“I agree with those that consider that the Hilton Athens is probably the most lovely Hilton on this planet,” Conrad Hilton declared on the lodge’s grand opening in 1963. This iconic instance of architectural modernism dropped at Athens a spirit of optimism, openness and cosmopolitanism. It got here to outline a complete period, culminating within the 2004 Olympic Video games, when it grew to become the official lodge of the Worldwide Olympic Committee.
In 2022, the Hilton Athens closed its doorways in order that one thing new might be born instead. The historic construction is being reworked right into a multifaceted vacation spot boasting a brand new lodge and luxurious residences beneath Hilton’s award-winning Conrad and Waldorf Astoria manufacturers, in addition to a life-style members’ membership, and excellent services for gastronomy, leisure, wellness and buying, creating a novel ecosystem of experiences that may assist the world expertise up to date Athens to the fullest.
This new vacation spot known as The Ilisian, named for the historic Ilisos River and the encircling Ilisia neighborhood; the title itself denotes a timeless connection to town and its residents. Integral to The Ilisian, quickly to be a vibrant assembly place for Athenians and guests alike, is a cosmopolitan spirit that embodies the constructing’s authentic id and embraces the essence of contemporary Athens; it is going to be a spot the place town’s fabled cultural heritage lives comfortably alongside up to date worldwide traits.
The announcement of the title and the presentation of the primary 3D renderings of the brand new vacation spot, anticipated to be accomplished by the top of 2025, occurred on the development web site, at a particular occasion attended by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. He expressed his hope that The Ilisian would change into a metropolis landmark for the twenty first century, just like what the Hilton represented for the twentieth century. “The Ilisian has been reworked into a bridge that connects the current with the previous, main the capital as a complete to a extra hopeful future,” he remarked. “This important funding contributes to the imaginative and prescient of an Athens that’s welcoming and visitable 12 months a 12 months. Its trendy operation can even change into part of the brand new picture of a rustic that after once more has new and grand horizons.”
“With nice respect for the distinctive legacy of this landmark, we stock the duty of its repurposing in order that it continues to be a beloved vacation spot, creating lifetime recollections,” says Achilles V. Constantakopoulos, Chairman of TEMES S.A., the bulk shareholders of Ionian Lodge Enterprises, the brand new vacation spot’s builders. “Our ambition is for The Ilisian to change into a gathering level and supply of inspiration, the place worldwide ideas mix harmoniously with the native character.”
“Athens has been residence to the Hilton for greater than six many years, and we’re extremely proud to be evolving such a key metropolis landmark on the location of the long-lasting former Hilton Athens,” provides Dino Michael, Senior Vice President & World Class Head, Hilton Luxurious Manufacturers. “The town is an ideal vacation spot for immediately’s international luxurious traveler, with a thriving cultural scene and a wealthy historical past – and the beautiful location of the property overlooking the Acropolis completely enhances the property’s trendy luxurious design. We’re excited to start welcoming visitors subsequent 12 months.”
This strategic funding, which totals €340 million (together with the acquisition of the constructing), will impression Athens considerably. In response to a College of Piraeus examine, THE ILISIAN’s general financial contribution throughout its first 5 years of operation will high €1.25 billion. The mission additionally holds substantial employment advantages, having created over 800 direct jobs throughout the development part and poised to generate as much as 800 direct operational jobs – practically triple the quantity beforehand employed on the location.
The Ilisian is designed to spotlight up to date Athens and assist the Greek capital’s emergence as a premier European journey and residential vacation spot. Making its debut in Greece, Conrad Athens will supply 278 well-appointed visitor rooms and suites, every offering expansive views of historic Athens, together with a 400-square-meter mega-suite. Moreover, 18 non-public residences can be found as Conrad Residences and 37 as Waldorf Astoria Residences, the latter situated on the constructing’s higher flooring.
The cornerstone of contemporary design is storytelling; with its wealthy historical past, the unique constructing offered ample narrative materials for immediately’s creators to serve a imaginative and prescient of contemporary luxurious that invitations you to expertise it. Areas, supplies, strains, textures, and colours all pay tribute to the design language of modernism and the optimism it expressed globally within the first post-war many years. The designers envision a return of the constructing to its superb days, with the architectural examine by AETER Architects preserving and highlighting all its iconic parts. Essentially the most distinguished are the 2 reliefs by famed Greek artist Yannis Moralis on facades manufactured from Pentelic marble, every 626 sq. meters and that includes scenes impressed by antiquity that mix parts of hospitality, journey, and leisure. Moralis, like all his contemporaries of the ’30s Technology who helped form the panorama of contemporary Greek artwork, is current each as a supply of inspiration and as a spirit – stressed, bohemian, daring, inventive: all parts embodied within the character of the rising vacation spot.
The sunny local weather of Athens and the Hilton’s privileged place in probably the most distinguished expanse of central Athens, a spot thought-about a suburb even initially of the final century, are integral to the design narrative. The Ilisian offers a powerful sense of being surrounded by nature, with gardens, crops, and water options that evoke a way of well-being, blurring the boundaries between inside and exterior environments, with pure mild including nuances to the general environment all through the day.
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