Review: Athens4 hotel with kids, Athens

You’re not short of a choice of hotels for a city break in Athens with kids, but when it comes to finding somewhere family-friendly, cool and in a great location, as my Athens4 review shows, you should definitely keep this hotel on the wishlist.

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Set in a converted factory, the hotel has been transformed with the kind of boutique décor you’d want from a stylish escape but also has two types of family rooms to make it practical if you’re travelling with kids.

Starting our four-night stay in the Greek capital here, here’s everything you need to know in my review of Athens4 with kids.

For more tips, check out my guide to Greece with kids

Athens4 hotel review: vital statistics

Set down a pedestrian side street just off one of the busier roads through Athens, you wouldn’t immediately guess that Athens4 is a converted clothing factory unless you already knew.

Walking in to the reception, with wallpaper that transports you straight to a jungle, featuring monkeys and brightly coloured birds among the foliage, it’s all far more eye-catching than industrial.

Part of the Athens Urban Hotels group, Athens4 has 23 rooms, including two-bedroom family suites, all decorated slightly differently. And while there’s no restaurant on site, there is a buffet breakfast in reception every morning.

Around five minutes from Monastiraki Square, as well as 15 minutes from Syntagma, it’s a handy location for exploring, and there are restaurants galore a stone’s throw away.

There are several Metro stations within walking distance, including lines M1 and M3 at Monastiraki itself (which goes directly to the airport and the port at Piraeus) while Panepistimio is less than 10 minutes away for line M2.

As we were arriving relatively late at night, we chose to get a transfer with Welcome Pickups (at 44 Euros, slightly less than a taxi from the airport), which dropped us moments away at the top of the street, as there’s no through traffic past the hotel.

Review: Athens4 hotel with kids

Walking into our family suite, my first thought was how big it was – the first section alone was bigger than some hotel rooms I’ve stayed in and my daughter briefly thought there was no second room, and that we’d be sleeping in the bunk beds.

My second thought was how fun it was for younger kids, especially. As well as the double bunk bed (which also had a third pull out bed in the base), there are a few fun touches if you’re visiting with little ones – a small plastic rocking horse, and a little tent filled with plastic balls as a sort of mini ball pit.

For slightly older kids, there are also games to play, including Uno Deluxe, and we were also welcomed with a few sweet treats, including two chocolate ring doughnuts, which – frankly – works for any age.

Fun though it might be to relive my own childhood and clamber into the bunks, happily that wasn’t essential, with a super comfy king-size bed in the second room, separated by a glass sliding door – very useful if you’re travelling with younger kids and don’t want to have to sit quietly in the dark after their bedtime.

The cool décor continues here too: each room is decorated slightly differently, ours in deep green shades with more jungle-themed wallpaper – this time birds of paradise flowers adding a splash of red to the green leaves.

Book directly at Athens4 or with free cancellation on Booking.com

The floor is a stripped white wood effect so it doesn’t seem too dark, continuing into the bathroom (which has deep green tiles as well as white ones, to continue the colour theme).

The toiletries are equally tempting: the organic Greek Apivita range, with Green honey and orange shampoo and conditioner, Greek Honey and Mountain Tea shower gel and body lotion – they all smelled absolutely divine.

There’s also a double sink in the bathroom, with space around for your own products, which is useful for bigger families, plus a separate toilet and a huge walk-in wet room – the rainhead shower was pleasingly powerful after days of walking miles around Athens.

It’s worth knowing that the shower floor does get slippery though: it’s fine for adults, but younger kids might have more problems.

There are essentials like a decent hairdryer, and water provided (one free bottle per person per day, as well as water in reception) plus a little minibar with soft drinks and local beer, those sweet treats (loukoumi one day, candied nuts another) and a Nespresso machine.

Again, a note said a capsule would be provided per person per day, although there were never actually any in the room – I had brought my own, being fussy about my coffee, but I’m sure you could have requested them.

Add in a few chairs and a big green day bed, which doubled as a sofa (or might come in handy if you wanted to stay in the kids’ part of the room to begin with) and it’s all very well equipped.

One of the few downsides was the lack of storage. There were some hooks, and some hangers cleverly arranged in a couple of places around the rooms, but no drawers/cupboards.

The main bedroom did have a couple of green metal cubes, where you could put things on top, so with just two of us staying for two nights, we could manage, but for a bigger family, expect to be living partly out of a suitcase or have clothes piled up around the room.

The other downside was the noise: ear plugs were provided, and it wasn’t as loud in the kids’ area (as it’s cushioned slightly by the main bedroom, especially if you close the sliding doors) but you can expect some music and noise until around midnight as well as the sound of shops and cafes opening at around 7am.

It didn’t actually bother us particularly – my daughter slept through it all, and apart from one slightly early awakening as a shop’s shutters rolled up, so did I – but it might well be trickier during peak season, especially if you have any light sleepers.

The trade-off, of course, is that you’re right in the heart of things – it took us less than 15 minutes to stroll to the Changing of the Guard on our first morning, with the National Gardens just beyond.

Monastiraki Square is 5 minutes’ walk away, the cafes and street art of Psirri are on the doorstep, and it takes less than 15 minutes to reach Plaka on foot. While it’s just under 20 minutes to the Acropolis, you can easily take the Metro a stop or two if you want to save your legs.

For more tips on getting around Athens and things to do in Athens with kids, check out this post

All fuelled by the great breakfast buffet, of course, with a few Greek specialities – spanakopita, delicious Greek yoghurt – alongside fresh bread, jams, cereals, fruit, meat, cheese, hard-boiled eggs and fruit. You can even squeeze your own fresh orange juice as well as having fresh coffee.

The staff were always lovely too, whether you’re looking for tips on where to go and where to eat, or happily accepting a takeaway pizza for us, when we were simply too exhausted after all our exploring to eat out one evening.

If you are looking to self-cater, needless to say you don’t have the facilities you’d find in an apartment – check out my review of Acro Urban Suites aparthotel for an alternative

Athens4 review: the verdict

Cool and family-friendly isn’t a combination you often find in hotels, so Athens4 is already ahead of the crowd – boutique enough for adults (or Insta-conscious tweens and teens), child-friendly enough for little ones, and ticking the practical boxes too.

After having spent plenty of nights sitting quiet as a mouse in a darkened hotel room as my daughter slept, I know that having the separate space really makes a difference with younger kids too.

And I coveted the wallpaper (and that indulgently comfortable bed) almost as much as the delicious smelling toiletries.  A proper slice of Greek style.

Book directly at Athens4 or with free cancellation on Booking.com

Disclosure: My stay at Athens4 hotel with kids was free for the purposes of review – all opinions are my own and my daughter’s. This post contains affiliate links – any purchases you make are unaffected but I may receive a small commission

Images copyright MummyTravels

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