Congo Palace Hotel

It is the worst hotel I have ever stayed in my life. If I could give them -5 stars I would. We stayed there due to location, and it was the biggest regret! Camping would be better.
Their website room pictures are from the ones they have renovated. Our room had hanging out of the socket electrical plugs, no mattresses only boxspring, and for a 3 adults the 3rd bed was a camping bed. The front desk personnel overall was nice and understanding, but the day we checked out (early cause they kept telling us that they will change us/fix it and we believed them!) The guy was rude and yelling at us for checking out earlier.
Stay away! Far far away! There are so many hotels around the area, pick anything else! Nothing can be worst than this.

We stayed at this hotel for 5 days because someone had recommended it to my husband! I felt that I was stepping back in time into the 80s! The room was dark and dingy, with horrible lighting! The wall paint was chipping and the carpet was god knows how old, but very dirty! You could hear the conversation from next door clearly and every time they flushed their toilet! The bed was shameful! Could they not afford to get new mattresses for crying out loud? We asked for towels to go to the beach and they gave us these nasty old towels which were so warn out, that we returned them! No thank you! On the other hand the hotel is in a great location, and their lobby is nice. They just need major construction to keep it going!

We booked well in advance only to arrive at a place that was under construction. Our room was on the same floor as the renovation work for the entire wing of the building. There was dust and dirt everywhere. Not only the site was dangerous to be in. ( Workers passing by, tools everywhere I mean ....who rent a place in such condition?? and prices were very high too!.). I have severe allergies and couldn’t stay there—I had to leave immediately due to an asthma attack.

Obviously we didn’t even stay in the room. We just got a glimpse of it and it was enough! Not only we were in a construction zone, but the outdated carpets were grotesque, stained, stinky and the decor included what seemed like offensive, stereotypical references to Africa....Seriously, check your logo and decor it is offensive!

We weren’t refunded a single dollar! Hotels are supposed to inform guests of any ongoing renovations as part of their policy and customer rights, but we received no such notice.

The entire place reeked of cigarette smoke, and there were abandoned areas like the cafeteria in plain view. It faces a busy street too. This hotel is a complete scam! The photos you see online do not represent the reality. Avoid this place at all costs!

Horrible Experience: Bed Bugs, Dirty Rooms, and Poor Service

I recently stayed at Congo Palace and had an extremely disappointing experience. Here are the major issues we encountered:

Bed Bugs and Hygiene Issues:
1. Bed Bugs: Our children had bugs crawling on their beds, causing rashes and blood stains on the sheets. The sheets were changed, but the problem persisted. We have photos and videos available on request.
2. Broken Mattress: My eldest daughter’s mattress was broken, adding to the discomfort.
3. Dirty Replacement Room: When we reported the issue, we were shown another room that had freshly made, but dirty beds.

Poor Customer Service:
1. Lack of Towels: When I requested beach towels, the reception told me there were none available. They reluctantly provided one bath towel after much insistence.
2. No Iron Available: The hotel did not have an iron for our clothes, which is a basic amenity we’ve found in every other hotel during our six-week trip across Europe.
3. Unpleasant Smell: Our bathroom had a foul odor coming from the drain, which we had to flush ourselves using the shower head.
4. Faulty Bathroom Fixtures: The toilet in our daughter’s room didn’t flush, and the shower head didn’t work properly.

Unresponsive Management and Booking.com:
1. When we brought these issues to the hotel’s attention, they refused to take responsibility or compensate us. Instead, they called the police to get rid of us rather than addressing the problems.
2. Booking.com has been unhelpful in rectifying the situation.

Our stay was extremely distressing and required us to fumigate all our clothing. I strongly advise against staying at Congo Palace due to the severe hygiene and service issues.

Anyone who gives this place a 3 star or above review has not stayed in other hotels. I travel for a living. I've also stayed that this Congo Palace several times from the 1960s onward most recently in 2006. I was traveling to Santorini and reserved one night when I landed in Athens and one night before I left Athens. The first hotel room had a shower head that sprayed everywhere other than in the shower which was clogged anyway. On my return we asked for a different room and it had a drain that worked but the mount for the shower head was broken off and the shower was just hanging on the ground. First room had old food in the fridge. Second room had water bottles and a kids t-shirt under the bed. The lobby pics look great, the rooms are poorly cleaned, not maintained, and look like they have not been updated in the last 18 years. I grew up in Glyfada and stayed in this hotel a lot as a kid (moving to Greece and back to the US twice). I love Glyfada and my memories of this hotel. So sad to see the dump it has become.

I suspect the only people who stay here are large groups of kids traveling in Greece whose only consideration is price.