This blog post has been created in collaboration with Jet2.
Amongst the house purchasing, renovating, moving chaos, travel wasn’t really on our 2023 bingo cards sadly. However, Jet2 have recently launched flights to Athens, and when they appeared in my inbox offering the chance to take a little Greek city break, I just couldn’t say no.
We were able to choose early morning flights from London Stansted which had us landing in Greece at 11am local time to make the most of our time there. I have only flown with Jet2 once before, and this was Connor’s first trip with them but we were really impressed with how quick and easy bag drop was, how friendly and accommodating all the staff were, and also how reasonably priced the snacks were on board!
It’s worth noting we also paid extra to sit in the exit aisle for extra legroom. It worked out around £30 per flight for both of us, and was definitely worth the money for our four hours on board. I’m not sure I’d bother on a shorter flight as the regular seats were definitely roomy enough, but since we’re both quite tall we did appreciate the extra space!
Located right next to the Omonia metro station, we were able to hop on the metro at the airport to reach the Jet2Holidays Brown Acropol Hotel in 40 minutes (we used Citymapper to navigate and it was really straightforward with only one train change). I tend to get a little bit of what I call ‘hotel anxiety’ before a trip, but as soon as we walked into the Brown Acropol’s lobby I knew we were going to be grand. This hotel oozes 60’s luxury, every room appointed carefully in an upscale retro aesthetic, from the record tables, to disco balls, to the soundtrack.
Despite arriving a few hours before official check in time we were able to go straight up to our room, with concierge following with our luggage and glasses of prosecco!
Any room decorated with houseplants is going to be a win in my book, never mind one with a rich rusty brown and mustard aesthetic. With all the essential trimmings of a luxury hotel room (high thread count sheets, a Nespresso machine, well stocked mini bar, luxurious bathroom) and a few touches of that retro lifestyle (we loved the mustard rotary phone, turntable and glass bar cart!) the rooms at the Brown Acropol have everything you could want. For a romantic couples’ city break you couldn’t ask for anything more.
Our room was a Deluxe Balcony Room, and despite this overlooking a fairly busy main road, it was nice and quiet with no road noise at all. The hotel is roughly a ten minute walk from the central square of Athens, making it the perfect base for city adventures. And since the hotel is situated on the same block as a metro station, should you want to navigate further out of the city, it would be super straightforward. Our room more spacious than I was expecting for a city room, but I love that this hotel also offers smaller single rooms which are perfect for solo travellers!
I do love a dark and moody bathroom, and this one certainly fit the bill. Appointed with brass hardware and marble slabs, it was a welcome sight after an early start and morning traveling. The waterfall shower was exactly what we needed for refreshment after time exploring the city too.
The room is also well kitted out with amenities from local Greek brand Olive Era, and we actually liked the products so much we picked up a few at the airport before our flight home!
Is it bad to say that my favourite part of a hotel stay is the breakfast? I just love a breakfast buffet, whether it’s the part where I don’t have to cook, or the part where I get endless options for what to eat. And breakfast at the Brown Acropol was no exception, I knew things were going to be good when we walked in and saw the prosecco and bloody mary bar!
Located in the rooftop bar, breakfast is a traditional greek affair, expect greek salads, shakshouka, roasted potatoes and aubergines, tzatziki, fava bean dip, amongst other things. There are plenty of continental meats and cheeses, yogurts, pastries and fruit available too, and you can order omelettes from the staff made to order. My highlight was absolutely the fresh croissants with melted chocolate to dip them in, absolutely heavenly! We looked forward to breakfast every morning and definitely took our time and tried a bit of everything over our four days at the hotel!
I usually don’t expect much of city centre hotels when it comes to amenities – the most important amenity is it’s location! But the Brown Acropol wasn’t holding back when it came to the extras. A well equipped gym with a range of cardio and weight machines, a small spa that you could arrange private use of for free, and my favourite, the rooftop hot tubs. I’m pretty sure these rooftop hot tubs are the only reason we were able to do so much on our trip, we were averaging 20,000 steps a day and an afternoon soak in the sunshine was the perfect antidote to sore muscles. Plus, nothing quite says ‘vacation mode on’ like sinking into a giant hot tub in the warm sunshine with an ice cold gin in hand, does it? Add in 360 city views and the Akropolis as your backdrop, I think my favourite moments of this trip were spent in the hot tub!
Other things worth noting:
- From Omonia station outside the hotel you can be at the Akropolis metro station in five minutes, so if you’re planning an early start to be the first in the Akropolis, you won’t need to factor in long travel times. We left the hotel at 7.30 and were the first people in the queue and through the gates when the Akropolis opened at 8am.
- The only times we used the metro were to reach the other side of the Akropolis, and to travel to and from the airport. Although the metro is super affordable (1.20€ for 90 minutes travel) the beauty of this hotel – and Athens as a whole – is that it’s an easily walkable city. Pack comfortable shoes, and this hotel is the perfect base.
- This hotel has a wealth of great places to eat nearby, we made great use of the bakery nearby, Veneti Great Bageion, for late night cake and also afternoon sandwiches on the hotel roof. Our favourite though? Alex the Fresh Pasta Bar, a ten minute walk to reach, but a fifteen minute waddle back when you’re full of the best pasta you’ll ever eat.
When it comes to planning your next trip, I can’t recommend looking at Jet2CityBreaks to Athens enough. We didn’t know what to expect from our first trip to mainland Greece, but we honestly had the best time. I think four days is the perfect amount of time to see a good amount of Athens’ rich history, and also soak up the atmosphere, but you could easily spend a full week here and not see half of what the city has to offer.
Jet2 have so many great options when it comes to package holidays to Greece, and we had such a positive experience travelling with them, be sure to check them out for your next trip!
Thank you so much to Jet2 for this amazing opportunity, this trip was the perfect escape for us!