Academias Hotel: An Academy for the Senses Opens in Athens

The Greek capital recently welcomed a new five-star hotel, inspired by ancient Athenian wisdom and intellect, that strives to offer unique hospitality experiences within luxurious facilities: the Academias Hotel, Autograph Collection.

Located at the intersection of Akadimias and Omirou Streets in downtown Athens, the Academias Hotel portrays a contemporary interpretation of Plato’s Academy, blending the old and the new, designed to awaken all senses, while at the same time combining bespoke facilities with exemplary services and unique experiences.

The hotel is the first in Athens to be added as a member of the Marriott Group’s Autograph Collection Hotels, a chain of hotels that are rich in craft and character, design, architecture and unexpected back-stories.

Echoing the spirit of Plato’s Academy

According to the hotel’s management, the Academias hotel embodies the three principles of Plato’s historic academy – Science, Art and Philosophy – and brings them to life throughout various spaces within the hotel, in a postmodern way.

One of the first things guests will notice once entering the Academias Hotel are the famous quotes of ancient Greek philosophers – such as Plato, Aristotle and Socrates – that discretely “emerge” on its walls. “This is a concept that looks to create a pleasant surprise to excite the mind,” the hotel’s management says.

An investment of some seven million euros, the luxurious hotel has a total of 60 rooms including three suites, two restaurants, an indoor heated pool, a spa and a fitness center; all against a primarily deep green and warm gray color palette combined with gold and black tones. All rooms are elegantly decorated with luxurious materials and feature state-of-the-art technology amenities.

The hotel includes decorative objects from renowned design houses such as Maxalto – B&B Italia and Greek editions of books found throughout all its spaces.

Dialogue Soirees – every Thursday

According to the hotel’s management, creating memorable experiences is a key goal of the Academias Hotel. Every Thursday the hotel holds “Dialogue Soirees”, a series of creative discussions, led by an academic curator, with topics touching on primary concepts stemming from ancient Greek philosophy such as happiness, love, democracy and dialogue.

The design of the Academias Hotel is the work of US-based company HOK, which is ranked among the top 5 international interior design companies. The hotel’s branding was curated by the Greek company So Fine!.

Academias Hotel is owned by the YHE Hotel Establishment, a company of Greek-Lebanese interests, which is soon expected to become a part of a larger business group for the development of new hotel units.