MAGNA GRECIA BOUTIQUE HOTEL
Address: 54 Mitropoleos Str, 10563-Athens, Greece
Tel: 0030 210 324 03 14/5
Website: www.magnagreciahotel.com
Late-evening plane arrival, bus X95 from the airport, the cheerful pandemonium of Syntagma Square and the search for a hotel is on.
If lucky, or if reservations have already been made, you’ll have a room at Magna Grecia Boutique Hotel, central historic Athens at its best.
When more and more once-independent luxury accommodations are being bought out by international chains, Magna Grecia has maintained its self-same alliance, and, in its no more than 10 rooms, invites the traveller to put up his feet with grace.
The hotel falls into the A category of Greece’s hotel classifications, where ratings top out at Deluxe/Luxury, followed by A, B, C and then third class. The A category means that every room has a private bath, hot and cold running water, telephone, central heating, and restaurant-bar.
It is a member of Great Small Hotels of the World.
Decorated in mahoganies and creams, with touches of sage, the hardwood floors are stained to match the drapes that separate corridor from public space. On the walls in the stairwell, primitive murals greet the eye. Almost up to the top of the narrow four-storey building, votive candle lamps in jewelled hews hang from the stair rail. (There is a lift, as well.)
On the top storey, the bar and restaurant find place; this is also where breakfast is served from 8am to 10.30am (included in the room rate). The buffet includes fresh-squeezed orange juice, assorted Greek pastries (savoury and sweet), fresh fruit, luncheon meat, cheese, cereals and a yoghurt as rich as cream.
The best part of this morning duty, however, is the view from the deck: direct, uninhibited to the Acropolis.
While recalling the Victorian-era in its fabrics and colours, the hotel lacks the gaudiness, thankfully.
The overall atmosphere is calm, soothing and mature. Only once in my five-day stay did I see someone (a family of four) under his or her late 20s. It’s not that the hotel discourages children, but the environment would encourage more controlled behaviour. Double occupancy rates run from 130 euro to 170 euro a night, depending on the season and the room.
My bed was extremely comfortable, like a firm down pillow; all the linens were crisp, clean and white. There was enough storage space in the room and a normal-type hairdryer in the bathroom cabinet.
One day, my telephone stopped working; it was repaired by the next morning. I could never figure out how to use the television or the air conditioning, but neither did I ask.
If I would have asked, I would have been most kindly helped. The staff at Magna Grecia is at your service, never making you feel obtrusive or like you should not be hanging around.
Without me having to ask, with only talking about upcoming plans, Maria, who works most days, located my next-day destination and arranged a taxi; another time, she found out the train schedule. And always, she was there with a smile and an encouraging word.
A three-minute walk from Syntagma Square, where King Otto presented the first Greek constitution in 1843, the area – called Plaka – in which Magna Grecia is located houses enough museums, historic sites, shopping and eating to keep most people busy for a few days at least. Syntagma Square is also notable for it being a centre for meeting people, the metro and the free wireless internet connection. The hotel has wireless available, but for a charge.
One thing to know about Greece, particularly larger cities, particularly in the summer, where temperatures hover around 40°C even after dark: evening life (meaning dining) does not really start till 10pm or 11pm.
You might go to a restaurant at 9pm, and it will be empty. This does not mean that there is anything wrong with the place, just that local people have not yet come.
But, Magna Grecia: a hotel well deserving of its name. Just be sure to make reservations far enough in advance. When I was checking out (a no-hassle procedure), Maria was on the phone with a couple who wanted to book a room for two months.
