Hotels in Olympia

Main street Olympia alternates hotels -- more than 20 at last count -- with restaurants and shops. This means that you can almost always find a room -- although if tourism here returns to its pre-2009 glory days, and you arrive without a reservation in July or August, you probably won't get your first choice. As is often the case in major tourist centers, hotels here often unofficially raise or lower rates depending on the kind of season they're having. In winter, many hotels are closed. If you want to see ancient Olympia, but stay by the sea, in considerable luxury combined with child-friendly facilities, you can do it, but you will have to do some nasty driving on truck-infested main roads to commute between a seaside hotel and Olympia. If this does not deter you, try the elegant Grecotel Olympia Riviera Resort (www.grecotel.gr), 45 minutes away on its own beach in Kyllini, with three hotel complexes (Mandola Rosa is the fanciest), 200 hectares (500 acres) of gardens, six restaurants (one organic), seven pools, and just about everything else you'd want. If it's full, try the seaside 288-room Aldemar Olympian Village Royal Olympian Spa Thalasso (www.aldemarhotels.com) in Skfridia, with extensive sport, restaurant, beach, playground, and spa facilities. Neither is cheap; doubles start from about 200€.