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Hotel Grande Bretagne, Athens

1 Vasileos Georgiou A, Syntagma Square Str, Athina 105 64, Greece (show on map)

Expert reviews

CNN review:

“The grande dame of hotels in Athens sits opposite the Parliament on Syntagma Square and has been a beacon of luxury and sophistication in the city for many years. There are many draws to this 1842-vintage building that used to be a private mansion.”

Lonely Planet review:

“If you aspire to the best, the place to stay in Athens is – and always has been – the Grande Bretagne, right on Syntagma Sq. Built in 1862 to accommodate visiting heads of state, it ranks among the grandest hotels in the world.”

Fodors review:

“With a guest list that includes more than a century’s worth of royals, rock stars, and heads of state, the landmark Grande Bretagne remains the most exclusive hotel in Athens. Built in 1842, the hotel still reflects its original grandeur.”

Featured as Fodor’s Choice in Athens.

Frommers review:

“The best rooms have balconies overlooking Syntagma Square with a view of the daily changing of the guard and the son et lumier show on the Acropolis most evenings. Just about everybody who’s anybody has stayed here including Winston Churchill, any number of Kennedys, and Madonna.”

Featured as Frommer’s Exceptional Choice in Athens.

Forbes review:

“A landmark hotel crowning central Syntagma Square, Hotel Grande Bretagne has been a centerpiece of the capital city since debuting in 1874. Since then, the hotel has hosted royalty, heads of state and stars like Sophia Loren and Sean Connery, plus artists on tour like Jay-Z and David Bowie.”

Telegraph review:

“A local institution, this is the grande dame of Athenian hotels. Whenever heads of state and Hollywood stars come to the Greek capital, this is where they stay. Glamorous rooms, gracious service, an opulent spa and superb rooftop dining have earned the ‘GB’ a place among the world’s best hotels.”

Guest rating

4.6 out of 5.0

Ranked 8th in Athens


This an aggregated guest review rating of Hotel Grande Bretagne, Athens. We have taken customer review ratings from hotel booking sites, search engines, the official hotel website and other travel platforms. This is the average of all those ratings. We only list places that have a guest review rating of at least 4.0 out of 5.0


What guests liked


Value for Money

89.08 %

Ranked 9th in Athens


We use a smart algorithm to determine the value for money each hotel offers. The score is based on a combination of aggregated guest review ratings and the average nightly rate. The higher the percentage, the better the overall value you receive for the price you pay.


All you need to know

Hotel Grande Bretagne is a total legend right on Syntagma Square. Built in 1842 as a mega-mansion for a wealthy businessman, it’s basically a living museum that has hosted everyone from Winston Churchill to Elizabeth Taylor.

The stunning Neoclassical design was pulled together by Danish architect Theophil Hansen, the same genius behind the Academy of Athens. It’s got that old-world European glamour that makes you feel like royalty the second you step inside.

Here is a wild historical nugget: during World War II, the hotel served as the headquarters for both the Greek government and later the Axis forces. Rumor has it there was even a secret plot to blow up the entire building while Churchill was staying there, but it was thwarted at the last second.

Today, its crown jewel is the rooftop pool and restaurant. You can sip an espresso or a cocktail while looking directly at the Acropolis—the view is so close it almost feels fake.

Location

Recent guest reviews

5.0
Yacov

17 November 2025

Exceptional

Our stay at the Hotel Grande Bretagne was truly exceptional. The service was outstanding – all staff were kind, attentive, and highly professional. The hotel itself is beautifully designed and maintained to the highest standards. The rooftop restaurant and bar offered breathtaking views of the Acropolis and the city – perfect for a romantic evening. The food was delicious, and breakfast was a real highlight. The location is unbeatable – right next to Syntagma Square and steps away from Ermou Street, where you can shop for hours. Special thanks to the team for accommodating our late check-out request. We will definitely return on our next trip to Athens. Highly recommended!

5.0
Aylaia

11 November 2025

Beautiful hotel in the heart of Athens

Beautiful hotel and wonderful location. The bar is fabulous and the hotel is brimming with history. This was our second visit.

NA

5.0
Christopher

17 October 2025

Exceptional

location, view, restaurants, spa, gym, room service - everything was excellent. Rooms were on the smaller size, which didn't really matter because we weren't spending much time there. Shower worked well but was not a stand alone; it faced into a tub.

5.0
Robert

14 October 2025

Exceptional

Great location and building

4.5
Dyan

10 October 2025

Fabulous

Beautiful building excellent location . Great views . Comfortable rooms and very helpful staff .

5.0
Randy

2 October 2025

The bed

Quality and location. Very elegant and central.

Nothing

4.5
Arnold

29 September 2025

Excellent short family stay

Perfect location

A bit pricey.

5.0
Doha

21 September 2025

Very expensive hotel but magnificent. historical , the roof top, lobby & the breakfast was super

The Location is the best in town

Small rooms

4.5
Sanela

11 September 2025

Fabulous

Location in the heart of the city!

