Silk Athens Urban Collection

The Silk Athens building is new, modern, clean, and nicely finished, with good attention to detail. The surrounding area isn’t pretty, but it’s well placed for getting to the city center. And despite what one reviewer said, there definitely weren’t drug dealers around. Our ground-floor room had street-facing windows, which made for some noisy nights. We could hear cars, people, and other guests, and it felt at times like we were sleeping right on the street. With the windows facing straight out, opening the curtains meant giving up privacy. The Wi-Fi was also unreliable. I imagine the higher-floor rooms may be a much better experience. The so-called pool is more like a tiny 2x2m puddle, though the chill-out area around it was nice. It was okay overall :)

The rooftop pool was a real treat, and the accommodation is within walking distance of the old town and sights. The units are clean, modern, comfortable, and well equipped for cooking for yourself. You’re a couple of city blocks from the nicer tourist streets, but that’s no reason to be put off. Our unit’s “acropolis view” balcony was very small, and the view felt quite distant. Still, it’s a great place to stay in the heart of Athens.

The location felt rough and run down. At 6am, when we got a taxi to the airport, there was a group of drug dealers outside the building, so be careful. The metro is about a ten-minute walk away and takes you to the attractions. For a few nights, the stay was fine. They were clear that this isn’t a hotel and that they don’t clean at all, not even changing towels or emptying bins. I didn’t see that explained when booking, so be ready for it if you’re staying longer than four nights. The bed wasn’t very comfortable, but it did the job. The shower flooded the bathroom twice because it didn’t drain properly. Our bedroom window faced a wall and someone’s balcony, so we kept the blind down during the day. The pool had flies in it on our first day, though it was cleaner by the second.

The room was very clean and well prepared when we arrived, and we never felt unsafe in the area, although it didn’t seem especially nice. A piece of broken glass in the kitchen sink was a problem, though. There were a couple of other issues. The shower drained too slowly, and water built up in the cubicle before spilling around the glass and across half the bathroom floor. They also charge extra for room cleaning, including clean towels or emptying the bins. I’ve never encountered that in holiday accommodation before.