room were minor ones - the bathroom was quite cramped and the shower head was wobbly which made showering uncomfortable, and the ventilation in the room wasn't great and the room felt a little damp (and we noticed condensation on the windows at all times). These were only minor problems though and weren't really worth bothering over.

The only other thing we weren't thrilled with was the view from our balcony - we understood from the website that all of the rooms would have Acropolis views but ours didn't - the view was over adjacent buildings, but being mid-winter it was too cold to spend too much time on the balcony anyway so again, it didn't bother us too much.

On a whole, we thought AVA was a great hotel and very good value for money. We would stay there again in a heartbeat.

We arrived in the evening after a ride in a taxi from a lovely young man who gave us a lot of local history on the way from the airport (contrary to comments we had seen, we were not overcharged for the taxi from the airport as it is a set fee) & yet were met at the door by our wonderful host Yiannis who took our suitcases, checked us in & gladly gave us an idea of places to eat etc. We went to our room which was just as pretty as on the website only to hear a little tap at the door.. it was Yiannis with a bottle of chilled champagne! Did we feel like royalty! Enjoyed that and the fact that we had a bar fridge plus another small fridge to keep some champagne for int he morning with orange juice! Had a very comfortable restful sleep & then were surprised again by the breakfast spread! My Lord there was the freshest fruit, the best breads, any kind of cold cereal, two fresh squeezed juices(I saw the juicer; it was FRESH!) and they would bring you a fresh cappuccino or whatever you wished... fresh cooked bacon, eggs... Greek Yogourt, fresh honey... so good! We were given excellent suggestions of where to go and set up on a tour one day to see Sounion with a very good tour group. A decent sized, brand new luxury bus; very comfortable and worth the trip. The weather wasn't great but the guide was lovely and there was a place to have tea or something to nibble, plus a nice gift shop. The photo ops were stupendous! Back to Ava... we cannot tell you how thrilled we were to see that in reality you can nearly step out the front door and TOUCH Hadrian's Arch at the Temple of Zeus and also the Acropolis! It is that close! That's value to be among all those restaurants, all that shopping, all the history and again; right outside the hotel! Crazy! You need to stay here and you need to stay for a week just to relax and enjoy it. Lovely... clean; the housekeeping was immaculate. The suite is so perfect. Nice TV, lots of clothing storage, good reading lamps, a nice table & chairs to eat or write in journals at, plus a writing desk; gorgeous bathroom with the beautiful painted ceiling... we just loved it and three nights wasn't long enough... thank you Yiannis & also the girls (Andrea was one) who were lovely hosts/hostesses.. always smiling & couldn't do enough for you. We have stayed in hotels in Paris, London, Vegas, Mexico, Vancouver & Whistler to name a few and this was the best rest, food & service we ever had all in one stay. Thank you, Ava!