Galini Palace

The room was fairly spacious, and the sheets and towels were clean. The location was great too. But it was incredibly noisy, with cars passing constantly and the poor windows letting every sound through. You'll definitely need earplugs. The bed was hard as cement, and the pillows felt like sandbags. The bathroom was tiny, under 2.5 square meters, with the shower, toilet and sink crammed in. Bending to wash my feet meant hitting my head on the wall, and the shower curtain kept sticking to me. Not a nice feeling.

The only reason I chose this hotel was the location, and that was the one good thing about my 4-night stay. The rooms had a short, high-pitched whistling chirp every two minutes, day and night, like a low battery alarm. One employee didn't know what sound I meant; another said it had been going on so long they no longer noticed it. The mattress was so hard it felt like sidewalk cement, and the bathroom was tiny. I couldn't shower without bumping into something or getting water all over the floor. With the poor window insulation, speeding cars and motorcycles sounded like they were passing right beside the bed, so falling asleep was tough. I regret staying and won't return. Also, some reviews on this site seem to describe other Galini hotels, not this one.

The food was so good I can hardly describe it, and the staff were friendly. Rooms were clean and cleaned several times a day. The complex is beautiful, with an unusually shaped pool and two lifeguards always nearby. There was live music at night too. There's a church near the hotel, and lots of taverns by the sea down the street. Head up toward the centre for pharmacies, banks and the post office. Prices vary: beer is around 4e, gyros is 4.5e to go or 7 in a tavern. At the local market, it's about half that, with water at 1e and beer at 2e. Parking is possible wherever you find a space, but Greeks park very close, and if they hit your car they may act like nothing happened. The long drive to Vurla was an exceptional experience. There's a monument to Leonidas on the way, and a beautiful church up the hill that's worth seeing. The Greeks are friendly and beautiful people. Fill up with gas before and after the borders, as you may get stuck in traffic.

Stay as far away as possible from Galini Palace Hotel. The website photos are fake and look nothing like the hotel, and there are no bathroom photos. The bathrooms are tiny, and the shower heads in every room sit too low to go over your head. The whole place smells strongly of cigarettes mixed with mold. The walls are dirty and old, with yellow stains, and the balcony doors don't lock. There are no hairdryers or basic kettles or coffee makers in the rooms. The beds are smaller than usual and uncomfortable, and the refrigerator door was broken. The WiFi didn't work, so I had to use my international data package, which cost me a lot. There are no key cards, just very old-fashioned locks that anyone could open with a screwdriver or safety pin, so it doesn't feel safe. When I complained about the shower, hot water and smell, the owner argued with me and said I could leave if I didn't like it. If you want the worst experience in Athen, this is the place, or send someone here if you want to punish them.