Minoa in Athens

The staff at the hotel were very friendly, so I can't fault them for their service.

The area of the hotel is incredibly sketchy and rough and looks like something out of a horror film, especially at night. I am very angry at booking.com because I searched for a hotel in Monastiraki and this hotel came up though it certainly was not there. This hotel is in an area called Onomnia which has a reputation for being rough although the main square isn't as bad I have found out that people mainly say to avoid the backstreets and alleyways. The unfortunate thing is this hotel is located opposite those backstreets and alleyways, so to get to this hotel I had to walk through those really sketchy streets at night, and I really didn't feel safe. I understand that this isn't the hotels fault and I sympathise with them. However at the same time people should be making well informed decisions about their stay and if you are looking for a budget hotel that's centrally located at a good price then perhaps this is for you, but if you really value feeling safe in terms of the area that you're staying and don't want to be looking over your shoulder constantly, then I would think twice about staying here.

In terms of the rooms, they are outdated. The view from my balcony was to an alleyway which had a cluster of drug addicts and homeless people. The beds also were not that comfortable and the sheets kept becoming loose at night and there was no duvet provided. It was just a thin cotton sheet with a what felt like polyester blanket on top.

Stayed here for 5 nights with family of 4 including 2 children. The hotel is well priced and is clean and tidy. The staff are very friendly and helpful and speak English. The hotel is located a 5 minutes walk from the Metaxourghio metro station which will get you to the acropolis in 20 minutes, and allows easy access to all parts of central Athens. There is a small cafe that you can access through the lobby that serves pastries and sandwiches as well as coffee and beer. We had breakfast there most days of our stay.

The room was large with a huge master bed bigger than a king-size and two single beds for the kids. There was a small fridge in the room, air conditioning and a TV. The bathroom had a toilet, sink and shower.

The decor was a bit dated and the room could do with a refresh. The bed broke on our first night but the staff came out and fixed it the next morning (a side bracket had come loose). The shower head in the shower didn't fit in the mount very well so it was precariously balanced or you just had to hold the head. The toilet seat was loose and wobbled a bit when sat on. The biggest problem we had with the room was the outside noise. Our room was on the sixth floor and even with the window closed you could hear traffic and street noise.

The other downside is the surrounding area is very rough. The walk to the metro is ok but go the opposite direction towards Omonia and there are lots of homeless people and drug addicts right on the street within about 200-300m of the hotel. We didn't have any incidents but it was very uncomfortable walking past them.

It is a real shame as otherwise for the price we paid (€70 a night) and given the central location this hotel is good value.