Divani Apollon Palace & Thalasso

English is spoken by the hotel team, alongside French, German and Greek, so you can deal with the practicalities of a stay without resorting to underwater hand signals at reception. French is also spoken by the management. That matters when you are arranging a late meal, asking about a boat excursion or trying to work out which part of the spa your tired legs are meant to enter first.

Divani Apollon Palace & Thalasso is a seafront resort built around the useful parts of a diving holiday: rooms with views, restaurants and bars on site, a private sandy beach, swimming pools and a substantial thalassotherapy centre. The atmosphere is polished and composed rather than rustic. With 220 rooms and a renovation in 2022, it suits couples who want the sea close by but also want Athens, proper services and a comfortable base when the weather makes a second activity feel like an unnecessary personal challenge.

You can keep the day simple here. Swim, eat, sit by the water, then let the Thalasso Spa deal with the shoulders. There is also enough on site for a family stay, including a kids' club for children aged four to twelve, a children's pool, a playground and babysitting.

The address is in Vari, Athens, Greece, on the Athenian Riviera and directly beside the sea. The hotel sits on a hill overlooking the Aegean, while its own golden-sand beach gives you a much easier relationship with the water than the phrase 'sea view' sometimes promises. The private beach runs for 200 metres and has sun loungers, parasols, showers and a beach bar.

Mikro Kavouri Beach is about 0.2 miles away on foot. Megalo Kavouri Beach is about 0.5 miles away, and Niriides Beach is roughly 1.2 miles away. Lake Vouliagmeni is around 1.6 miles from the hotel, giving you a change of scenery when the sea has had enough of you for one day.

Athens is about 19 miles away, with the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum around 10 miles from the hotel. Eleftherios Venizelos Airport is roughly 11 miles away by road. The Elliniko Metro station is about 5 miles away, so a car, taxi or arranged transfer will usually make more sense than treating the journey as an impromptu shore excursion.

The room choice is mainly about how much space and sea you want around the sleeping arrangements. The standard double rooms suit two people who want a straightforward base with air conditioning, a balcony, a private bathroom and soundproofing. The Superior Double Room can also work when a sofa bed is useful, while the Executive Room Front Sea View is the obvious choice when waking up to the Aegean matters more than squeezing every last feature into the booking.

For a couple who plans to spend real time in the room, the suites give you more breathing space than the standard categories. The Divine Suite, Deluxe Suite and Presidential Suite are all designed for two guests, with the larger layouts making it easier to separate lounging from sleeping. That is useful when one of you wants an early night and the other is still dealing with photographs, dive logs or the ancient mystery of where the room key has gone.

Air conditioning, heating, soundproofed rooms, a balcony, a minibar, bathrobes and slippers cover the practical end of the evening. Daily housekeeping keeps the room in order, while room service runs around the clock if the idea of dressing for dinner has lost its appeal. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the hotel, and the rooms include a desk, wardrobe or closet and flat-screen television.

The main table is Apollon Restaurant, an air-conditioned indoor restaurant serving Mediterranean cuisine at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast is an American-style buffet, served from 07:00 to 10:00. The dress code is smart casual, so you can arrive hungry from the water, but not still dressed as though you have just climbed out of a rib boat.

Thalasso Restaurant takes the meal outside on its terrace and focuses on seafood, with lunch and dinner service in a more relaxed setting. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available, and special diet menus can be arranged. The hotel works on a half-board basis, while breakfast in the room is available when the buffet feels too ambitious.

There are two named bars. Apollo Bar is the lobby bar, with cocktails and a comfortable place to sit when you want conversation rather than pool noise. Pool Bar is beside the swimming pool and concentrates on refreshing drinks. A snack bar, minibar and 24-hour room service give you a few ways to deal with the awkward gap between getting back and being ready for a full meal.

Two heated pools give you a choice of setting. The main outdoor pool has a bar built into the pool area, while the heated indoor pool is reserved for adults and makes more sense when the sun has disappeared or your skin has had enough of it. The private beach adds golden sand, loungers, parasols, showers and a beach bar, so the basic plan of sitting still is properly supported.

The Thalasso Spa is the serious part of the non-diving programme. Its 500 square metres include thalassotherapy, massages, facials, a hammam, sauna and Jacuzzi, along with body treatments, a relaxation lounge and spa facilities. There is also a fitness centre with fitness classes, yoga and a personal trainer. In other words, you can choose between recovery, gentle movement or the traditional holiday discipline of doing neither.

If you want to remain active, the hotel offers tennis, bicycle hire and bike tours, as well as kayaking, paddleboarding, sailing, windsurfing, jet skiing, fishing and other water sports. Boat excursions are available, and the hotel can arrange outings to Athens and Cape Sounion. Live music, themed evenings and shows provide something to do after dinner, while families have a kids' club, children's activities, a children's pool, a playground, kids' meals and babysitting.

You can reach the hotel by road from Eleftherios Venizelos Airport, around 11 miles away by road. Airport transfers are available through the hotel, either privately or as a shared shuttle, and should be arranged with the property. Car hire is available, and private parking is provided on site, with valet parking also available.

Check-in is from 15:00 and check-out is until 11:00. The minimum age for check-in is 18. Early check-in and late check-out can be requested. A 24-hour reception, concierge, luggage storage, tour desk, ATM and express check-in/check-out keep the arrival and departure mechanics reasonably contained, which is helpful when flights and dive plans refuse to cooperate.

Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel. Laundry, ironing and dry-cleaning services are available, as are a business centre and five meeting rooms. The property is wheelchair accessible, with upper floors reached by lift. Pets are accepted on request, with dogs up to 10 kg accommodated. Card payments are accepted with Visa, Mastercard and American Express, alongside cash.