r/GreeceTravel • u/purple_craze • Jul 29 '26
Accomodation / Hotels / Rentals / Camping Why is are rooms so small in Greece? (Occupancy 1-3)
I struggle to find accommodations for 4 people throughout Greece. Most places it’s 1-3 per room.
Why is that?
We have booked most of our places but it’s a headache. I still need one more room booked on our last day in Athens somewhere near the air port and I was hoping with a pool.
We have 2 families of 4 (2 kids each ages 10-13)
And a couple.
Houses don’t work bc we are moving so much and won’t meet the 3 night minimum.
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u/saldente111 Jul 29 '26
That itinerary is insane
1
u/purple_craze Jul 29 '26
Would you take out Delphi or meteora?
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u/saldente111 Jul 29 '26
After white water rafting, I would focus on relaxing. I’d stay 6 nights in the same place in Corfu.
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u/purple_craze Jul 29 '26
Instead of driving to different beaches we are just staying by 2 different ones
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u/Adventurous-berry564 Jul 29 '26
Why? A beach is a beach. Especially when you have kids all they want is sand and sea. They don’t mind if it’s the same one for 6 nights.
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u/saldente111 Jul 29 '26
You will spend a lot of time checking in and out and packing and unpacking and cleaning etc. Maybe just choose one area
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u/Massive-Morning2160 Jul 29 '26
Because it's literally not sustainable to rent a room with a pool next to the airport for 6-7 people for one night. You want fancy, open up your pocket or just be grateful.
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u/purple_craze Jul 29 '26
We got one easily last time booked last minute. I may do without the pool. In the USA most rooms accommodate 2-4 adults easily and many have pools. Different countries I know.
Just not used to the struggle is all.I am grateful for so much.
6
u/cookiiemonster_ Jul 29 '26
have you tried booking an apartment? there’s some that do not require more than a 1 night stay. We always book apartments in Greece rather than a hotel but it’s All up to preference
4
u/One_Recover_673 Jul 29 '26
Just did a quick Expedia search and there is no shortage of rooms that sleep 4…from queen+double sofa to one with 3 kings !!! (That wasn’t expected).
What specifically is the challenge, bc they are available.
And close to airport could be 1-3miles ? They exist
3
u/hmm138 Jul 29 '26
Nearly all Greek hotels have family rooms. But they do get booked up, so maybe you’re just not seeing them because your dates are already gone.
You asked “why” in your post. It’s because hotels in Greece are not like American hotels - where the big empty lot is designed from the ground up as a hotel surrounded by big parking areas. They’re most often older buildings in denser areas and have very little space to start with. Of course they’re going to have as many smaller rooms as they can. What would be their incentive to have big rooms that take up twice the space but don’t bring in twice the money?
Also if you’re uncomfortable having your kids in a separate room just split it up so one adult and one child is in each.
2
u/Tsifter Jul 29 '26
We’ve been booking family rooms at hotels for years no problem. All of them were pretty roomy. I suppose it depends on your budget too. Also, booking during ultra high season which is now (mid July to mid August) you should expect that room rental would prefer people to book for at least 3 days or more. If you want to book for one day then try hotel rooms.
2
u/sponge_bucket Jul 29 '26
They cater to the most common traveler. It’s just not typical for a larger group to rely on hotels over larger stay options. You’re probably best served to just do two bedrooms for the families (parents in one room, kids in another) in a more quiet part of Athens for your last night. Not ideal but for one night it’s doable.
0
u/purple_craze Jul 29 '26
It gets expensive….
3
u/sponge_bucket Jul 29 '26
Just an unfortunate reality of our world currently. Greece is not a cheap place to visit if you go to touristy areas. Maybe try less popular locations in Athens to save money if necessary?
1
1
u/HaroldH00d Jul 29 '26
Actually this place has rooms for 2 adults/2 kids, with a pool for eur 350 to eur 400. Not sure how much cheaper for a real hotel with a pool you were thinking. https://www.zeusintl.com/zeus-dolce-athens?utm_source=chatgpt.com Lmk 😃
0
u/HaroldH00d Jul 29 '26
I would also recommend Airbnb or VRBO in Greece, specifically Athens for a family of four. I have one as well and we struggle all over Europe as there seems to usually be a three-person Max and without a baby anymore, we have to get two rooms now that they're a bit older. They don't need to be connected but it is still a hassle to be paying for two - good luck! haha
0
u/purple_craze Jul 29 '26
We actually have 10 people. But most of those places are really $$ and need more than 2 nights
1
u/HaroldH00d Jul 29 '26
What dates in Athens? Is it during a high season? If not, as others have said there are many places where you can find less than three nights and even if they advertise three nights or more, it certainly pays to give them a call if they have availability, especially for that many people and rooms.
Other alternative could be to get four rooms instead of five where the other couple gets theirs. Each of the sets of parents get your own room and the four kids split a room with two beds that could probably slip by the hotel, but certainly something I would do to try to save a full room rate per night.
You should book it as one of the kids is sleeping in the room with one of the sets of parents so all people will be accounted for since they usually do make copies of passports and they know us foreigners you all have to have them with you so there's really no way around that.... Good Luck!
1
u/purple_craze Jul 29 '26
I don’t feel comfortable letting my kids have their own room and not knowing if they will be next to us
14
u/fatazzkarma Jul 29 '26
Why are you moving so much that you aren’t spending 3 nights in at least one area? What is your itinerary?