After our flight from Mykonos with Aegean Airlines we had one night in our holiday left and we decided to make this time all about design in the capital of Greece. After experiencing the Royal Myconian Hotel in Mykonos ( read our review at Tripadvisor - see our profile ) which was more classic and resort in style, we now headed into urban design territory with a stay at the Life Gallery Hotel, located in the northern Athens suburb of Ekali. Ekali in itself is an upscale community build-up with luxury shops, green areas and many expensive villas and townhouses. From the Athens International Airport we had taken a taxi - during rush-hour - and the taxi driver did not know where the hotel was located, but this was rather fast solved as he had asked a more knowledgeable driver colleague and we were on our way. After 45 min. of driving through Athens, mostly high-ways we arrived at the hotel on the opposite side and suddenly we were outside the taxi with the traffic on the road. After successfully crossing the road we headed toward check-in at this white-washed concrete and blue glass temple of design. The hotel is a member of Design Hotels and the Leading Small Hotels of the World, among others. The check-in was on a historic table which was the reception, this was rather fast done by the friendly lady in an informal way with a smile. Now we headed to our room no. 206 on the second floor of the glass tower building ( 3 floors in all ). At first the electrical lock was difficult to work out, because you must simply hold the key-card on the lock and the door should open like magic. But this happens only, we had learned, after the woman from the reception had helped us out here with a smile again. Now in our room, which was large and open spaced all the way and had all the gadgets of a super modern hotel in tow. The overall design was airy and totally different what we would normally get in other hotels incl. double sinks behind the bed, industrial furniture incl. the wardrobe space which had 4 hangers on offer and a fully stocked Mini-Bar with many goodies at an surprisingly good price for such a high standard incl. the Johnny Walker Collection was on offer with the black label and the green label. The large bed was sunken to the ground like an asian bath with lightning all around it plus a cordless phone by Bang and Olufsen ( which you must know how to work it out ). The bed was large and had a super comfortable mattress plus superb bedding on offer incl. white linen and several pillows. This bed was not too hard or too soft either, which suited us perfectly. The large LCD TV was build into the wall and could retracted toward the bed for a better view and offered all the international channels travellers expect today incl. CNN and others. Internet was free everywhere in the hotel incl. in the room through a free ethernet cable from the lobby, which was automatically offered to us, while in all other areas of the hotel WI-FI is on offer free in all public spaces incl. the free library. Our room had a ultra-modern shower behind the bed, which was almost Spa-like in design and function, but needed somewhat of working out to really enjoy the shower experience on offer. After a bit this was accomplished by both of us and we were very happy with the shower there. All water outlets had superb water pressure as well. We had a double sink - his/hers - with amenities stored in-between the sinks that incl. shampoo, shower gel, body lotion and soaps. All are branded with the Mamidakis Hotel Group sign - to which the Life Gallery belongs. The balcony was totally private and not overlooked by anyone and also very large in size plus the balcony came fully designer furnished. As almost everything here there was a surprise in-store again, because the enclosed glass panels could be full automatic retracted to let the sunshine and the fresh air in during the day - and be tracked in the evening back by a push on the button to be secured against insects who may or may not could come to visit. As always as we had seen earlier the design was and is a huge aspect of the hotel experience here incl. build-in tv, build-in writing desk, industrial furniture, polished floors, different lightning incl. mood lightning, designer balcony furniture, all electrical curtains in the room plus the artwork which was chosen to provide maximum impact on the guests incl. us, of course. All in All our room was simply sublime and a dream come true in terms of real urban design with authenticity and understanding to even the smallest details incl. 24h room service, laundry services, free internet, powerful hairdryer, soft towels, free welcome gifts, soft linen, international tv, newspapers and magazines on the room plus the superb large spaced balcony with absolute privacy and safe. These little details give the Life Gallery the absolute edge against larger hotels, only smaller hotels can offer. The Life Gallery has only 29 rooms - all large spaced and perfectly appointed, like our room was. With the amenities the hotel as a whole offers, you could be forgiven to think we had been to a much larger Grand Hotel in Athens, The Hotel offers incl. a superb full-service Spa, 2 Outdoor swimming pools, 1 indoor swimming pool, fully stocked library with books primarly filled about greek history and context to design, fully stocked bar, which offered every drink or cocktail imaginable, fine dinning restaurant, 24 h room service, large garden areas and event planners who can stage everything from small to very large, right here in stylish Athens. The food we had enjoyed was throughout superb and sublime incl. the bar ( two orange juices, one pot of hot chocolate, one fine club sandwich and one greek omlette - all was judged outstanding and yummy and moreish by all two of us! The price 42 Euros/37UK£/55US$ incl. Tax, tip and Service. Good value considering the very stylish 5 star plus surroundings of the stunning bar in a stunning hotel plus we had free WI-FI internet access throughout here. In the evening we enjoyed room-service incl. one large bottle of Afra Still water from Greece, one chicken - pepper tortilla with yoghurt dip, one portion of Valrhona chocolate mousse and banana pannacotta, all judged once again, in one word, perfect! Delicious would be another expression we would use to describe the superb food offerings here, Folks! The bill came in at 48 Euro/43UK£/60 US$ incl. service, tip and VAT. After a successful night in our bed, we were awoken by the Athens fresh air and the wake-up call, of course! We proceeded after our beauty essentials to the superb breakfast in the very stylish, but substantial designed restaurant via the lobby staircase to reach it. Once there, we had been greeted by the most stylish breakfast spread ever on offer during our many travels so far. ( Many hotels could learn something here! ). The breakfast offered incl. greek yoghurt, fresh fruit, stylish eggs in many variations, a warm fresh bread selection, fresh orange juice, coffee, cheese selection, smoked salmon, cold cuts, cereals and our favourite cherries in heavy syrup, yummy! The service was informal, but always there within one second and sometimes the service was even faster, Folks! After our breakfast it was already ( sadly ) time to move on to the airport. All the service and employees of this stunning hotel are priceless and there were friendly, understated and approachable plus efficient and highly motivated as well!
Overall our Life Gallery Experience was extremely successful and we can only highly recommend this hotel as an alternative to more traditional establishments in the Capital of Greece, Athens! Our Taxi was already waiting even before the agreed time after check-out and we were underway in seconds to the International Airport - on a Sunday morning, without the rush hour this time - and within 20 minutes we were at Terminal 1, ready to check-in for our flight with EasyJet to London-Gatwick International ( LGW ). The taxis by the way came in at around 35 Euros each way! So think of it, to plan in! The journey to or from the hotel is a wise investment! After a 3.5h flight we were in Gatwick and connected successfully at the Zone B in the South Terminal to our flight to Dublin - our home capital, Folks! - with Aer Lingus. We have thought about the Life Gallery ever since us staying there, only in the highest esteem and expectation that we do want to come back yesterday, rather than today! See you soon, Our Design Dream in Athens! So do not forget to FLY!STAY!EXPLORE!MORE! and let the design take you to many extraordinary moments around the world in which you and us simply can be!