Back to Athens after nine years, and it’s the rare chance for me to stay at a Melia hotel again. €178 for two nights with breakfast included is a satisfying price, until it dropped again by a further €30 not long after I booked, oh well…

Location of the Melia Athens is good, but not great. The neighbourhood seems a bit rough, but it’s just 25 minutes on foot to the Acropolis which is a nice stroll for walkers. The Omonia metro station is fairly close, which brings you to the Acropolis and seaside directly.

I got trapped in a big traffic jam in Thessaloniki, followed by a flight delay, and was exhausted when I arrived at the hotel. Man from the front desk learned Chinese for a few years – we had a short but delightful conversation before I went to my room.

I am Melia Gold, but it doesn’t come with room upgrade as a benefit. I did however claim a room-upgrade voucher as my birthday gift, and it is time to test it. The voucher allows you to choose the room of a higher category during online check-in:

It’s only one-category, and only confirmed 48 hours before arrival, so not hugely useful. On the bright side, they are very efficient and I could see my room number in the app in the morning.

I got an upgrade to Supreme Room VIP Experience:

View from my room:

The bathroom has a very funky design, which converts part of the bathtub into a shower cabin.

The tub has built-in jacuzzi jets for a nice massage:

Dates and preserved fruits as the welcome gift for my Gold status:

The room is more or less the same with a standard Supreme Room, but with some VIP Experience addons:

• Welcome drink
• Free breakfast
• 20% dining discount
• Free fast wi-fi
• Coffee machine
• Upgraded bath amenities
• Early check-in and late check-out

Although its rooms are tired, the hotel has a nice rooftop swimming pool on the 8th floor.

Nice view of Mount Lycabettus.

It looks quite fancy in a different way at night.

Gym, sauna and steam room are on the same floor.

My welcome drink:

Breakfast is served at the Vivendo restaurant on the mezzanine floor until 10.30am. There’s also a late breakfast option at Cafe Mondo afterwards, but I’m not sure whether the offering is the same.

This is the usual buffet you find in Europe. The Spanakopita – Greek spinach pie – is pretty good.

It’s not a top-grade hotel, but in general it doesn’t have any major flaw and the rooftop pool is a big highlight. If you don’t mind the slightly odd location, Melia Athens is worth considering when the price is right.