Hydrea Exclusive Hospitality

It was advertised as a 5 star hotel with good WiFi and a bathtub but in fact was at best a 3 star B&B, tub was broken and had no WiFi.. was willing to pay the $1k/night for what was advertised but got swindled by this property. Pros: it’s a beautiful old building with a beautiful view of the sea from the windows. Cons: it’s a beautiful old building, but has not been renovated aside from a cheap bathroom that was barely functional. There was mold from wood rot that had been painted over to look ok, but if you have mold issues you will get sick. No wifi in our room, they kept gaslighting us about it. The tub was not functional and you had to hold a shower spout to clean yourself because there was no shower otherwise. 5 star hotels have room service etc obviously that was not the case here either. Basically complete fraud.

The hotel is in a fantastic location right near the port and some great swimming spots. The rooms and lovely. However, the service was poor. A few examples include: Every day when we left our room they would come into our room and turn the aircon off. As it was 37 degrees during the day, we wanted to come back to a cool room after being out for lunch etc. Each day we asked them to stop doing this and each day they continued. On one occasion I had a 7.30am work call and asked to order a coffee to have while I did this call. They said they were unable to make coffee before 8am - crazy in a luxury hotel at these prices. Every day the barista got my coffee order wrong despite ordering the same thing every day for the duration of our stay. The girl on the front desk was quite rude and unhelpful. She claimed a few times it was just that she didn’t speak English well (which seems concerning given most of the guests staying speak English) however at other times it seemed to be clear she just wanted us to get out of the hotel each day and not ask for assistance for things like reservations for restaurants. In the end we organised things ourselves. On one day the tour guide we had organised for 7pm had called the hotel to cancel and they had not bothered to notify us - we got to reception at 6.45 only then to find our tour was cancelled It’s a shame as the hotel itself is lovely (however I would not recommend it for older guests or those not strong and fit to do lots of stairs - the main staircase is very steep and long - I’m in my mid 30s and found it hard to do each day in the heat. There’s no alternate access). I do hope they improve the service in future if the expect to charge the prices they do for this hotel.

After a weekend in Athens we took the Flying Cat from Piraeus to Hydra. A short stroll round the harbour brought us to the Hydrea, where we have spent a wonderful 5 days (so far). The terrace has a wonderful view across the town, but our private terrace has been the perfect location to watch the comings and goings of the buzzy town - just far enough away to be out of the hubbub, close enough to be wherever you want to be in a few minutes. The building is lovely, decorated in a soft palette throughout and beautifully furnished. Like the place, service is relaxed but on point. Breakfasts, ordered in advance but available at any time from 8.30 - 11.00, are delicious. No, there isn’t a pool, there’s limited facilities and reception isn’t available 24 hours, but who cares. This is a place for just stopping and chilling out. Be aware that access from street level is up 35 or so fairly steep stone steps and there is stone flooring in public areas. There is a stair lift available.