PROPERTIES
February 2014
robbreport.com.sg
PROPERTIES THE RIGHT ASSETS TO ADD NOW TO YOUR PORTFOLIO
134
TRAVEL & LEISURE
Robb Report – Issue 15
MUCH ADO ABOUT ATHENS
Despite its economic woes, Greece’s capital is buzzing with packed restaurants, new hotels and throngs of tourists. By SANJAY SURANA
February – 2014
I
TRAVEL & LEISURE
t’s 10pm on a Monday and Thanasis, a restaurant that serves souvlaki (a Greek dish of pieces of meat grilled on a skewer) just off Monastiraki Square, is packed with tourists and locals. This might not seem remarkable – the scene is repeated elsewhere on a Monday night – were it not for the fact that Thanasis is located in the capital of Greece, where the unemployment rate hovers in the high 20-per-cent range, and whose government was bailed out by eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.
This swmming pool looks out to the Parthenon and is one of the palatial features of King George Hotel’s Penthouse Suite.
135
But put the negative press on hold – Athens is coming back. Call it creativity born of crisis. Specifically the government debt crisis, and subsequent financial meltdown of 2009, that pushed residential and commercial rents to an all-time low, attracting Greek expats to return and create businesses. John Consolas was raised in Greece and London, and embodies the new breed of entrepreneur. Working for an architect and as a consultant in Athens before losing his job, he decided in late 2012 to open Alice Inn Athens (aliceinnathens.com), a charming bed-
136 RR
TRAVEL & LEISURE
Robb Report – Issue 15
While the economy is still hampered by unemployment, Athens is dusting itself off and blazing a way forward. and-breakfast near the prestigious Syntagma Square, home to the Parliament building. “There’s a mini boom because prices have hit rock bottom. People see what happened in Cyprus where money is not safe in banks, so they look to property.” Although the peak summer season was still a few weeks away at the time of my visit, business at Alice Inn was buoyant, with Australian families, Canadian couples, French DJs and Chinese honeymooners checking in and out. “Things are always opening and closing, that’s natural, but this turnover is creating an excitement, a buzz, a sense that all these places are trying to be just
Stay in one of the 73 rooms and suites on Hotel Grande Bretagne’s sixth and seventh floors to take advantage of the 24-hour butler service.
ahead of the curve, and that within a year it might just take off. As for property right now, it’s like a ripe fruit ready for plucking.” Judging by a pair of hotels on Syntagma Square, the city is awakening. Lampsa Hellenic Hotels, a Greek hotel company and owner of the prestigious Grande Bretagne (www.grandebretagne.gr), leased the next-door King George (www.starwoodhotels. com) from Eurobank. To bring the 78-yearold hotel up on par with Grande Bretagne, Lampsa spent three months and €2.5 million ($4.2 million) refurbishing it, upgrading rooms and doubling the size of the lobby. At Tudor Hall, the hotel’s famous restaurant
February – 2014
137
A priceless collection of antiques from Christie’s and Sotheby’s furnishes every room in the 200sqm Presidential Suite at Hotel Grande Bretagne.
138
TRAVEL & LEISURE
Robb Report – Issue 15
Lampsa Hellenic Hotels spent three months and €2.5 million to refurbish the 78-year-old King George Hotel.
Surveying the lavish breakfast at Grande Bretagne, it’s hard to believe that Greece is mired in an economic crisis. on the seventh floor, diners crowd the buffet tables and enjoy views of the Acropolis along with their Greek cuisine. Next door, during breakfast at Grande Bretagne – an old-school European grande dame with Ionic columns, ornate mosaic tile floors, and neoclassical interiors – the tables are piled high with strawberries, cherries, lemon doughnuts, long sticks of baguette and plates of feta, smoked turkey, ham, Danish pastries, pralines and apple strudel. Surveying the scene, it’s hard to believe that Greece is mired in an economic crisis. I spoke with Christos, a barman at Grande
Above: Consolas named his inn after his late grandmother Alice Hawkshaw.
Bretagne. “We lost guests two years ago because every day there were protests outside, but now it’s much better.” Breakfast is evidence of the resurgence, with German businessmen, Indian and Russian lovebirds, Chinese families, and Greek and American businessmen browsing around the buffet tables for their next course. One morning, I sat next to Alexandros, a Greek-Cypriot shipping executive. He recalls: “There were times that I was sitting here alone. One afternoon, the staff had to shut all the iron gates outside and stockpile all the fire extinguishers in the lobby because
February – 2014
TRAVEL & LEISURE
demonstrators were outside. Grande Bretagne was a target, but the owners kept it running. I remember another time the front door was kicked in and the marble steps were demolished, but the following morning, by 9.30am, the marble steps and glass door had been fixed and breakfast was being served here as if nothing had happened. Imagine that.”
Monastiraki Square is one of the principal shopping districts in Athens.
