48 Charilaou Trikoupi Str., Kifissia, Greece | (937) 315-4602
Modern, arty, original hotel in northern suburb of Kifassia, within a 10-minute walk of shops and cafes
Range of rooms includes Penthouse Studios and Suites with terraces and panoramic views
All rooms include Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs, iPod docking stations, and small work stations
Curvy outdoor pool that mimics the hotel's design and colors
24-hour fitness center with an array of cardio- and weight-training equipment
Steambath and massage rooms
All-day bar and restaurant that becomes a club-like lounge at night
Free Wi-Fi throughout the property
Business center with meeting rooms
Suburban location not convenient to tourist sights
Rooms are small
No coffeemakers/tea kettles in rooms
The 51-room suburban Semiramis Hotel -- part of the YES chain -- is ultra-modern and decorated in lollipop colors. The design is extreme pop, with curves amid hot pink, lime-green, gold, aqua, and orange colors, with some industrial chic thrown in. The effect is young and playful, but the mix of colors, textures, and materials might not be for everyone. There's an outdoor pool (rooms include Poolside Bungalows), an all-day restaurant that morphs into a club-like lounge with a DJ at night, a 24- hour fitness center, business center, rotating art exhibitions, and free Wi-Fi throughout. Guest rooms mix colored concrete, neon signs, and rubber floors -- sometimes to the delight and sometimes to the chagrin of guests. Standard Rooms and even Superior Rooms, while efficiently compact, could do with more space.
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Scene
A pop, psychedelic youthful vibe
The colorful, industrial chic Semiramis Hotel has an otherworldly vibe. Belonging to YES, which stands for Young, Enthusiastic, and Seductive, the Semiramis delivers on that front. With lollipop colors and funky, ultra modern design, the hotel feels futuristic -- especially if it's a future as imagined by a hyperactive 11-year-old. Green and pink balconies and terraces adorn the white cement block of a building. The curvy pool is green, pink, and blue. Beyond it, Pool Bungalow rooms look like pods -- white squares with rectangular windows that have curved edges on one side.
Inside, curves and color remain the signature, with large, almost tooth-shaped, pastel chairs and black benches with curving cushions predominating the lobby. Pink stars hang from the ceiling. Reception is an oval cut-out window, and back lit symbols, which look like oversize emojis, are displayed in a variety of colors. Room don't have numbers but symbols. It's an individualizing touch, but is less than practical, as it can make finding your room a challenge.
While the decor bends childish whimsy with psychedelic enthusiasm, the art in the lobby is more austere, a mix of modern aesthetics that is updated with new pieces biannually.
Location
In the northern, affluent suburb of Kifissia
The Semiramis is located in Kifissia, a quiet, affluent suburb of Athens. The area around the hotel is subdued, with tree-lined streets and moderate traffic. Kifissia is known for good shopping and entertainment, and the central commercial area is about a 10-minute walk from the hotel. The nearest metro is about a 10-minute walk as well, and getting into downtown Athens takes about an hour by public transportation, or 35 minutes by car. The Athens airport is about 30 minutes away by car.
Rooms
Futuristic and colorful
Rooms at the Semiramis are, like the rest of the hotel, colorful and futuristic. Standard and even Superior Rooms could use a bit more square footage, but the space is efficiently designed. These rooms have narrow, green glass desks, small flat-screen TVs, and transparent pink armoires. The carpets, similar to the pool outside, are made up of curving lines of color, mostly green and pink. Bathrooms are curved rectangles of opaque glass in the corner of the rooms. The colorful sink basin lacks counter space, and the shower is separated by a pink glass barrier. There is no curtain, and some guests find this barrier insufficient, as it allows water to splash into the bathroom. The rooms' lighting is all controlled by buttons, and can be graded to fit the mood. At the foot of each room's door a LED display welcomes guests and designates preferences such as "Do Not Disturb" or "Make Up My Room."
The pod-like Pool Bungalows are an in-between option for a guests who may want more space without having to upgrade to a suite. They are similar in layout and design to Standard and Superior Rooms but have personal, outdoor lounge space. Their proximity to the pool, though, might make them noisy in peak season. Suites push the colorful decor up several notches than the smaller rooms, with seating areas of bubble-gum pink chairs and hot-pink couches. The suites also have large outdoor terraces, and those on higher floors offer views of the neighborhood's clay-tile roofs.
All Semiramis rooms come with free Wi-Fi, TV, iPod docking stations, minibars, and, a bit unusually, condoms.
Features
Free Wi-Fi, 24-hour gym, pool, and a DJ-thumping restaurant
A bubbly, fluorescent property, the Semiramis offers an individualized pop sense of luxury. In addition to the outdoor pool, the hotel has a 24-hour fitness center with a variety of free weights, cardio machines, and weight machines. The gym also has a steam bath and massage rooms. The hotel's restaurant and bar is a large space with both lounge and dining seating. Overlooking the pool, it serves three meals a day (buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner a la carte), and then turns more into a club with a DJ in the evening. With multi-colored and multi-shaped tables and neon lights along the wall, the restaurant keeps up the flashy, kaleidoscopic atmosphere of the hotel at large. Wi-Fi is available throughout the property at no additional cost.
