Hotel review: Inside the Hotel Grande Bretagne Athens’ $1660-a-night luxury rooms
Performers such as Sting and Lady Gaga still favour this historic hotel for its convenient location.
Performers such as Sting and Lady Gaga still favour this historic hotel for its convenient position.
Location
The Grande Bretagne could not be more centrally located. It’s planted directly on Athens’ main plaza, Syntagma Square, opposite the Greek Parliament House and with peerless views of the Acropolis, which is only a short walk away. (It also sits above the city’s main metro station, which now provides a surprisingly efficient means of navigating the capital.)
The strategic placement is no accident. The hotel first opened its doors as a family guesthouse catering to European archaeologists in 1842, only 12 years after Greece had managed to liberate itself from four centuries of Ottoman rule after a long and bloody war. Thanks to its glorious classical past, Athens had been named the capital of the newly-independent country, luring armies of admirers of the Hellenes to excavate the city’s classical treasures, and the Greek owners founded the guesthouse at the crossroads of the ancient sites. It expanded to become Athens’ first grand luxury hotel in 1874 and took the name Grande Bretagne in honour of the Britons who had become the tourist staple in Greece, and it soon began to lure European royalty, international heads of state and the literati such as Agatha Christie (whose then-fiance was an archaeologist).
When Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, the judges and members of the Olympic Committee all took rooms here and hosted a Grand Gala for arriving athletes (who were then entirely from Europe and the US) in the ballroom. Decades later, when Greece was conquered by the Italians and Germans in World War II, the hotel was commandeered as the Nazi HQ – Rommel and Hitler stayed there on the eve of the invasion of Russia in 1941. When Athens was liberated by the Allies, it became the HQ for the British and American armies, hosting Winston Churchill and Ike Eisenhower. Churchill became a repeat visitor after the war, followed by a bevy of celebrities from opera diva Maria Callas to actors Sophia Loren and Laurence Olivier. Performers such as Sting and Lady Gaga still choose it for its proximity to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a second century AD Greco-Roman amphitheatre embedded in the flanks of the Acropolis that remains one of the world’s most evocative concert venues.
First impressions
Syntagma Square is today one of Athens’ busiest and most traffic-clogged corners, so arriving by taxi at the palatial white Grande Bretagne is a relief. I am ushered by the liveried Greek doorman into a cocoon of calm and beauty: the palatial lobby is a jewel box in 19th-century Neoclassical style, with gleaming marble floors, finely polished wood and glittering chandeliers. The walls are adorned with historic engravings of nearby Athenian ruins and much of the furniture is original antique. I am staying in one of the 61 suites, and the gracious staff whisk me by elevator up to the sixth floor, where a dedicated office is maintained for a seamless check-in. I am offered champagne; it is 10am, so I opt for espresso instead.
Design
Renovations in 1919 and again in 1957 expanded the hotel to its present 320 rooms and suites but maintained its original Neoclassical architectural appearance, with a brilliant white exterior ribbed with ornate Grecian columns echoing the marble Parthenon above (considered the most perfectly-proportioned temple ever made). The design deliberately connects the hotel to the brilliant creations of the ancients, an example of the longing among modern Athenians to see themselves as direct descendants of the city-state of Pericles, Phidias and Socrates during the “golden age” of the 5th century BC. Other nearby structures were created in the same Neoclassical style in the 19th century, including Parliament House, the University of Athens and the must-see National Museum of Archaeology, home to Agamemnon’s mask, found in Mycenae, and other treasures.
Accommodation
The rooms have generous 19th-century proportions and lush design, decorated with ornate fittings, chandeliers and tasteful archaeological images of ancient vases and statues. The most expensive rooms have Acropolis views. My suite was on the first floor, opening on to teeming Syntagma Square, but although I worried it would be noisy, double glazed windows created total silence. There was also a surprise benefit: my stay included a Sunday morning, when I spotted the ceremonial changing of the Presidential Guards at Parliament House from my balcony. I had a bird’s eye view of the Evzones in their flamboyant uniforms – red floppy caps, white kilt-like dresses and pompom shoes – goosestepping in unison across the street.
Dining
The first stop for any guest is the palatial, open-air GB Roof Garden Restaurant, which has breathtaking views of the Acropolis on one side and Lycabettus Hill on the other, both of which are at their most glorious at sunset but are also spotlit at night. I was lucky that there had been heavy rain the day before I arrived, so air pollution had been swept away, and I could even see the port of Piraeus and the Aegean sparkling in the distance. The Mediterranean-style restaurant was renovated in 2024 with lavish use (naturally) of white marble, adding to the sense of grandeur. Guests also have breakfast there every morning, drinking in one of the world’s most famous views as pigeons hop along the rooftop fringe hoping for food scraps. Even if you are not staying, a visit is worth it for a sunset cocktail and a snack at the eatery’s connected bar.
Wellness
A spa with a beautiful indoor pool offers all the treatments, and a charming interior “winter garden” courtyard is available for relaxing before and after.
The bar
Although the rooftop restaurant bar is unbeatable for most of the year, in the cooler months Alexander’s Bar, attached to the lobby, is beloved as one of the most majestic venues in Athens. It’s named for the enormous 18th-century tapestry of local hero Alexander the Great hanging above the spirits bottles behind the bar. (Frank Sinatra was one of the many who liked to knock back a snifter here when in town in the 1960s, as did the Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, first with his paramour Maria Callas and later with his wife Jackie Onassis.)
Likes
The rooftop pool is a fantastic place to unwind after a day wandering the ruins in the early summer sun. It has fine views of Lycabettus Hill, which is crowned with an antique Orthodox church, and is the setting for films projected for guests on select summer nights.
Dislikes
The hotel’s location on Syntagma Place is so central that traffic jams make getting a taxi a challenge. You’ll have to walk a few blocks to find a little calm. The breakfast buffet on the rooftop can also become a bit frenzied. Go early or late to avoid the rush.
The cost
Rooms from €930 ($1660) a night.
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