COMING SOON
Athens Flair Hotel
Once the home of Greek actress Ellie Lambeti, a listed neoclassical building in Kolonaki designed by a Danish architect in the 1880s, will open as Athens Flair Hotel this summer. It will offer just six suites, each with a distinctive style and colour palette, along with a rooftop terrace. Run by a small Greek hotel group, it will be a block away from a sister property called Sir Athens, a four-suite hotel set in a building on Kaplanon street dating back to 1800. athensflair.com
Neoma Hotel Athens
A third property is set to join Athens Flair and Sir Athens this summer, on Mouson street at the foot of
Filopappou Hill, southwest of the Acropolis. Deriving its name from the Greek word for ‘new moon’ or ‘pleasantness’, Neoma Hotel Athens will have 16 elegantly pared-back rooms and suites, dressed in a neutral mix of warm wood and shades of white. The rooftop bar and pool will have views of the Acropolis. neomahotel.com
Brown Hotels
Brown Hotels will keep expanding its footprint in Athens over the coming months with at least another three hotels. More details are to follow, but they will include a hotel called Brown Spices and Theodor Athens – sibling to Theodor Tel Aviv, which is a 34-room ‘Bauhaus-themed’ hotel in a listed building at the western end of the city’s Rothschild Boulevard.
In addition, the existing Kubic Athens Hotel will turn into Kubic House, Urban Oasis by Brown Hotels. Next to the city’s National Theatre, the eight-floor hotel has 122 rooms, which are being turned into a ‘thrilling jungle’, including wallpaper with birdlife and foliage, and colourful tiling in the bathrooms.
Beyond its plans for Greece, Brown Hotels is setting its sights on the rest of Europe with properties to come to Germany and the UK. brownhotels.com
Grand Hyatt Athens
Having opened in 2018, Grand Hyatt Athens will complete construction on a substantial expansion of its hotel on Syngrou Avenue this summer. An additional 227 rooms and suites – 23 of which will have a plunge pool or private pool – takes total room count to 548 across nearly an entire city block. Club rooms and suites come with access to the hotel’s Grand Club lounge. The hotel will have four pools: one indoor, one outdoor in the courtyard, one on the roof of the original hotel, and one on the roof of the new extension.
New this summer as well is the
first outpost of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection in Greece – and ninth in Europe – with the opening of Magma Resort Santorini. On the northeast side of the island in Vourvoulos, its architecture incorporates black volcanic stone and takes inspiration from local traditional dwellings called pezoules. There are just 35 rooms and 24 suites, the majority of which offer private pools and hot tubs. Further Unbound hotels are coming to Helsinki, Mijas (Spain) and Crans Montana (Switzerland). hyatt.com
Anda Hotel Athens, Radisson Individuals
Due to open in August, Anda Hotel Athens will be located on Voukourestiou street in Kolonaki – under the Radisson Individuals ‘affiliation’ brand of Radisson Hotel Group. Greek-Swedish architect firm OOAK is transforming the existing 1960s building into a 24-room hotel with restaurant, bar, and ‘unique outdoor fitness centre’.
In the second half of 2023, the group plans to expand its presence further with Radisson Red Mitropoleos Square Athens, converting an office building into a hotel under its ‘playful upscale’ brand. It will feature 94 small apartments with kitchenettes, along with a rooftop bar and restaurant. With these two openings, Radisson will have three hotels in Athens – there is a 160-room Radisson Blu hotel on the edge of Pedion tou Areos, one of the city’s largest parks.
Additional properties arrived in the past year on Santorini (Radisson Blu Zaffron, in Kamari, with 103 rooms, suites and villas) and Mykonos (Radisson Blu Euphoria, with 34 rooms and suites). This summer, an 84-room Radisson resort will also open on Skiathos, part of the Northern Sporades islands between Athens and Thessaloniki. radissonhotels.com
One and Only Aesthesis
Promising a ‘bacchanalian celebration of Athens’, One and Only Aesthesis is under development on 21 hectares of seafront in Glyfada, southeast of the city centre. An opening date is to be confirmed, but plans include 127 rooms, suites, and villas with private pools – including a flagship ‘Villa One’. Drawing on mid-century design, features include natural stone and timber, muted colours and references to Greek mythology. Two signature restaurants, a Chenot Spa, and a fitness centre with indoor and outdoor spaces are also planned.
One and Only is also working on a resort on Kea Island, the closest Cycladic island to Athens – an hour by regular ferry from Lavrio Port, or a ten-minute helicopter ride from the airport. The resort will have 75 villas (as well as a range of private residences), three restaurants, two bars and an extensive spa. oneandonlyresorts.com
Conrad Athens
Opened in 1963 as the first major international hotel in the Greek capital, Hilton Athens closed at the start of the year for an extensive €130 million redevelopment.
The 15-storey, Modernist building will emerge as Conrad Athens in 2024. The smaller room count (down from 500+ to 280), will create space for 50 private residences – branded under a mix of Conrad and Waldorf Astoria flags. Facilities will include ‘multiple culinary and entertainment venues’ and a wellness centre.
Conrad Athens will be the brand’s fifth hotel in Europe – there are properties in London and Dublin, along the Portuguese Algarve and, as of April, on Sardinia. The planned Waldorf Astoria Residences will be the first in Europe; the original Waldorf Astoria New York is due to reopen with a large residential component following renovation. conradhotels.com; waldorfastoriacollection.com
Pantelikon Athens, Curio Collection by Hilton
Meanwhile, Hilton will also bring its Curio Collection of independent hotels to Athens in 2024, renovating the existing Pantelikon hotel in Kifisia, an affluent area about 30 minutes north of the city centre. The hotel will have 117 rooms including 13 suites, a restaurant, spa with an indoor pool, and an outdoor pool in the hotel’s garden. curiocollection.com
Hampton by Hilton Piraeus Mikrolimano
In 2024, Hilton will expand further with the opening of an 83-room property in the port city of Piraeus, one of the main hubs for ferry services to the Greek islands. Located in Kastella close to Mikrolimano marina, the Hampton will be a renovation of an existing hotel with an outdoor pool, a fitness centre, and meeting spaces. hamptonbyhilton.com
The Ellinikon
One of Europe’s largest redevelopment projects began at the start of this year on the 620-hectare site of the former Athens international airport, along a 3.5km stretch of coastline southeast of the city. At an anticipated cost of €8 billion, the vast mixed-use site – three times the size of Monaco and largely dormant since the city hosted the 2004 Olympic Games – will be developed in phases over the coming years and is expected to attract one million visitors annually when completed. The project by Lamda Development will include an integrated resort featuring a number of different hotels, including one on the beach and one as part of a 400-berth marina. theellinikon.com.gr