Athens, Greece – June 4th, 2013 – On Wednesday 5th of June 2013, following an intensive 3-month renovation, the King George hotel reopens its doors. The cost of the renovation exceeded the amount of 2.5 million euro and will be completed in the winter, as was decided by 'Lamspa Hellenic Hotels S.A.', a publicly listed company, upon the signing for the rental of the property.
'Lampsa' expands its portfolio with yet another five-star hotel, after Hotel Grande Bretagne, Hyatt Belgrade, Excelsior in Belgrade and the Sheraton Rhodes Resort in Rhodes (the latter together with the Sbokos Family), thus providing many jobs. Common feature of all the hotels is the prime location, the special architecture and the high quality of service. Mr. George Galanakis, Chairman of Lampsa, stated that "this new investment is, beyond any business incentive, a contribution of the company towards the recovery of the Greek economy."
The results of the first five months and the progress of bookings, allow for a moderate optimism regarding recovery driven by Greek tourism.
King George hotel will be managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and as Mr. Tim Ananiadis, Area Manager for Starwood in Greece & Cyprus, said "we are delighted with the addition of King George to the Luxury Collection brand and grateful to the owning company 'Lampsa S.A.' and the Laskaridis family for entrusting Starwood Hotels and Resorts to operate their third property in Greece".
The renovation of King George was curated by architect Alexandros C. Samaras and his colleagues. Referring to the work, Mr. Samaras notes that "the renovation and refurbishment of King George was done with great sensitivity and respect to tradition. Our architectural interventions aimed at reviving the glamour of the hotel, while emphasizing its contemporary 'personality'. Our goal is to reinstate the King George hotel as a central landmark of Athens. "
The King George reopens with 59 rooms offering high quality wooden floors and unique design, 43 unique suites with personalized service and a Penthouse suite with private pool and jacuzzi overlooking the Acropolis. The Tudor Hall restaurant, located on the seventh floor and with a magnificent view of Athens from above, has also been fully renovated. The Ballroom with a total capacity of 400 persons can be divided intro three separate rooms and is ideal for conferences, meetings and social events.
The book of the King George story was first written in the 1930s and since then its many glorious pages record the most significant moments of social life in Athens. Today a new page is written in this book, and tradition is combined with renewal, in order to offer guests comfort, quality, a cosmopolitan feel and high standard hospitality.
King George Hotel, controlled by Lampsa Hellenic Hotels S.A, is managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,146 properties in nearly 100 countries and 171,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, and ElementSM. The Company boasts one of the industry's leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