4.5
Anna

28 August 2025

A fabulous place to stay in central Athens!

Amazing location, a superb traditional hotel run extremely efficiently and with very high standards.

The outdoor swimming pool/terrace was very over crowded.

4.5
Saoud

21 August 2025

Amazing and really enjoyed it

Rooftop - cigar lounge - everything was amazing

Payment method is outdated — blocking the amount first and releasing it later is really old school. Needs to be updated.

4.0
Nancy

11 July 2025

Very good

Staff check in excellent however cafe service left a lot to be desired. In a group of 7 people asked staff to assist and take orders. Ignored 5 times. In contrast the service in roof top restaurant excellent. Early check out and staff and bags were taken care of with no fuss.

Cafe Service

5.0
Mauricio

9 July 2025

Traditional hotel in central location

Location. Very central.

No

5.0
Alexander

9 July 2025

Exceptional

Location, property, staff and service

4.0
Mauricio

7 July 2025

Excelente location in traditional hotel

Location

Small pool and small room

5.0
Majd

26 June 2025

Exceptional

The staff were very helpful

Nothing

5.0
Randy

19 June 2025

The classic luxury hotel in Athens

Location

Small room

5.0
Diana

10 June 2025

Exceptional

Location, roof top restaurant, pool, good security, and very well trained staff.

Very minor things, for example paintings and lamp shades hanging crookedly in the room, hallway and downstairs restaurant.

5.0
Angela

30 May 2025

A memorable experience in the heart of Athens!

Amazing location, breathtaking view of the Acropolis. The staff was polite, friendly and highly professional. Facilities and catering were up to the highest standards. Truly impressed!

5.0
Svetlana

4 May 2025

Exceptional

Gorgeous rooftop, excellent food. Great vibe

Could not book a massage for my 17 year old daughter, even though everywhere else in the world in 5 star hotels ( 4 seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Kempinsky, Oberoy) it has Never Ever been a problem. At least there should be an option with a parent in the room. Made me feel very stressed not to have this option for my daughter.

5.0
Basil

23 April 2025

Superb hotel experience in Athens

Amazing location. High quality hotel. Staff exceptionally polite and very helpful. Restaurant on 8th floor has amazing views and also amazing cuisine. Highly recommend.

Liked everything

5.0
Joshua

4 April 2025

I wish I stayed longer in Athens just to spend more time at this hotel.

One of my favorite hotels ever. The staff were super accommodating and friendly. The food was incredible. The cigar bar was one of the nicest I have ever been to. I wish I stayed longer in Athens just to spend more time at this hotel. They helped us plan our trip to and from various airports and gave excellent advice on where we should and should not go. We will be coming back to Athens and only staying here from now on.

5.0
Marc

23 March 2025

Quite literally one of the most exquisite hotels in the world

Historic, majestic, expertly restored

The air conditioning was balky and we were a little cold at night

5.0
Christina

16 March 2025

celbrating a family special birthday, the ambience & service was beyong expectations, Fabulous!

i requested a twin room, on arrival my adukt sons were offered a double bed. This was resolved without any fuss and immediately

it was perfect

4.5
Assaf

4 March 2025

Fabulous

Location, comfort

5.0
Guy

3 March 2025

We will definitely visit again soon

Outstanding Breakfast and view to the Acropolis, great service and great guest needs identification.

5.0
Alexandra

20 February 2025

Exceptional

I've stayed at this hotel many times while traveling back and forth from London to Greece, and it remains one of my favorite hotels in the whole world. The experience is always exceptional, with great service and a welcoming atmosphere. I can't recommend it highly enough!

5.0
Maya

30 January 2025

Exceptional

Elena from the reception was amazing and helpful :)

nothing

5.0
Ömür

27 January 2025

Excellent 🌟

I loved the location, the way they’ve received us, the staff🌟The beautiful view of Acropolis from our room😍

4.0
Perla

6 January 2025

It was nice and great

Very good area

Very nice food

5.0
Penny

2 January 2025

Perfect room to be able to see the fireworks and Parthenon

Fantastic view from my balcony

5.0
Aira

2 January 2025

Perfect

Everything

4.5
Medhat

17 December 2024

Fabulous

Everything was excellent

Breakfast should include more varieties 😊

5.0
Korkut

5 December 2024

Exceptional

Perfect location , very nice view, comfortable room

4.5
Ella

23 November 2024

Fabulous

great location and the view from the rooftop restaurant is second to none!

5.0
Alla

12 November 2024

Fantastic hotel. Will definitely be back

Overall the hotel is fantastic. Staff is very friendly and helpful. Great location. Breakfast on the terrace overlooking Acropolis adds to the atmosphere.

5.0
Peggie

8 November 2024

Great location. Excellent restaurant at the rooftop.

Very clean and great location. Best dinner at their restaurant.

