The Greek hotels FAQ provides information on frequent questions about accommodations in Greece. It’s compiled by HotelAthensGreece.com for travellers visiting Greece in general and Athens in particular. Find information about hotels check-in or checkout time, about charges of phone calls from your hotel, about pet regulations and many more.
Pets
In the past decade, pet travel has become a steadily increasing trend in the hospitality industry. As pet owners have demanded more options and considerations for their four-legged family members, hotels have responded. Pets are now a welcome guest in many hotels. Some chains are even rolling out full pet experience programs to cater to their customers with paws.
How do you figure out if a hotel is pet friendly? It’s is fairly obvious, just do a quick web search for the hotel’s name and “pet friendly.” In any case when you make your hotel booking, don’t forget to ask if they are prepared to accept your pet, and if so, subject to which conditions. The charges, if any, can vary from hotel to hotel, but usually ranges from €5 to €15 per animal.
Be as precise as possible, because a hotel may refuse dogs over a certain size for example. As far as guide-dogs are concerned, they are accepted, by law, in all hotels and may also give rise to a supplementary charge.
Find out more about your travel in Greece with your pet in our post "pet regulations in Greece".
Language
Greek (Ελληνικά – Ellinika) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, Albania, other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It has the longest documented history of any living Indo-European language, spanning at least 3,400 years of written records. The Greek alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic, and many other writing systems. During antiquity, Greek was the by far most widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world. The New Testament of the Christian Bible was also originally written in Greek.
How Many People Speak Greek? Greek is the official language of Greece and Cyprus and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. It is spoken by at least 13.5 million people today in Greece and Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the many other countries of the Greek diaspora all over the world.
If you want to know what Greek language sounds like there is a great post on theDelphiGuide.com
When it comes to travel to Greece many visitors are concerned about language barrier. Well it’s not a real problem because Greeks speak Greek and... English! Since all schoolchildren start learning English in the third grade, most Greeks under 40 will also know English. Those in the tourist industry, especially in the locations favored by foreign tourists, usually have a good command of English as well as a few other languages (French, Italian, German, Spanish).
Not counting luxury establishments where the welcome and information are offered in several languages, it is compulsory for hotels with 2** and above to be competent in at least one foreign language, most commonly English. In most types of accommodation, English is used as a matter of course and you should have no difficulty in making yourself understood!
Electrical standards
In Greece the norm is 220 volts, 50 cycles, while in the United States or Canada, for example, it is 110 volts, 60 cycles. Voltage and sockets vary from country to country and so an adapter and also a transformer will be indispensable in order to keep your favourite electric razor or hairdryer in working order – not to mention to avoid blowing the electricity in the whole hotel!
If you’ve forgotten to bring these important accessories, you’ll be able to find them in electrical goods and DIY stores or hypermarkets. Most major hotels can also provide them. For information, Greek plugs are equipped with two round pins.
Smoking
The majority of hotel rooms are non-smoking. As yet few hotels in Athens provide smoking rooms for their guests, so clients can smoke in their rooms at their discretion. Hotels must ensure ventilation standards are complied with. As for the communal areas, breakfast room, reception and corridors: these are strictly non-smoking.
Safe deposit box
Hotels and aparthotels may place safe deposit boxes at your disposal either in your room or at reception: very useful for keeping your jewellery and other valuables safe! You could also keep a copy of your identity documents here, helpful in case you should lose the originals. The hotel is responsible for valuables entrusted to them by their guests. In the event of theft or damage, the hotel’s liability is automatically incurred – although the level of compensation will vary.
Phone costs
Take care when making telephone calls from your hotel room as the cost of your calls will inevitably be higher. Each hotel has its own price policy for the telephone, but it is worth knowing that calls could be as much as 50% more expensive then the standard Greek telecom company rate.
Low & High season
In general, low season is considered to run from 1 November to 31 March and high season from 1 April to 31 October.
Many major events and celebrations take place in Athens throughout the year and the increase in the number of visitors has a knock-on effect on availability: Easter, Christmas and New Year and also fairs and trade shows. So don’t forget to reserve well in advance if you wish to visit Athens at these times.
At certain times of the year, it is worth knowing that hotels’ terms and conditions of booking and cancellation may also be modified accordingly.
Breakfast
Food photo created by freepik – www.freepik.com
The continental breakfast most commonly offered in hotels consists of a choice of hot beverage, bread and/or pastries, butter and jams and honey. A supplement may be requested for more extensive buffet-type arrangements. Breakfast is not necessarily provided in 1* and ungraded hotels and it can only be requested as room service in 3*** hotels and above.
The price of breakfast should be shown separately from that of the room.
the Greek Breakfast
The «Greek Breakfast» welcomes guests at hotels in every corner of Greece to savor the flavors and aroma of purely Greek products and regional breakfast delicacies.
The «Greek Breakfast» is the inspiration of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels to connect the gastronomical wealth of the country with the Greek hotel guest experience. It promotes the regional culinary heritage of Greece in a program formulated to highlight local specialties and products.
Managed by the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, the «Greek Breakfast» is an innovative and highly- structured program requiring strict adherence to well-defined specifications by participating hotels to ensure quality and authenticity. For the guest, it is an opportunity to discover the culinary and cultural heritage ofThe Greek hotels FAQ a preferred destination. Guests can choose from an array of traditional dishes «on the spot» gaining firsthand knowledge of local products and culinary customs.
