Athens Iris Hotel

The rooms are comfortable, pleasant, and well designed, and the location makes this a practical base in Athens. I did notice a couple of areas that could be better: front desk staff could use more training to improve professionalism and the guest experience, and room cleaning could be more consistent. With those changes, the stay could be stronger.

I’d read comments about noise beforehand, but it didn’t bother me. The room was quite clean, and we didn’t try the breakfast, so I can’t speak to that. The staff were cheerful and welcoming, and the man at reception was friendly and gave us detailed food recommendations when we asked. For the price, it’s a perfectly nice, normal place. It’s close to the metro, with a big market nearby for anything you need.

The shower leaked onto the bathroom floor every day, and the hotel never gave us a lasting fix. One day there were no towels in the room, apparently because they’d forgotten. I’m not convinced that was the reason. Since the phone in our room didn’t work, I had to go downstairs to ask for towels, just as I’d gone to reception twice to report other problems. Nobody promised to check the phone. Breakfast was another problem. At 9:30 on the first morning, right at closing time, I asked for milk because it had run out. They told me to come earlier and wouldn’t serve me. The next day I arrived at 9:20, but a couple of items were gone. When I asked if they could refill them, I was ignored. At checkout I asked the woman at the desk for an invoice for the taxes I’d paid. She seemed annoyed and said I should have told the hotel the day before because the printer might not work. Her tone was very rude, as if asking for an invoice was a crime. Before this week at IRIS Athens hotel, I had no doubt that Greek people were the best at hospitality. This stay changed that view. I experienced rude behaviour, requests being ignored, and Indian-origin guests being treated as inferior. You might read a review like this and wonder what the guest did wrong. Trust me, I did nothing to deserve that treatment. It’s hard to know how to react when you’re a visitor from another country. I’m not calling myself Guest anymore. 😁

Traffic noise at night was the one real downside. My husband slept through it, but if you’re a light sleeper, you could ask whether they have an inside room. We stayed in room 302 for around 90 USD. The room was clean and great, and check-in and checkout were easy. There was a small 1.50 euro fee, which is normal at many hotels in Greece, though people from the USA may not be used to it. The breakfast was amazing: a buffet with mini omelettes, bread and spreads, ham and cheese, savoury pastries, coffee, and juice. I especially loved the mini omelettes, savoury pastries, and cappuccino. It was a bonus not having to find a coffee shop. Our stay was amazing, and I’ve saved the hotel as a favourite in Google for our next visit to Athens. Highly recommend!