Electra Palace Athens

Rooms and decor

Picture a cream-coloured neoclassical building tucked into a quiet cobbled lane of Plaka, the oldest neighbourhood in Athens — that's the first thing that gets you about Electra Palace Athens. It's a 5-star with roughly 155 rooms that plays the part of a grand classical townhouse rather than a chain hotel. The facade blends into the neoclassical block around it with wrought-iron balconies, tall windows, and warm cream-and-gold tones. Step into the lobby and you get chandeliers, dark wood furniture, and patterned rugs that feel more like an old European mansion than a corporate stay. Rooms carry the same mood — heavy drapes, padded headboards, traditional wood furniture that's classic without feeling dated. Many have small private balconies, and the higher floors on the right side open onto a view of the Parthenon floating above the rooftops of the old town. Reviewers repeatedly say waking up to that view alone makes the room category worth the price. Beds are soft and clean, the bathrooms are larger than most central Athens 5-stars, and the whole property has the warm old Europe feel that families and couples both respond to.

Food and amenities

If this hotel has a heart, it's the open-air rooftop pool with a direct view of the Parthenon on the Acropolis. Floating in the water with a 2,500-year-old temple as your backdrop is the image every review opens with. Sun loungers and a bar line the deck for afternoon drinks. Next door is the Electra Roof Garden — the 8th-floor restaurant and bar serving Mediterranean and Greek food with the same Parthenon panorama. Sunset dinner or cocktails up here is the most-cited highlight in guest reviews, and once the floodlights hit the Parthenon after dark it's worth dragging yourself back up for a second drink. Downstairs there's an indoor pool and spa open year-round, with treatment rooms, sauna, and a proper gym — a rare combination in Athens, where most 5-stars only run a seasonal outdoor pool. Breakfast is a generous buffet: fresh pastries, Greek cheeses and cured meats, eggs cooked to order, fruit, and Greek sweets. Reviewers consistently call it one of the best in this category. Having both pools in one building genuinely makes Electra Palace work all 12 months — most Athens rivals don't.

Location and getting there

Location is the second ace this hotel holds. You're in the heart of Plaka, the most atmospheric old-town neighbourhood in Athens. Step out the door and you're on winding stone-paved lanes lined with cafes under olive trees, souvenir shops, and traditional Greek tavernas — easily a full day of wandering on its own. The Metropolitan Cathedral is about 3 minutes on foot, the entrance to Acropolis and the Parthenon roughly 10 minutes uphill. Anyone here for the history can step out the door and start sightseeing without a taxi. Syntagma square, the city centre, with metro lines M2 and M3, is about a 7-minute walk. From there the metro goes direct to Piraeus port for the islands and to Athens International Airport — no shuttle needed. Walk a little further from Plaka and you're in Monastiraki with its flea market and ancient-ruin views. The short version: if you want to wake up in the old town and walk to UNESCO-grade monuments without a single car ride, this address scores a perfect 10.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. First — Acropolis-view rooms are limited, priced well above the standard category, and gone fast. Many standard rooms face inner courtyards or side lanes with ordinary views. If the temple view matters, request a Parthenon-view room explicitly when booking and book months ahead. Honestly, the best view is still the rooftop pool and Roof Garden, not from most rooms. Second — Plaka is central, but it stays touristy and loud after dark. The lanes around the hotel are busy with restaurants and crowds through the evening, and street-facing rooms can pick up the noise. Light sleepers should ask for a higher floor or an inner-facing room at check-in. Third — extras add up: Roof Garden meals, poolside drinks, and spa treatments are priced for a 5-star Plaka address, so budget for them or eat in the neighbourhood. And note that the rooftop outdoor pool runs seasonally, mainly summer; off-season you still have the year-round indoor pool but not the headline rooftop view. Confirm your dates directly with the hotel if the rooftop pool is the reason you're booking.

Our take

After reading several hundred real guest reviews, Electra Palace Athens is the hotel that nails one combination: an old-town Plaka address, a rooftop pool with a Parthenon view, and a warm neoclassical mood — all in one building. If your mental picture of Athens is wandering ancient ruins and cobbled lanes all day, then floating in a rooftop pool watching the Parthenon, then dinner with the temple glowing at sunset, this is the cleanest fit. The year-round indoor pool makes it work in winter too, which most Athens 5-stars can't claim, and it's strong for both couples and families thanks to room size and amenities. If you expect every room to have the Acropolis view, or want quiet streets away from crowds, you'll need to choose your category and season carefully. Overall we score it 9.0/10 — best for couples and families who want to live in old-town Athens, walk to everything, and bring home the Parthenon as the memory of the trip.