The Hotel Pentelikon is situated in Kifissia which is a suburb of Athens. Apparently many years ago the wealthy residents of Athens would retreat to Kifissia on the weekends and stay at hotels like this to escape the pollution and heat of Athens to take some “clean country air”.

Today Kifissia is just part of the huge sprawl that is modern Athens, and it seems unbelievable that this area was an escape as it is now chock full of houses and has a very large and developed shopping area.

However, the hotel itself is an oasis in this suburb. The original hotel build in the 1920s is right on the street with a grand looking entrance and lobby area with huge sweeping staircase. It looks lush, rich and luxurious on entering.

Just off the lobby are 2 restaurants which are pretty pricy, with one having a Michelin star. They do have fabulous food which is presented so well and stylishly that it almost seems criminal to eat. An even simple dish like a Greek Salad was a masterpiece of sculpture of tomatoes, onions and feta cheese. The restaurants are very popular and my Greek colleagues told me that they are especially popular with politicians and other dignitaries, and it is not unusual to have policemen hanging around as a result.

There are 3 buildings of accommodation: the original building plus 2 new ones that were built just before the 2004 Olympics.

I stayed in what they call “Building 2” which is where they have their “executive” rooms. The room was really good and I liked it a lot. It is small but very stylish with a large bed of a sort of 4 poster design but without the canopy on the top, large comfy chair, and chair and desk to work at. The bathroom was as beautiful with a wall of frosted glass doors with a large shower behind one door and a toilet behind the other.

Even the meeting rooms, which are in another new building, were good. The provision of free internet access in the bedrooms was also a nice touch.

The fitness center was a real disappointment. 3 cardio machines and very light weights with no bench. It is a real missed opportunity. There is a large pool in the gardens which looks great.

If you stay ask for building “2” and “3” as the rooms in the new buildings are supposed to be much better than the old rooms. One side of these is on the road and the other side looks over the pool. The soundproofing is fantastic and the road quiet so it does not really matter which side you are on.

I would stay here again, as the hotel, food and service by everyone is excellent. Although location wise for tourists it is probably a bit far from the main tourist sights.

You can see a video of the room I stayed in by pasting this link into a new browser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F38pmkxr8uw

Our first night in Athens was at the Hilton but then we moved, for two nights, out of the centre and into the 'chic' area of Kifissia. This hotel was in a quiet and peaceful street although lying by the pool was not actually a quiet experience since it was usually accompanied by the strains of Barry White or similar.
The pool area was as elegant as the rest of the hotel. Other reviewers are right to note that the rooms are small, but they are perfectly formed. I can't remember being so comfortable in such a small space, and the bathroom was exceptional. I would return at the drop of a hat. We didn't dine here but breakfast was extremely good.

I spend only a night in Pentelikon Hotel and my feeling are mixted. The reception and the whole booking process was more than easy. The place where the Pentelikon hotel is located is quite far from Athens center, but is a really elegant and aristocratic area. The room I stayed, is one of the executives. that means +70Euros at price. It wasn't roomy enough. The bathroom is excellent. The room has view at pool. but not an exit to it.
It's quite elegant, the room,inside and luxury but not so comfortable as someone expects.
The service and room service are fast and gentle.
Leaving Pentelikon I didn't have the best feelings for that hotel. In my opinion is a nice but really overpriced place.

i stayed there with my wife for 3 nights.
we had great expectations about this hotel. it is consider to be one of the most luxurious and finest hotels in greece but unfortunatelly this was a myth!
the room was classical in decoration but small not very properly cleaned and the furnitures were in bad condition full of scratches. the wall paper(must have been wonderfull)was very dirty with stains. we were mostly surprised of the size o the bathroom. it was vey-very small(it was the smallest bathroom i have ever seen in a 5 star hotel)although the bathroom amenities were plenty. the carpet of the room was very dirty and old with stains everywhere.
the radio did not work, there was no internet connection or pay t.v. sevice which i believe in a 5 star hotel is a common thing.
the door was not sounproofed and you could hear people's voices when they were passing outside of your room(difficult to sleep. the cupboard was very old and small.
the restaurants were o.k. and generally the food was very tasty. the bar was very stuffy and the lobby uninviting. the employers were friendly but not professional. you could never find a bell-boy to carry your luggages and one of the receptionists once helped us with our things.
generally it is a hotel that it is not in a good condition everything needs to be repaired and re-organized. we love classical style hotels but only when they are well maintained not this old and tired like for a horror movie hotel. because of all this problems all the charm and elegance were lost.
if you pay (as we did)around 300 euros per night (official rate 890 euros!!!)you expect that everything will perfect a word that does not belong to the vocabulary of the owners i think!