We stayed at this hotel with my teenaged son as part of a bus tour. My husband loved the architecture and modern feel of this hotel.. The rooms were clean and comfortable and the pool was awesome. Our dinner was a buffet that was excellent (my son loved it; we liked trying a variety of foods)

We visited this hotel as part of a Globus tour. After spending a very hot (over 100 degrees F during the recent heat wave) afternoon walking around the ruins of Delphi, I can only tell you that their huge swimming pool was a very welcome site for sore eyes and legs. The building was probably built in the 70's but it's very clean and well maintained, and the location is a very walkable three blocks from the center of town. The food was very disappointing, and even if you are booked on a tour, go ahead and have dinner in one of the many restaurants in town rather than in the hotel. Don't visit this hotel thinking it's a luxury resort; it's just a nice convenient stop in the middle of nowhere for tourists.

Tour-Bus heaven, sterile design, art-free. We erred, perhaps, in deciding to go the easy way, and take a 2-day tour to Delphi from Athens. We had been doing a lot of driving and a bus trip was a relief. We chose the “Luxury Hotel” option. What we got was not.

The Amelia is huge, hundreds of rooms, nicely arranged on a hill-side overlooking a smog-filled valley and lake. It’s clearly designed for tours; buses dominate the parking lot. There is a pool full of yelling kids and a large lounge area, perfect for organizing groups. There is a dining hall (called a “restaurant”) which serves fixed dinners and buffet breakfasts. There is a cafeteria, closed in the summer, an overpriced gift shop and a bar, where you can buy a small-size coke for $ 5.50 US. (no other place to buy a coke, not even a machine).

The hotel is fairly new and starkly modern. It’s clear that designers labored over the look, sleek surfaces uninterrupted by such nonsense as handles or knobs, flush doors, minimal knobs, prison-looking corridors, dimly lit, stone floors, stucco walls. The design would do well in a modern office building. Placed here in Delphi, where the focus is on cultural and aesthetic treasures of remarkable diversity and creativity, makes this hotel a counterpoint in design, the direct opposite of cultural richness.

In rooms and public areas, there is almost no art or artifacts, large bleak walls, certainly intentional by design, as to not interfere with the architecture. There was not even a single painting or any object on the walls in our room. There are three odd-placed inlaid blue tiles which seem like a way to get rid of left-overs, not art.

Our room was large enough, with a modest balcony with the view of the lake, through smog. There is a mini-fridge, empty, a phone, a 12” TV (12”? Luxury hotel?), enough closets for storage, a narrow table/desk and 2 chairs. But a lot of amenities we’ve come to expect were lacking. There was no coffee pot or service, no ice bucket, no electrical outlet in bathroom. We are used to a binder in the room with information on everything we might have to call about, but there was almost no information in the book provided; nothing about pool or restaurant hours, where to go or what to do, no information at all, not even what to do in an emergency.

In keeping with the minimalist theme, the engineers helped with a miserly air-conditioning system which cannot get the room below about 80F, even running 24 hours per day. The bathroom is clean, modern, large and has both tub and shower, hair dryer and large sink.

There was no in-room internet service, but 2 computers in the lobby for 0.15 euros/minute or about $ 20 USD/hour. There was a phone in the room, which was –sometimes- answered by someone preferring to not be bothered.

The staff is geared to tour bus mentality; hustle them along, let their guides answer the questions, keep them moving, hurry up and order, eat-up and get out. There is none of the friendliness we like in hotels and none of the relaxed good nature that Greeks are rightfully famous for. Obviously, we are not the right people for tour-bus hotels; but if you like that kind of accommodation, the Amelia may serve you well. We won’t be back.

The Amalia Delphi is a good hotel, with some drawbacks.

First of all, the location was rather far out of town. We were on a more independent tour, so getting to/from the town and Delphi was a long walk. It is located up the hill, which makes the location even more inconvenient. However, it did afford good views of the valley below and the Corinthian Gulf.

The service was good, but nothing special. The hotel is definitely catered to large group tours, and they all seem to eat at the same time! Since we were more independent, it was a little intimidating. But the buffet dinner and breakfast was very good, and offered a wide range of Western and Greek choices.

The rooms were modern, clean, and relatively spacious. The only complaint are the thin walls in the bathroom- at times you could definitely hear your neighbors.

Also, beware of the absurdly overpriced gift shop. The same gifts we found to be almost half the price two blocks down in the town. Finally, the internet service is unreliable.

Don't be discouraged by the list of problems- it is a good hotel in Delphi and would ultimately recommend staying here!