The sale of the iconic Hotel Grande Bretagne in Syntagma Square is reportedly in it’s final stages, being passed on to an Arabic business group in Qatar.
The luxury 5-star hotel is one of the largest and most expensive hotels in the city, holding 384 rooms, including two 550 sq. metre Royal Suites, costing up to 32,000 euros per night.
According to ogdoo.gr, the sale will include the hotel with all it’s high valued assets, including paintings and chandeliers.
The Hotel Grande Bretagne is currently owned by the Hellenic Hotel Company Lampsa SA, belonging to wealthy shipowner Thanasis Laskaridis. According to the Greek news outlet, so far there have been no announced plans to accomodate the 650 employees who currently work at the hotel.
The iconic Syntagma Square hotel was closed for four months during Greece’s COVID-19 lockdown wave 1. It recently reopened in July.
“It has been a point of reference for over a century for Greek and foreigners alike,” said Tasos Homenidis, CEO at owner Lampsa SA, adding that it is ready to “receive guests with a sense of responsibility, giving them and exceptional and authentic accommodation experiences.”
The hotel was initially founded in 1866 by the Savvas Center, originally from Epirus, and was developed on the Stadiou and Karagiorgi streets in Serbia. In 1874 the hotel business was relocated to the Antonis Dimitriou mansion, built in 1842.
The hotel was almost the victim of an attack during WWII in 1944. The EAM, believing Winston Churchill resided in the hotel at the time, reportedly placed explosives on the foundations of its hotel. The operation was stopped by the intervention of a British patrol.
