New Hotels to Open in the Heart of Athens

Syntagma Square, Athens center. Photo © Maria Theofanopoulou

Syntagma and Omonia squares in central Athens will welcome two new grande hotels in 2016.

The Syntagma luxury complex has been leased from the Church of Greece for 35 years with a renewal option of an additional 15 years by a group of companies operating the Electra and Athens Gate hotels. Leading this group, is Gerasimos Fokas and its managing director is Yiannis Retsos, who also heads the Hellenic Federation of Hoteliers.

The new hotel will operate in the former culture ministry building, currently being revamped, along central Mitropoleos St, with the group having invested 15 million euros in the 5-star hotel, 220-room complex complete with pool, restaurant, fitness and conference centers. The hotel is set to open in Spring 2016.

Omonia Square, Athens. Photo: GTP

The second 120-room, four-star hotel is set to open on Omonia Square in 2016, where the Fashion House Hotel formerly stood. This unit, leased for 40 years, will be run by Mage Hotels & Resorts, controlled by a Greek-American entrepreneur.

In the meantime, the former Athens Lycabettus Hotel on Valaoritou St is also up for grabs, with the owners, the Archdiocese of Athens, expected to announce a bidding procedure in the next weeks.

Finally, according to Greek daily Kathimerini, Coco-Mat Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is also planning the opening a new 39-room hotel in the upscale neighborhood of Kolonaki, central Athens, budgeted at 10 million euros.