NEW Hotel – Stay in a Major Art Installation in Athens, Greece

Owned by Dakis Joannou, an eminent collector of modern art, the philosophy of Yes! Hotels is Young, Enthusiastic and Seductive and denotes a commitment to creating a new form of art in hospitality;
Located in Athens, NEW Hotel is the ideal destination for unique and unforgettable stay. Offering an entirely NEW approach to young interior design, energetic hospitality, and seductive customer-centered services, NEW Hotel is the first ever hotel project of award winning designer duo, Fernando and Humberto Campana.

Dakis Joannou commissioned the Brazilian brothers for their eco-sensitive ethos and the use of contemporary handicraft practices and local idioms. Drawn to their specific language, which in turn draws from urban street life, contemporary art and the Sao Paulo favela culture, Joannou gave them absolute freedom to dream. The result is an intriguing 79-room establishment, where every public space and every floor has been creatively re-NEW-ed to include remnants of the former Olympic Palace Hotel.

The interiors are simply outstanding, the unusual custom-made furniture and handmade fixtures making guests feel that they live and breathe in a major art installation.
NEW Hotel is located close to the Constitution Square and within walking distance from the city’s main attractions. Both leisure and business travellers will enjoy this enviable NEW Hotel, right at the centre of Athens.

Much like the name suggests, NEW Hotel is housed in a reanimated modernist structure—a non-conformist in a city of classicism: It incorporates the long-standing history and modern, hip culture of Athens through its beautiful contemporary design and imaginative spaces. It also features an impressive rooftop bar and restaurant and a stunningly unique Penthouse Suite.

The ambiences of the hotel are sophisticated and accurate down to the smallest detail, provided with sleek jagged mirrors and bespoke modern furniture, which were created from the use of recycled materials and wisely made by local art students.

Creativity follows through in every room including bathrooms, hallways, restaurants and bedrooms, where every corner breathes contemporary design in an interactive, fun and colourful way. Various themes are present, including Greek folklore, the ‘evil eye’ tradition and postcards of Athens.

ACCOMMODATION

New Hotel’s 79 rooms and suites are styled according to three design concepts, each based on a different notion of Greek culture: postcards showcasing old Athens; evil eye amulets; and traditional “karagoiozis” shadow puppets kept behind acrylic glass plates that float just above the walls, making guests feel like they are linked intrinsically with the art, instead of being its passive observers.

Re-edited Thonet chairs mix with handmade furniture made from the recycled materials from the original Olympic Palace Hotel built in 1958. The spacious rooms offer views of a side street where guests can catch the vibe of this historic Athenian neighbourhood.

DINING

There are two restaurants, including a Rooftop Art Lounge bar-restaurant, which boasts an impressive view of the city and the Acropolis itself, and fine-dining restaurant New Taste on the ground floor.
Both venues serve Mediterranean and international cuisine, and drinks are best enjoyed at the rooftop. The Very Greek cocktail, featuring masticha, lemon juice, cucumber and grapefruit soda, is one of the house specialities.

Breakfast is also taken very seriously: The in-house bakery is overseen by Christophe Vasseaur from Paris.

WELLNESS & SPA

NEW Hotel welcomes you to balance your body and mind, to revive your spirit and free your senses. Get ready to experience a personal sense of re-NEW-al and firm your muscles at the fully equipped NEW Sense fitness room, open on a twenty-four-hour basis. Relax in the Jacuzzi or fully unwind with a steam bath and treat yourself to a number or rejuvenating spa therapies and treatments that will lift your spirit high.

Architecture – A piece of living art

Ever since 1958, when the old Olympic Palace Hotel first pierced the Athenian skyline, it’s been seen as one of the city’s best examples of modernist architecture. Now, after being painstakingly pulled apart and fastened back together in its original site overlooking Syntagma Square, it’s become a piece of living art. Owner and Greek Cypriot industrialist Dakis Joannou, who renamed his creation New Hotel, was keen that nothing from the original building be thrown away.

He enlisted the help of Brazilian interior design legends Humberto and Fernando Campana, renowned globally for their ability to create masterpieces from casts offs and reclaimed materials. Together the three worked to create a space in which the senses are arrested by sights, textures and moods – and objects demand to be interacted with, rather than ignored.