As part of our trip home, we flew into Athens the day before our Air France flight to Dallas via Paris. I had initially planned to stay at the Sofitel Athens Airport but Mrs. ATX Jetsetter convinced me to stay in the city. We had a very early flight to Paris but she made the convincing argument that there wouldn’t be any traffic at 4:00a.
Booking
I booked our one night stay at the Moxy Athens direct through Marriott.com. The location of the hotel in the heart of Athens and the relatively inexpensive $130/night rate made the decision easy. While far from a luxury hotel, we planned to spend most of our time sightseeing with just a short night of sleep at the hotel so it made sense for us.
Location
The hotel is located across from the Omonia Square in the center of Athens. From the airport, we had a roughly 45 minute drive into the city with moderate traffic. The hotel is one of the few hotels in the center of Athens that can be found at a reasonable price and is within walking distance of many of the sights in the city. The hotel is also fairly new, having just opened in early 2022.
The hotel building is sandwiched between some apartment buildings on the southeast corner of the square. It is fairly easy to spot, especially if you look for the large red and black dog statues that are out front.
Lobby/Check-In
The Moxy brand is geared towards younger travelers and that means you may notice a few quirks during your stay. The first, and most noticeable IMO, is the lack of a check-in desk. All Moxy guests check in at the hotel lobby bar. Since we arrived before 11:00a, everyone was waiting to check-in/out, but I could see this getting hectic for late evening arrivals with bartenders trying to serve guests and check people in.
Surprisingly, though it was 10:45a, a room was ready for us. I’m sure my Marriott Titanium status helped somewhat. We were given our room keys as well as the offer of a complimentary welcome cocktail. What the heck, we are still on vacation for one more day.
Room
Our room was located on the 4th floor and was on the smaller side, which was to be expected. But decently well appointed. Our room featured a queen sized bed, which had a nightstand on one side and a nightstand/bench combo on the other.
Across from the bed was a small, fold down desk as well as a flat screen TV mounted on the wall.
Next to the window was a small seating area with a table.
The windows had a view out over the square but had an iron lattice work over them. However, there was a button in the room where you could control the angle of these to adjust your view.
Back in the entryway was a small area to hang clothes and store suitcases.
Across from that was a very small bathroom. While it was laid out well, it would be hard for two people to even stand side by side here. Also, all the toiletries were muk. branded and came in mounted, multi-use bottles.
Property Overview
In lieu of a traditional lobby, the Moxy has a lounge area called “The Now” which was split into two levels. The lower level consisted of a variety of seating areas including some fun hanging chairs.
Upstairs was a smaller, loft space that had a communal table with some tabletop games as well as a small business center. There were also some more private, cubby type seating available here.
Summary
Overall, we enjoyed our stay at the Moxy in Athens. Though the hotel is small and has a few quirks, the location in the middle of the city and the price couldn’t be beat. Couple that with the fact that the hotel still felt fresh and new, it was well worth the price. While I wouldn’t want to stay more than a couple of nights at a Moxy, it was great for our quick overnight stay and I would definitely stay here again if we make a return trip to Athens.
