We have a early (5:15 a.m.) flight departure from Athens to Amsterdam. Recommendations/suggestions of a reasonable priced hotel that is close and easy to get to the airport from?
Or should we stay in Athens (Plaka) and have a late night dinnner and then go to the airport and sleep there? Sleep friendly airport? Good transportation late at night?
Thanks for your help in advance!!
The closest hotel to the airport is the Sofitel. It's a 5-minute walk from the Main Hall. But it's very expensive. The Attica Avenue Holiday Inn is about 20 minutes away and they have a shuttle bus. I don't know if it operates so early in the morning, you'll have to contact them and ask.
The St. Thomas B&B and Peri's Hotels are not far away either.
http://www.stay-in-athens.com/index.htm
With these two you'd have to enlist the assistance of the owners to make sure a taxi was there to take you to the airport around 3 AM. If you stay in Central Athens you can get a room near Syntagma Square and take the Airport Express Bus #95 from alongside Syntagma. It leaves every half-hour 24/7/365. Check the Pan, Arethusa, Amazon and Metropolis Hotels.
The airport is one of the least sleep-friendly I've seen but there's an upstairs area just outside the chapel that's quiet. Taxis cost double between midnight and 6 AM.
If you don't find a hotel close by, I suggest you sleep in the airport. My wife and I have slept in the airports at Milan and San Francisco, but only after reading comments on this page:
sleepinginairports.net/list.asp?region=1&country=Greece&city=Athens&terminal=Eletherios+Venizelos.
You can read hundreds of reports about other airports also if you are interested.
