Hotel Grande Bretagne, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Athens

Lovely room with a comfortable bed. All the Staff were efficient, keen and friendly. Nothing was too much trouble. Location was superb, right in the middle of the city so access to all the major sights was good. Also some lovely restaurants and tavernas not too far away

The only very sour note was a most unfortunate incident away from the hotel. A note to everyone that Athens is NOT the safe city it is claimed to be. I had a mobile phone stolen on the Metro (the item was actually zipped up inside a bag and it was still taken). Travellers beware!!

Beautiful historical hotel

Amazing staff at the concierge desk and fantastic staff and atmosphere at the Rooftop restaurant and bar.

Expensive for the accomodation you are given. Reservations and reception (except for Christos) a bit slow in understanding.

Ok

Here’s a factual, firm review that is suitable for both Google and Booking.com. It focuses on your experience without making claims that you cannot support. ★☆☆☆☆ (1/5) I had expected a much higher standard of service from a luxury hotel such as Hotel Grande Bretagne, but unfortunately my experience was disappointing. The hotel itself is beautiful and the room was excellent. However, the service—particularly at the front desk during both check-in and check-out—fell well below the standard expected of a five-star property. Staff were not particularly helpful when assistance was needed, and the overall experience lacked the professionalism and customer care one would expect at this price level. The most frustrating issue has been the payment process. At check-in, the hotel placed a pre-authorisation of almost €10,000 on my card. At check-out, they processed the final payment of over €10,000, meaning that almost €20,000 of my funds became unavailable. Although the hotel has already received full payment, I have been informed that I now have to wait 7–10 working days before the original authorisation is released. This unnecessarily ties up a substantial amount of my own money. My bank confirmed that only the merchant can initiate the release, yet the hotel has not taken any meaningful action to resolve the issue promptly. For a hotel of this calibre, I expected a far more proactive approach to customer service and payment issues. Instead, I was left to deal with the problem myself while travelling. A luxury hotel should deliver not only excellent facilities but also excellent customer care. Unfortunately, in my case, the service did not justify the premium price. I hope the management reviews its procedures for card authorisations and provides better support to future guests.