Affordable rooms in Greece

While I enjoyed the article “A Modern Greek Odyssey” by Henry Lee (July ’08, pg. 6) and found his travel experiences and tips interesting, I am concerned about an impression on the cost of hotel rooms that may have been created.

Mr. Lee did say, “we prefer higher-end rooms in which to unwind and be comfortable,” but some may be left with the impression that rooms are expensive in Greece. Au contraire! As recently as June of this year, on the Greek Islands I found spotlessly clean rooms each with private bathroom, small refrigerator and balcony facing the sea for €30 to €50 (near $47-$79) per night for a double. One of them was just across the road from the beach.

A Greek friend of mine who owns a hotel in Kamari beach, Santorini, told me that the classification of a hotel in Greece is not based on the amenities or the size of the room but on the size of the reception area and whether the hotel has a swimming pool and the like.

Most rooms in Greek hotels and in rooms-to-rent places are very similar to each other, regardless of the class of the hotel.

Mr. Lee says of their room on Santorini, for which they paid €231 (that’s about $360!) a night, “Our room, while fairly small and standard, was clean and comfortable.”

I tend to agree with Arthur Frommer, who says, “If a room is clean and the bed is comfortable, there is not that much difference between a $50-a-night hotel room and a $500-a-night hotel room once you turn the lights out.”

MARTY PETER

Columbus, IN