Photo GETTY IMAGES
139
Athens finds itself at a fascinating crossroads. While the economy is still hampered by unemployment, the city is dusting itself off and blazing a way forward, helped by optimistic, driven and proud young Athenians and transplants who, more than anything, dare to believe. That, in itself, should be lauded and, one hopes, a reason for success. ≠
robbreport.com.sg
PROPERTIES THE RIGHT ASSETS TO ADD NOW TO YOUR PORTFOLIO
134
TRAVEL & LEISURE
Robb Report – Issue 15
MUCH ADO ABOUT ATHENS
Despite its economic woes, Greece’s capital is buzzing with packed restaurants, new hotels and throngs of tourists. By SANJAY SURANA
February – 2014
I
TRAVEL & LEISURE
t’s 10pm on a Monday and Thanasis, a restaurant that serves souvlaki (a Greek dish of pieces of meat grilled on a skewer) just off Monastiraki Square, is packed with tourists and locals. This might not seem remarkable – the scene is repeated elsewhere on a Monday night – were it not for the fact that Thanasis is located in the capital of Greece, where the unemployment rate hovers in the high 20-per-cent range, and whose government was bailed out by eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.
This swmming pool looks out to the Parthenon and is one of the palatial features of King George Hotel’s Penthouse Suite.
135
But put the negative press on hold – Athens is coming back. Call it creativity born of crisis. Specifically the government debt crisis, and subsequent financial meltdown of 2009, that pushed residential and commercial rents to an all-time low, attracting Greek expats to return and create businesses. John Consolas was raised in Greece and London, and embodies the new breed of entrepreneur. Working for an architect and as a consultant in Athens before losing his job, he decided in late 2012 to open Alice Inn Athens (aliceinnathens.com), a charming bed-
136 RR
TRAVEL & LEISURE
Robb Report – Issue 15
While the economy is still hampered by unemployment, Athens is dusting itself off and blazing a way forward. and-breakfast near the prestigious Syntagma Square, home to the Parliament building. “There’s a mini boom because prices have hit rock bottom. People see what happened in Cyprus where money is not safe in banks, so they look to property.” Although the peak summer season was still a few weeks away at the time of my visit, business at Alice Inn was buoyant, with Australian families, Canadian couples, French DJs and Chinese honeymooners checking in and out. “Things are always opening and closing, that’s natural, but this turnover is creating an excitement, a buzz, a sense that all these places are trying to be just
Stay in one of the 73 rooms and suites on Hotel Grande Bretagne’s sixth and seventh floors to take advantage of the 24-hour butler service.
ahead of the curve, and that within a year it might just take off. As for property right now, it’s like a ripe fruit ready for plucking.” Judging by a pair of hotels on Syntagma Square, the city is awakening. Lampsa Hellenic Hotels, a Greek hotel company and owner of the prestigious Grande Bretagne (www.grandebretagne.gr), leased the next-door King George (www.starwoodhotels. com) from Eurobank. To bring the 78-yearold hotel up on par with Grande Bretagne, Lampsa spent three months and €2.5 million ($4.2 million) refurbishing it, upgrading rooms and doubling the size of the lobby. At Tudor Hall, the hotel’s famous restaurant
February – 2014
137
A priceless collection of antiques from Christie’s and Sotheby’s furnishes every room in the 200sqm Presidential Suite at Hotel Grande Bretagne.
138
TRAVEL & LEISURE
Robb Report – Issue 15
Lampsa Hellenic Hotels spent three months and €2.5 million to refurbish the 78-year-old King George Hotel.
Surveying the lavish breakfast at Grande Bretagne, it’s hard to believe that Greece is mired in an economic crisis. on the seventh floor, diners crowd the buffet tables and enjoy views of the Acropolis along with their Greek cuisine. Next door, during breakfast at Grande Bretagne – an old-school European grande dame with Ionic columns, ornate mosaic tile floors, and neoclassical interiors – the tables are piled high with strawberries, cherries, lemon doughnuts, long sticks of baguette and plates of feta, smoked turkey, ham, Danish pastries, pralines and apple strudel. Surveying the scene, it’s hard to believe that Greece is mired in an economic crisis. I spoke with Christos, a barman at Grande
Above: Consolas named his inn after his late grandmother Alice Hawkshaw.
Bretagne. “We lost guests two years ago because every day there were protests outside, but now it’s much better.” Breakfast is evidence of the resurgence, with German businessmen, Indian and Russian lovebirds, Chinese families, and Greek and American businessmen browsing around the buffet tables for their next course. One morning, I sat next to Alexandros, a Greek-Cypriot shipping executive. He recalls: “There were times that I was sitting here alone. One afternoon, the staff had to shut all the iron gates outside and stockpile all the fire extinguishers in the lobby because
February – 2014
TRAVEL & LEISURE
demonstrators were outside. Grande Bretagne was a target, but the owners kept it running. I remember another time the front door was kicked in and the marble steps were demolished, but the following morning, by 9.30am, the marble steps and glass door had been fixed and breakfast was being served here as if nothing had happened. Imagine that.”
Monastiraki Square is one of the principal shopping districts in Athens.
Photo GETTY IMAGES
139
Athens finds itself at a fascinating crossroads. While the economy is still hampered by unemployment, the city is dusting itself off and blazing a way forward, helped by optimistic, driven and proud young Athenians and transplants who, more than anything, dare to believe. That, in itself, should be lauded and, one hopes, a reason for success. ≠
