Gay-friendly hotel in the heart of Athens, with staff that really go out of their way to help you around this maddeningly fun city which is all Greek to me.

13 odyseos street ,Karaiskaki sq. 10436 Athens,www.hotel-rio-gr

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This is a hotel of the future. Facing a tranquil green park in the Kifissia area of north Athens, the hotel is boutique style with fluid design, soft style that mingles rounded forms with bright, lively colours. It offers internet TVs complete with cordless keyboards that come as standard. For more local interaction, guests can check out the hotel's two-level restaurant and bar, where the modern Greek, European and international flavours of the menu are mirrored in the cosmopolitan blend that make up the Semiramis' clientele. It is a must for those who love design hotels! ₤155 per night.

Harilaou Trikoupi 48, 14562 Kifissia, Athens, Greece Tel +30210 6284400 Fax +30210 6284499 www.semiramisathens.com

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Bright, fresh and sleek, this hotel is a cool retreat from the Athens heat. Downtown in the heart of the city, it's a stylish, urban resort with unconventional atmosphere and thoughtful service. With simple lines and vivid colours, the hotel surrounds guests in absolute calm.

26 Sofokleous & Klisthenous Street, 105 52 Athens, Greece email: info@freshhotel.gr tel +30 210 5248511, fax +30 210 5248517

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Although high-end budget, it’s worth shelling out that little bit extra for this boutique hotel in the heart of ancient Athens. Its upper back rooms and bar terrace have an unrivalled view of the Acropolis and its ramparts. Recently renovated, the hotel is a stone’s throw away from the bars, cafes and restaurants of Plaka and trendy Psirri. Double room: €95 (low season); €145 (high season). Single room: €85 (low season); €115 (high season).

Mitropoleos & Kapnikareas 7; Tel: 210 322 2096; Nearest metro: Monastiraki; www.plakahotel.gr/; Reservations: plaka@tourhotel.gr

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Usually I look at design or boutique hotels, salivate wildly, and then can't afford them - especially as I'm often travelling alone. My room at the Fresh Hotel was only 100 euro - spacious, stylish, with a balcony and particularly comfortable bed. The whole place is beautiful and glamorous. My only regret was that the rooftop swimming pool was closed in February so I'll have to go back in the summer. It’s also a good, central location and easy for the metro from the airport.

www.freshhotel.gr;
26 Sophocleous St

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A nice newly renovated hotel centrally located and within walking distance of the Parthenon and the Acropolis, the Plaka, the Monastiraki, the Roman and Ancient Agoras and most of the other major sites in Athens. Close by are banks and the post office (all via 28 October). It also has a very good restaurant and for those who don't want the full service, the same kitchen provides food for their bistro, 'Food and Drink', where the choice of meals and the service by the young staff is excellent. Greek meals are a speciality. In season, the roof garden eating area is great too!

19, Patission (28th October) & 10 Veranzerou Streets 10432 Omonia; Tel: +30 210 5243156-9; www.thesaurus.gr/hotels/athens/athens_center/grand_hotel/grand_hotel.htm

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If you’re feeling really flush, book in at the Grand Resort Lagonissi, 22 miles south of Athens and 45 minutes from the city centre. Situated on its own 72-acre peninsula, this is luxury run wild – with service available from your own in-room butler, tailor, personal trainer, beautician and pianist. Each of its 12 villas comes with their own infinity pools but there’s great swimming to be had in the waters of any one of the peninsula’s myriad beaches. Understandably, this is where internationally renowned popstars, actors and footballers often head. Double room (in central building) €360; single room (in central building) €320; villa from €1,500 to €28,000 (per night) for the four-bedroom royal suite.

40th km Athens-Sounion Highway, Lagonissi, 19010; Tel: 229 102 3911; www.lagonissiresort.gr/

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A landmark in Modern Greece, the GB combines comfort with dash and a big dose of history – for the likes of Winston Churchill there was nowhere better in the Levant. It’s rooftop terrace (following a major £60m renovation of the hotel in the run-up to the 2004 Athens Olympics) has a great bar and restaurant with terrific view of the Parthenon and House of Parliament which it faces. Its ground-floor bar, a favourite watering hole of Greek politicians, is unabashedly camp. Rooms are as famous for their marble bathrooms as spacious balconies. Double room classic – €255 (high season); single classic €235 (low season).

Vassileos Georgiou 1, Syntagma Square; Tel: 210 333 0000; Nearest metro: Syntagma; www.grandebretagne.gr/

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