Philippos Xenia Hotel

We stayed in this hotel in late October 2024 for two nights. The hotel is on the perimeter of Serrres and a cheap (€5) taxi ride from the bus station. There is no train service to Serres, however the hotel does have a car park. The hotel has 57 rooms and we believe it to be part of the Xenia programme of the Greek Government in the 60’s. It is however, thoroughly modern but with homage paid to the design ethos of the Xenia programme. It has three stories and is on the margins of the countryside. Entry to the hotel leads to a small reception desk but allied to a large and very comfortable seating area – itself letting onto a restaurant and separate bar area. There is further seating for drinking and dining in an added-on conservatory and in two small external areas. There is a rooftop bar open during the summer and therefore closed when we were there! The whole of the interior was in excellent condition with high quality furnishings reflecting the past design impetus. Everywhere was comfortable and (in October) warm! There is a health and fitness club with a swimming pool on the ground floor which we did not use. There are function rooms and a conference area but we were not troubled by groups during our stay. We do not believe Serres is in on any mass tour group itinerary. Our room was on the second floor overlooking a small area of woodland. It was clean and comfortable and appointed in line with general hotel facilities. There was a desk of sorts but only with a pouf at the wrong height to work comfortably at the desk. There were, however, two very comfortable easy chairs and a small table. For guests anxious to do business there is a fully equipped business centre. There was a full width balcony with furniture. The room was spacious. The bed was large and comfortable and the linen good quality. The bathroom was disproportionately large and beginning to show its age. Our room had an oval, two-person, sunken bath with glazing to both the bedroom and the hall – there were curtains. We did not find it functional, but we are old, and many people will. The hand held shower in such a big bath presented an early morning challenge. But all that we used worked. There was plenty of hot water and the whole bathroom was very clean. We experienced no noise from either outside or inside the hotel. On our second night there had been a major football match in town but there was no impact from noise or the fact that the visiting Athenian team was staying in the hotel. The precautions taken by the hotel were superb. We had private security and local police to safeguard everybody. Wifi was acceptable. Housekeeping was good. We only took breakfast which was good, but limited – particularly for vegetarians. The dining room was spacious enough to ensure that there was no congestion at any time. We did not take dinner, but we did have a light lunch with wine in the bar. Service was good. There was a limited menu. Staff were ex

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