The Athens Marriott is right across the street from the beautiful Stavros center that looked to me like a world class entertainment venue. However, it’s location away from all the sties you’d want to visit does mean you’ll be ordering a taxi or waiting for the bus a significant portion of the time.
Location
The Athens Marriott is located 3.3 miles southwest of Syntagma square. I thought using Syntagma square was the easiest way to navigate because it is the center of town. The presidential palace is there as well as all the shops, stores, and eateries. From here, you’ll be able to easily get to many of the sites in Athens since this is a major stop for the metro and the bus systems.
That said, it isn’t really walkable from the hotel. It was usually about a 10 min taxi ride (about 6 Euros) to/from the square. I don’t know how long the walk would have been, but in the summer heat, I’m sure it would have felt like ages.
To get here from the airport, it isn’t a small task either. You can take the bus (the X95 or X96 bus lines work fine) but the stops are still a good 3/4 mile away from the hotel. Again, it’s just not convenient to be dragging your suitcase through the streets and depending on your arrival time, you may not want to be walking around at night when you’re not familiar with the streets.
In terms of a metro stop, there really isn’t one close by. The closest would probably be Kallithea and even that isn’t close. You could transfer to the tram and get off at Tzitziphies station. However, that puts you on the opposite side of a very busy street that you’ll have to cross. Then you’ll have to walk the length of the Stavros complex and find the underpass that will spit you out in front of the hotel. The walk from the tram station was about a 30 min walk so it isn’t a short stroll.
From the airport, I would utilize the public transportation to get close to the hotel but then switch to a taxi if you’re unsure of your arrival time. I wouldn’t recommend taking a taxi all the way from the airport because that would be an obscene amount (maybe aroun 75 Euros?) because of all tolls along the way.
Room
I was given a Premium room with views of the sea and the Stravos center. It’s a basic room with all the standard amenities you’d expect. It wasn’t anything to blow you away so I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Amenities
Breakfast was served downstairs in the main restaurant. It served a buffet but due to Covid distancing, the food was all behind plexiglass and was served to you by one of the chefs. You could also eat outside in the shaded patio area which almost looked liked an extension of the hotel lobby.
The hotel also had a rooftop pool (with an on duty lifeguard who may have the easiest job in the world). There’s also a couple restaurants/bars as well although I never saw many people in there.
Right next to reception is the club open to platinum members and above. They had a daily happy hour for 2 hour where they werved appetizers as well as wine and beer. The appetizers changed daily and it was nice to go in for a snack and watch the Euro Cup with some fans. Again, due to Covid, the appetizers were brought out by a member of staff. I guess there was nothing preventing you from asking for more if you wanted but I didn’t see anyone doing it. What was nice was the ability to go in and fill up water bottles because you definitely go through a lot when you’re out exploring the city.
Red and White Wine Dispenser 
Club Room 
Lobby Area 
Rooftop Restaurant 
Rooftop Bar 
Rooftop Pool
Final Thoughts
The Athens Marriott hotel is a fine hotel with an excellent staff. However, the location just doesn’t do it any favors. It’s impossible to rely on public transportation since the bus system is reliably unreliable. However, there are a few good eateries within walking distance which is nice if you don’t want to eat in the hotel. If this is your first trip to Athens, I’d recommend trying to stay somewhere closer or at least closer to the metro stop so you won’t have to rely on taxis so much.
A Single Wanderer 