5.0
Maxim

1 November 2024

The place is worth every penny

First of all, photos do not do enough justice to the place. It looks great in pictures, however you get a truly "wow" feeling once you get there. Especially Alexander's Winter Palace. The best part of our stay was the anticipation to get back after a day's journey. The food was tasty, vegetables and fruits looked fresh, professional staff, clean place and fast internet speed. Why wouldn't we? :) One more thing that stood out was attention to details. For example, if you're an early morning coffee enthusiast, mini-bar is equipped with everything you need.

The gym size turned out to be small. Granted, there was an unusually large number of sport enthusiasts, it would be still great to have a couple of additional areas for weightlifting and stretching.

5.0
Lani

1 October 2024

Nothing I didn't like :-)

Comfortable

Nothing

5.0
Irene

20 September 2024

A great location with amazing Rooftop Bar & Restaurant overlooking the Acropolis

Our room was clean and well provided for with products and a desk was available to complete some work. Our bed was comfortable and our room quiet. This large older style hotel has many corridors and our room overlooked an outdoor space. The food quality and price was excellent with a great respresentation of some of the best wines from multiple regions in Greece. We enjoyed tasting these wines with good food.

The many twists & turns to arrive at the room. Our room had not recently been renovated and did not have a free standing shower, smaller than expected for the cost of the accommodation.

5.0
Miles

3 September 2024

Location, Food, Staff were all amazing!!

amazing view from restaurant, perfect location, beautiful old hotel with nice modern touches

5.0
Con

29 August 2024

Always our favourite hotel

Room, G8 Bar, breakfast, room service

Perhaps you can consider alternatives to secure umbrellas in the pool area. We weren’t able to have any shade because it was windy and it was extremely hot

5.0
Kimberly

25 August 2024

Exceptional

We had a city view and it was beautiful. The room was amazing

5.0
Cindy

2 August 2024

Best hotel EVER

Everything! What can you say? It’s the best hotel in Greece and likely one of the best in the world!

Nothing

5.0
David

26 June 2024

A wonderful property to stay at.

We were treated royally by the staff. Restaurant staff especially were attentive and friendly.

Everything was great

5.0
Helen

21 June 2024

As near to perfect as a hotel can get.

The classic surroundings. Beautifully kept. And the wonderful staff Nothing was too much trouble.

Nothing

5.0
Adams

17 June 2024

A beautiful experience!

Staying at Hotel Grande Bretagne was the peak experience of our three weeks in Greece. The excellent location, the magnificent views from our room, the wonderful meal, the caring service - everything was perfect. I'd especially like to thank the manager who got us the delightful room with a view. Thanks for your help and sympathy!

There was an initial disappointment about the room, but the manager fixed it.

4.5
Ferdinando

10 June 2024

Fabulous

great location and fantastic view from the rooftop terrace

the room was small

5.0
Rahul

10 June 2024

SOOOPER

ALL EXCELLENT

ALL ARE AS PER MY EXPECTATIONS

5.0
Marsha

3 June 2024

The location and service were wonderful.

Location and service

Expensive and still had to pay for breakfast

Hotel facilities

Food & Drink

  • - Restaurant
  • - Bar
  • - Breakfast in the room
  • - Special diet menus (on request)
  • - Kids' meals
  • - Wine/champagne (additional charge)

General

  • - Room service
  • - Non-smoking rooms
  • - Facilities for disabled guests
  • - Barber/beauty shop
  • - Lift
  • - Safety deposit box
  • - Soundproof rooms
  • - Packed lunches
  • - Car hire
  • - Heating
  • - Allergy-free room
  • - Non-smoking throughout
  • - Air conditioning
  • - Pet bowls

Business facilities

  • - Meeting/banquet facilities (additional charge)
  • - Fax/photocopying (additional charge)

Reception services

  • - 24-hour front desk
  • - Express check-in/check-out
  • - Tour desk
  • - Luggage storage
  • - ATM/cash machine on site
  • - Concierge service
  • - Invoice provided

Outdoors

  • - Terrace
  • - Outdoor pool
  • - Outdoor pool (seasonal)

Entertainment & family services

  • - Babysitting/child services (additional charge)

Cleaning services

  • - Laundry (additional charge)
  • - Dry cleaning (additional charge)
  • - Ironing service (additional charge)
  • - Daily housekeeping

Activities

  • - Massage (additional charge)
  • - Full body massage
  • - Walking tours (additional charge)
  • - Tour or class about local culture (additional charge)
  • - Live music/performance
  • - Bicycle rental

Pool and wellness

  • - Rooftop pool
  • - Pool with view
  • - Pool bar
  • - Sun loungers or beach chairs
  • - Sun umbrellas
  • - Swimming pool
  • - Swimming pool

Miscellaneous

  • - 24-hour security
  • - Key card access
  • - Security alarm
  • - Smoke alarms
  • - CCTV in common areas
  • - CCTV outside property
  • - Fire extinguishers
  • - Access to health care professionals
  • - Thermometers for guests provided by property
  • - Face masks for guests available
Check availability 274£244$339¥35934C$264A$264HK$2654S$447SFr318¥2152kr2796kr2047kr2640