Just as Syros is the antithesis of flashy Santorini and Mykonos, the Omiros (Homer) Hotel is the opposite of fancy. And I liked it a lot. I was somewhat leery of staying at the hotel after reading a couple of the negative TripAdvisor reviews. But my travel agent assured me the hotel was good and she was right. I chalk up the negative feedback to the reviewers’ situations and not to the Omiros. It is an old, (unintentionally) funky little place overlooking the harbor in the port town on Syros. In five days in the town, I think I heard English spoken twice. This is where the Greeks come to vacation and they aren’t vacationing much this year, so it was very quiet. The hotel is well-situated: Two blocks from the town square and then another block or so to the water. Omiros is clean and functional. If you go there, ask for a room on the top floor with a balcony. Rooms 26 and 27 are the best. The balconies are small, but so what? The view is perfect. This is NOT a five-star luxury hotel, so if you are looking for that, go to Santorini and pay $750 a night. The downsides: The breakfasts are no big deal (they are typical Greek breakfasts—cheese, juice and a slab of ham) and the walls are pretty thin so if there are noisy people, you’ll hear them. But I didn’t have this experience. For me it was a quiet, comfortable hotel with kind, nice proprietors. Highly recommended.

The four stars given to this hotel do not originate from the hotel, but the agencies collecting hotel reservations on behalf of the hotel. The Greek classification is also different than the International hotel classification system. It really should be defined as a hostel with perhaps two stars.
Its merits lie with the beautiful old building, its location in the midst of the old town, next to the church and the charming people running it. We completely agree with that people with movement disabilities and families with small children should look elsewhere. The route from the town centre has many steps, even if the distance is just a few hundred meters. There are tree stories, a steep staircase and there is no elevator, because of building limitations. Even if my wife and I are senior citizens, we adjusted surprisingly well to climb up and down the stairs several times a day. There is no service except some morning hours. Therefore you really should announce your arrival in advance so that there is somebody at the door opening up and helping with the luggage.
We fully enjoyed our 10 day stay in the two room suite, with a balcony having a beautiful view over the town. Parking is difficult, but we always found some space on the extension of Omirou up the hill, passing the hotel. We spent a lot of time on the beach of Galissas, which found to be the best on the island, beach services included.
Some earlier comments suggested the rooms to be dirty and bathrooms awful. It makes us wonder, did we actually stay at the same hotel? All our special wishes were rapidly addressed and even the breakfast was tailored to our liking, thanks Chris and Marisina.

I will have to admit that when we first arrived at this hotel I wanted to run however we had just arrived from our five star accommodations on Santorini so a hard act to follow. The place did however grow on us.

When we arrived we found the hotel locked however it was outside of business hours. One phone call to 'Chris' and his assistant arrived very quickly to check us in. We had booked a standard double with a seaview. Not the normal standard for seaview however we could see the port and beyond out into the Aegean. The room was standard with two twin beds together to make a king (normal for many rooms in Greece so not a problem for us). There was a tube TV mounted on the wall, a closet, two desks and two bedside tables. The bathroom was typical older style with a shower pad surrounded with a shower curtain.

Pros

1. Air conditioning worked great however you only have the ability to turn it off and on. It would have been nice to adjust the temperature however we do understand that 'some' guests will turn the temperature down quite low then leave the room unattended all day. Hydro is quite expensive, especially in the islands, so I understand this to an extent. No matter where we stay in Greece or elsewhere we always turn the air conditioning off during the day when we are out to conserve energy. Hotel rooms are small and do not take very long to cool when you return in the evening.

2. Location (also a con below). Very quiet location and we heard no noise at all at night. Also, as a female, felt very safe sitting outside the hotel on the bench enjoying the evening air by myself.

3. The hotel's assistant could not have been more lovely. The assistant (who's name I never got) was so attentive and friendly. She would jump out of her chair whenever we came down the stairs to see if there was anything she could do for us, did we need anything etc...

4. The owner was lovely as well. We came back after dinner one night and there was a 'baby' (read older toddler) who was screaming at the top of it's lungs at almost midnight in the room next to ours. He apologized about one hundred times and said he intended to deal with the situation. By the time we went to bed things had settled down and we were not disturbed. Upon departure he insisted on carrying my luggage outside and ensured that our taxi was waiting to take us to the port.

5. The inside of the hotel was beautiful with marble stairs and restored original fixtures. We found that the inn had maintained the historical feel of the past which was refreshing to see.

6. Nice common room. One afternoon dh needed to put his head down for a bit but I felt like reading and maybe watching a bit of TV. There is a common room which is very comfortable with a large selection of magazines in a number of languages to suit all. I spent about an hour and a half sitting there with my book and found the time very relaxing!!!!!

Cons

1. Location - as quiet as the location is, it is up the hill about 5 minutes. Not a bad walk to be honest however not in the heart of the port city. Certainly not wheelchair friendly but not onerous as some people have claimed (disclaimer - do not personally know their physical well being).

2. No WiFi - OK, not a really big deal however in this day and age it is a really nice plus to have for people trying to stay in touch for personal or business reasons. There is WiFi in a number of the port cafes.

3. There was not anywhere to unpack clothes really. We ended up living out of the suitcases however there was tons of floor room to spread them out so in the end it was OK.

4. The beds were typical hard Greek beds. A small investment in padded mattress covers would make a huge difference in comfort.

5. The shower, as mentioned, was a typical older style shower with a tiled pad surrounded by a shower curtain. I would have been nicer if there had been an investment into a glass surround (with the same floor space) as the curtain continuously got stuck to you as your tried to bath. At least with a glass surround it is fixed in place.

All in all this was not a bad hotel however there is some room for improvement which in my opinion will push them to the next level. As mentioned the owner and his assistant were great and kind beyond words.

In our conversations with some of the residents of Syros we learned that foreign tourism is something new to this island as it has traditionally been a government and commerce center not particularly accustom to foreign visitors.

If you are an experiences traveller in Greece and understand some of the older traditional inn of the country then you will find this hotel to be charming. If you are looking for a Marriott or Sheridan then you will be disappointed.

Welcome to answer any questions you may have.

Its the first time I am writting a review for a hotel but I have to warn people.

I made a reservation to that hotel and 14 prior my arrival date I cancel it.
When I spoke to the man there he told me that he cant return me the money which I deposit to guarantee the reservation cause the cancellation policy is 21 days prior to arrival date...

I never received a confirmation saying that , their website says nothing about that and above all he was rude.. I have already hired a lawyer for that..

avoid at any cost... certainly not professionals