Bacchus

The neighborhood was quiet, and the hotel rooms were very nice, though there are many steps to reach them. It’s a small hotel with a restaurant and mountain views above Olympia. The food was excellent.

You can reach plenty of good beaches with a short drive, so there’s more to do here than visit the archaeological site. Olympia is just a stone’s throw away. The hotel felt both new and luxurious and traditionally old, which made for the best of both worlds. From beside the pool, you get an impressive view of the nearby hills. The restaurant serves delicious Greek meals, and breakfast in the morning is good too.

We came for one night to see the sites and were impressed by the facilities and accommodation at this little pension. It’s a very nice, comfortable place.

The included breakfast buffet was adequate, though not great. One hardworking young woman kept replenishing the food. Dinner was another matter: the only waiter was gruff and kept fussing at guests over various pointless things. There were just four tables dining at the time, and he was loudly aggressive enough that we could hear everything he said. Our room’s decor looked like it belonged in 1970. There weren’t enough outlets unless we unplugged lamps, the bathroom was tiny, and the shower was like a small glass phone booth. The room safe didn’t work, likely because it hadn’t been cleared after the previous guest. The website photos make the hotel look better than it does in person, and somehow the pool seemed smaller when we got there. The quieter setting is an improvement over Olympia’s tourist-trap town, with long tour buses idling and large groups of teenagers everywhere. But parking will be difficult if you arrive late, so don’t do that. Staying closer to the coast and driving to Olympia for the archaeological museum and site might be a better option.