My wife and I stayed at the Hellinis while attending an academic conference in Athens. The room was so small, the bathroom was so cramped that the door didn't open all the way and the SMELL...UGH! I swear something was wrong with the sewer system because everytime you turned on the water the whole room filled with that stink! The bed was so hard it was difficult to even call what we were sleeping on a mattress, it was more like a box spring. The staff, while pleasant, did not speak English very well at all and we had a difficult time expressing our disappointment in the quality of the accomodations. Yes, the room has a DSL connection, big whoop! Good luck using it since everytime it starts to rain the power goes out in the whole hotel and then it is 4 hours before the connection is restored once the power comes back on. As for the satellite TV... um unless you're fluent in Greek, do not consider this a feature. The only thing in English was CNN International and the reception was fuzzy and choppy. Don't even get me started on the location... 10-15 minutes by bus from anything worth looking at, I wouldn't recommend walking it because... first, it is way too far away and, second, because it is definitely not the friendliest part of town. Pretty seedy indeed. Unfortunately the conference we attended was scheduled during the European Football Championship so we couldn't change hotels because everything was booked solid. Believe me, we would've changed hotels in a heartbeat if it was possible. BEWARE!
--cheers
D.

My friends and I ( young adults, seasoned travelers) stayed here in April 2007 during a three-week tour of Europe. We stayed mainly at budget hotels. I would have to say that out of the seven or so hotels we experienced, Hellinis was probably the worst in terms of cleanliness. I would not recommend it to others traveling in Athens.

Room (triple that came with four beds)
- Our room (and the hotel as a whole) smelled of cigarette smoke. Usually I wouldn't mind it as the nose gets acclimated to the smell (and we were in Europe after all). However, the odor remained unusually intense throughout our stay to the extent that it was nauseating at times. I don't think the hotel differentiates between smoking and nonsmoking rooms.
- We had a computer with free internet which was a big plus (don't expect to upload your digital pictures though, the computer won't allow it).
- There was a TV with many channels, including one that played American movies. Be forewarned, however, that the last three channels are hardcore porn.
- The comforters were tattered, with seams loose all over (didn't inspire much confidence in hotel quality).
- The ensuite bathroom had a tub and shower head but no shower curtain. The floor got drenched after each shower. Moreover, the bathroom smelled of mildew.
- The toilet didn't flush well and paper (used conservatively) kept getting clogged. The bathroom started getting unpleasant odors after the first few nights.
- There is a huge balcony with a non-significant view of Athens' urban buildings.

Location
- The main tourist area of town is about 10 minutes away by bus, which was convenient. We didn't mind since we paid less to stay a little out of the city center. The bus stop is steps away from the hotel and you can buy tickets from the reception.
- However, I'd say the hotel is in a pretty seedy area, with a strip/sex club right next door (the ashtray in our room was from that club) and many others down the street.
- There is a huge street - actually I'd call it a highway since you can't cross it and cars go about 80 miles an hour - right in front of the hotel. You have to take an underground tunnel to the other side of the street (also close to the hotel) when you're coming back from the town center by bus. The tunnel was well lit but I probably wouldn't go down there alone.

Misc
- There is an elevator
- Breakfast isn't appetizing at all. Skip it and get some amazing Greek food in the town center.

Overall I was not totally satisified. I don't consider myself an overly picky person when it comes to hotel amenities and aesthetics. All I ask for is a clean room - not matter how small it is! - which I don't think was provided at Hellinis. The main issues for me were the mildewy bathroom, poorly flushing toilet, and very old bed linens.

We are here now, at the Hellinis, and having a computer with internet right in the room is definitely nice. connection is fast, hardware is modern.
Staff is really friendly and helpful in every way; rooms are small and not recently renovated but fine for the price of 60 for a double. air conditioning & room refrig work great. bed is fine but able to feel the springs.
Bathrooms: horrible. can't take bath because drain overflfows into the bathroom; can't take shower because there's no curtain and only a hand-held shower head with no place to hang it or prop it. so you have to do sponge bath. or stand in tub and use hand-held shower and get the entire bathroom soaked, including towels and your stuff and tissue etc. Not a good arrangement.
despite this, we still enjoy staying here. restaurant is good; breakfast is fine; lobby and bar and outdoor lounge is very nice. it is convenient because bus outside the door takes you to downtown in ten minutes, or tram is 10 min away, as is the metro. its on a noisy street, but the general neighborhood is upscale and has very nice huge plaza nearby with dozens of restaurants and stores etc. all of them modern suburban style.
If they only did something about the terrible showering situation, they'd have an excellent place here and rate a four star.
Btw, I checked and all the bathrooms are like this.

We stayed in the hotel for 5 nights in May 2006 and found it a good base from which to explore Greece, although we were initially a bit concerned as the hotel is located on a main road in a slightly dodgy area. The town centre is not really within walking distance, but there is a bus-stop outside the hotel and the frequent bus service only costs 0.5 Euro each way. Be wary that the last buses back from the city centre are around 11.30 each night and on the one night we missed the buses we found it hard to get a taxi driver who knew where the hotel was. The hotel room itself was quite spacious, and had air-conditioning, plus the bonus of a fridge and a digital safety deposit box. The bathroom did also have a jacuzzi but was rather cramped. The hotel staff were excellent, speaking good English and having a good knowledge of tourist requirements, and the maid service was also of a high standard. Great hotel for the money we paid, had a vey relaxing time, would definitely recommend it.