Greek Hotels Among Winners of ‘Historic Hotels of Europe’ 2016 Awards

Two Greek hotels are among the ten luxury hotels that have beaten off competition from 500 competitors to be named the winners in the fourth Historic Hotels of Europe (HHE) awards announced on Monday at a gala dinner at Château de l’Epinay in Saint-Georges-sur-Loire, France.

Guests voted for their favourite hotels in ten wide-ranging categories, encompassing romance, legend, fine dining, spa facilities and more.

A member of the Greek Historic Hotels network and subsequently the Historic Hotels of Europe organization since the beginning of the year, the Marpessa Smart Luxury Hotel, an authentic mansion of the 1920 located in Agrinio, won the “Best Historic Hotel New Member Award 2016”.

Marpessa Smart Luxury Hotel

Another Greek winner was the Aigialos Luxury Traditional Settlement on Santorini. The 16 renovated neoclassical houses that make up the hotel were originally the homes of the island’s noble captain families. Named “Best Historic Hotel with a ‘Story to Tell’ 2016”, the Aigialos charms visitors with its cobbled walkways, overlooking deep blue seas and the island’s volcano.

Aigialos Luxury Traditional Settlement

“These awards are an opportunity to reward the outstanding effort that the staff at our member hotels put in to ensure their guests are happy”, HHE chairman Barbara Avdis said when announcing the winners of 2016.

“It’s also a celebration of the commitment our members make to maintain the incredibly rich heritage and stories encapsulated in these buildings — and to recognise their constant striving to provide an excellent service for their guests”, she added.

HHE is a not-for-profit umbrella company championing more than 500 of Europe’s most historically-significant hotels.

Each member hotel is unique and each is wrapped inextricably into the history of their location – and of Europe beyond. That’s why the organisation selected ten separate categories for the judging.

The winners for 2016 are:

1. Best Castle Historic Hotel 2016 – Castle Hotel Sonnenburg, Italy
2. Best Countryside Historic Hotel 2016 – Hotel See-Villa, Austria
3. Best Customer Care Historic Hotel 2016 – Chesa Salis, Switzerland
4. Best Historic Hotel Spa Award 2016 – Szidónia Manor House, Hungary
5. Best City Historic Hotel 2016 – Hotel Elizabeth, Slovakia
6. Best Historic Hotel New Member Award 2016, Hotel Marpessa, Greece
7. Best Historic Hotel with “A Story to Tell” 2016 – Aigialos Hotel Santorini, Greece
8. Best Adventure and Activities Historic Hotel 2016 – Knutholmen, Norway
9. Historic Hotel Best Restaurant 2016 – Marlfield House, Ireland
10. Most Romantic Historic Hotel 2016 – Vadstena Convent Hotel, Sweden