Hotel Athena, Delphi
This hotel was fine except for one major maintenance problem which makes a difference between my giving the place 1 and 4-1/2 stars: when I arrived, there was a folded-up towel on the floor, under the pipe connecting the toilet bowel to the wall. When I flushed the toilet, one or more ounces of waste water seemed to be leaking out of this pipe and slowly spreading across the bathroom floor. The pipe seemed to be covered with duct tape and plaster, as if somebody had tried to fix it in an amateur way. 3 towels were provided; I ended up putting 2 of them on the bathroom floor to soak up the waste water leaking from the toilet-pipe.
Other observations: The rest of the hotel was fine. The mattress was softer than my other hotels because the springs felt much easier to compress. Hotel had nice wood furniture and nice wood paneling on the walls. Shower had a curtain, unlike other hotels I stayed in on this trip. When I asked about luggage storage, the employee said could leave my stuff in the bus station, but then said I could leave it behind the front desk – I am subtracting ½ star due to lack of a luggage-storage closet, like in the other places I stayed at in Greece.
Athens Studios hostel, Athens.
I stayed here 5 nights, October 8-13, 2018. It took the employee at the check-in desk more than 20 minutes and at least one phone-call to his supervisor, to figure out how to process my credit-card payment. Room has an electronic key-card, unlike and other places I stayed at on my trip. Room had a small refrigerator, a two burner electric stove, dishes, and silverware. I was in a room with two bunk beds – 4 person mixed gender. A sliding glass door-wall led to a small balcony. The room smelled ok even though I saw cigarette butts in an ashtray on the balcony . On my second night here, there were loud noises from a road resurfacing project taking place on the street right next to the hostel. I participated in a 3-1/2 hour walking tour advertised next to the check in desk. Towel rental was only one euro with no deposit. The maid took back my towel after the second night. Then I used my own towel, which I had intended only to use to dry my clothes. On my last two nights here, I could barely sleep because one of my room mates was snoring. On the evening the snorer arrived, he put his stuff in the room, went out, came back later, drunk, passed out on floor, and began loudly snoring. Perhaps this will be my last time staying in a hostel.