Athens Marriott Advice

Have not stayed there but there have been a numver of reports on forum of people who have stayed at one of the big international "Chain" hotels, ad have discovered they are not near to any of the major landmarks, and one must walk at length or take taxis, so it mars their enjoyment, particularl if their time in Athens is very brief, or it is quiet hot or both.

Most people who seem to want to stay at these places re attratec by "points" which would enable them to stay free or reduced rates. Choosing these chains for "points" reasons in other big cities might not matter, because the hotels are right near center (as in NYC, right in mid-manhatran). But Athens is different. If you will do some homework and look at a map, t may help.

The Athens Marriott Hotel could be a solid option for an all-expenses-paid business trip covered by your company to attend a conference or business meetings.

However, it’s in a terrible location for a sightseeing trip. It is very far from the tourist center of Athens, situated in a pretty dull neighborhood, with the sole exception of being right across the street from the SNFCC (Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center), which is definitely worth spending some time at.

In fact, you can see the Marriott from the SNFCC's rooftop bar, as shown at the end of a video in this photo album:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KkGQHCfqmbCoWLW29"

Thank you for your feedback and the photos. We have 3 nights on the front end of our trip and I am a Marriott Platinum member who is usually upgraded to better room and other ammenities. The hotel runs a shuttle that takes guests to Syntagma square. The neighborhood is quieter than the city center may not be a bad thing as we are in our 70's.

Have you stayed there?

Athens is one of those cities that hotel loyalty should not be a first priority. Choose your hotel based on location. NOT your hotel status. Most of the chain hotels in Athens are in pretty lousy locations so that the charm of walking out your hotel to see the sites and strolling to the Acropolis for instance, becomes more of shuttle or taxi experience battling traffic on busy streets. Find a charming hotel in the Plaka and experience Athens the way it is meant to be.

It’s true that, in a way, the neighborhood where the Marriott is located is quieter than downtown, mostly because there is absolutely nothing interesting to see or do there (aside from the SNFCC I mentioned earlier). But speaking of "quiet," the hotel actually overlooks the massive Syngrou Avenue, which is an 8-lane road that’s basically a highway at that point in the city. You won't be able to cross it on foot; you have to use one of the pedestrian underpasses.

Syngrou Avenue:

https://youtu.be/CLjKoLQ2hGU

The real Athens is more like this:

https://youtu.be/nKtClN9Mttg

Still on the subject of "quiet," I hope you’ve noticed the many reviews mentioning this issue (specifically the noise from the avenue and the poor soundproofing of the rooms).

The hotel runs a shuttle that takes guests to Syntagma square.

I don’t see any mention of a shuttle on the Marriott website, but a booking platform does note that a shuttle service operates from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM every day except weekends and holidays.
Given these limited hours, I think this shuttle is honestly pretty useless.

If it helps, here was my thinking on the Marriott.

First, like you - my first choice was the Marriott to maximize benefits and points for my multi-night stay last fall, 2025.

I read advice such as that above and considered how I wanted to spend my time in Athens. I decided against the Marriott. When I had a taxi ride past the place and a drive through the surrounding neighborhood to drop off several passengers following a small group tour, I was glad I choose an area closer to the main sites.

Despite the reviews of the Marriott being good, I will not book on a return trip. Having seen the location and knowing there are other options closer to sightseeing venues, it just isn't worth going for the benefits at the expense of better location.

I suspect the shuttle won't be as convenient as might seem - no easy back and forth to hotel during the day. Are you planning to supplement with taxi?

Yes, I figured we Ubers whenever we needed.

Since you're determined to stay at the Marriott, that's your choice.

Just so you know, Uber drivers are banned in Greece, only official licensed taxis are allowed. However, some taxi drivers do use the Uber app . The other popular app used by Greek taxis is FreeNow.

The bus stop right in front of the hotel is served by three bus lines: B2, 550, and E90. All these lines will take you to the Syggrou Fix metro station, which is just a few minutes' walk from the Acropolis Museum.

You can pay on the bus by tapping your contactless Visa or Mastercard on the validator (or by using a Apple or Google payment app).

That's very helpful information, thank you!

@arubino56 - why not explore other Bonvoy options closer to the heart? Your privileges and points would still apply, but you'd be in a more useful area of the city.

I choose Marriott properties quite often, but often choose within the "family" for better options - usually location specific.

I will add my vote to looking at other options! I visited Athens numerous times, now lived in Greece for 20 years, 13 of them in Athens, in that time I’ve met & spent time with many, many tourists & some things that they found important are primarily location, proximity to all that they want to see, eating & drinking options & probably most importantly for older visitors & those with young families is accommodation that they can return to easily for a break in the afternoon, Athens is very walkable but can get tiring & that convenience to have an hour or two to rest & freshen up if needed comes high on many people’s list. The other obvious thing from your info provided is that it’s a short stay & you’ll waste so much time travelling back & forth, waiting for buses, taxis or the shuttle when available, the benefits you’ll get aren’t worth it if you want to utilise your time seeing as much as you can in that short stay.
I travel around Athens daily on public transport & unless you are close to a metro station & so is where you’re heading to it can eat up a lot of your day! I’m familiar with the transport system & what buses or trolleys I will need for each journey but have to leave my house way earlier than you would expect to get anywhere on time. The last few times I got a taxi because the destination was a complicated & long winded route on public transport I had to wait ages for them too, one app took 20 minutes to even find an available taxi then I still had to wait for it to get to me & I have 5 different taxi apps on my phone :(

IF you want quiet, with convenience, you might look at hotels just or just West of the Acropollis "precinct." That's because this area has no large streets, and many pedestrianized lanes (no cars), and low-rise buildings, many of them with protected status. This online map is useful to show this -- https://tinyurl.com/ycd2mx83 (click & it gets huuuge -- put acropolis in center, and use side-slides to navigate). Consider hotels that are near to the number 24 on the map (Acropolis Museum) and the SOUTH entrance to Acropolis area (just below @73). Just soutth of the Museum are "sister hotels" Herodion and Phillipos ... and just east of these on tiny Makri Street, Hotel Airotel Parthenon. All of these have upper floor windows and some balconies with Acropolis view, and are blessedly close by when you want to get back to your room and rest up.

Thank you to all for your advice!