The Semiramis Hotel is located in northern Athens away from the hustle and bustle of worldwide tourism. If you're looking for a hotel with a view of the Akropolis from your room, this is not the place to stay. But if you're looking for an unforgettable hotel experience that you can really write home about, this is it. The service, food, and ambience is simply unbeatable within the entire Athens area. The hotel design itself is absolutely spectacular! Forget sending a postcard home with overdone shots of the Parthenon... stay at the Semiramis Hotel and let everyone back home know that you saw the best of Athens AND stayed at a world-class hotel.

We stayed at Semiramis for two nights on Sep 15 and 16. We should have stayed for three nights, but we missed our connecting flight (due to circumstances I won't go into here) and got into Athens one day late.

Immediately upon arrival at the hotel, we were warmly greeted by the hotel staff and totally stunned by the fabulous decor of this awesome postmodern-style hotel. If you've looked at pictures already, don't let them fool you. You really have to experience this place live-and-in-person to get the complete picture. Decorated throughout with unique art designs (all created by the owner) and very modern, chic furnishings, this place makes you feel right at home and comfortable but totally energetic and jazzed all at the same time.

After we checked in, the desk staff took us up to our room on the 4th floor and showed us around. Our room had a splendid bed and a very cool view out into the city of Athens. With massive windows and our own private patio, we enjoyed both the indoor and outdoor parts of the room.

And I can't say enough about the awesome features inside the room. Right at our bedside, we had full controls of the electronically controlled window blinds and all of the room lighting. Forget to turn off the bathroom light before crawling into bed? No worries. Just snap "All Lights Off" on the control panel and drift off to sleep.

Our room also came with a full mini-bar loaded with goodies, drinks, beers and all the rest. The prices were reasonable and the fridge was nice and cold (quite a luxury in Europe sometimes). One of my favorite "little touches" was the complimentary 1-liter bottle of mineral water right in our room. If you're anything like me, you'll know that a nice glass of fresh water hits the spot after 11 hour flights. Also, right in the lobby area, there are always little snacks and water for quenching your thirst after you come tramping in from trudging through the National Archaelogical Museum.

We ate at the restaurant our first night there and loved it. We both ordered nice salads -- Nicoise and Greek -- and enjoyed them immensely along with the complimentary fresh baked breads and our always delicious Mythos beers.

The restaurant area is also impressive with its indoor/outdoor seating and its very cool and very modern furnishings. The staff is super friendly, very helpful, and accommodating. They checked on us regularly and our food arrived quickly and without a hitch. Plus, the little complimentary sweets they gave us at the end of the meal were phenomenal. I'm still thinking about them now as I write this.... Mmmmmmmmmm.

We had our dinner outside just near the pool to enjoy the cool evening air and to enjoy the evening ambience al fresco. The pool is fantastic! Lots of lounge beds for catching rays and an amazing design.

We also spent some time in the lounge area inside the restaurant on our 2nd day to work on our laptops a bit and get some work done. I ordered a classic Greek Frappe (my personal favorite) and absolutely loved it! Seriously, I'm a bit of a frappe connoisseur and they did a marvelous job making mine. Hands down the best frappe I've had in Greece.... ever.

Our second night, we walked around the Kifissia neighborhood to take in the sights and sounds of a local Athens area. This is one of the best things about staying in this outskirts area of Athens -- virtually no tourists and direct access to REAL everyday life in Athens. The Kifissia area is exceptionally clean and very modern. We kept remarking at how nice everything was from the shops and restaurants to the neighborhood homes. This is a great place to walk around and explore to see some real Greek city life. If you're eager to do some shopping in Athens, this is the Rodeo Drive of Athens for sure!

Athens is one of those special vacation destinations everyone must visit at least once in his or her life. From the ancient ruins to the dense museums and cool walkways, this city has a charm you can't find anywhere else. I'm so glad we didn't fall for one of the tourist trap hotels in central Athens. Semiramis Hotel does require some travel to get from the hotel into the main area to see the sights, but taxis are affordable and accessible. Plus, you can catch the Green Metro Line and get straight to the center if you'd prefer.

If you're coming to Athens for the first time, I highly recommend Semiramis. It's a great way to get the best of both worlds -- easy access to Athens sights and exposure to some very cool non-tourist parts of the city.

And -- If you're coming to Athens for a return-visit, I also highly recommend Semiramis. It's a nice opportunity to see some areas you won't find in your Lonely Planet or Frommer's guidebooks but that definitely deserve to be there!