Page 16 - Diamond Hotel Collection, Greece - Cyprus, 2024

Four Seasons

Astir Palace Hotel Athens

An iconic hideaway on the glamorous
Athens Riviera, reborn

The history of Astir Palace dates back to half a century ago, in “Nafsika”that looks carved into the rocks,
the early 1960s, when Greece emerged as an international tourist in perfect harmony with the surroundings,
destination, and a new, robust middle class and upper middle opened in 1980. Architecturally speaking,
class with cosmopolitan features were looking for a means -and a it is an exquisite example of the modern
location- to express themselves. They would find both at Laimos era (NB it was designed by Emmanouil
in Vouliagmeni, about 25 kilometers away from the city center, at Vourekas, architect of Hilton as well as
the heart of Athenian Riviera. The Astir Palace cabanas, a small A. Georgiadis and K. Dekavallas), and its
private Paradise, sprawling across a stretch of 300 acres on a swimming pool was the absolute meeting
pine dotted land and golden beach soon became a synonym of point of the Athenian elite and the business,
the Greek dolce vita. Accommodation here was a privilege for political, media and artistic world for
few people. decades. The third hotel of the complex,
the quiet and family “Aphrodite’ hotel with
But as time went by and demand increased, it was soon a view to the Aegean Sea, was constructed
necessary to construct the first hotel of the complex. The in 1984.
luxurious “Arion” hotel opened in 1967 and was designed by the
eminent architect Konstantinos Voutsinas. Its imperial marble
entrance staircase-which was then a unique feature for a lobby
hotel – the handmade furniture, the works of art that decorated
the walls, signed by Gizis, Trarouchis, Engonopoulos, Moralis and
Mitaras, soon became talk of the town.
www.fourseasons.com/athens