Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens

The pines of the Laimos peninsula run down to the water on three sides, and on the point at the end of the drive stands the Astir Palace, the resort that the Greek state built in the 1960s to show the world the Athens Riviera. Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens opened on the site in March 2019 after a two-year rebuild, the first Four Seasons in Greece, with 303 rooms and suites divided between the Arion, the Nafsika and a line of bungalows along the sea.

History

The Arion opened in 1961 as part of a programme by the National Bank of Greece to build a resort for the international set at Vouliagmeni, then a fishing village with a thermal lake. The bungalows followed, and the Nafsika, the second and larger hotel, opened in 1979. For four decades the Astir Palace was where Greek shipping families, visiting royalty and politicians spent their summers, and where Athens held its state receptions by the sea. The bank sold the complex in 2016 to a consortium led by Jermyn Street Real Estate Fund of Turkey, with AGC Equity Partners, and brought in Four Seasons. The rebuild kept the three structures and replaced almost everything inside them.

Architecture and design

The Arion is the smaller of the two hotels, a low curved building of the early 1960s with sea views from every room; the Nafsika is the larger, in two wings up the slope. The 61 bungalows are set among the pines at the water's edge with their own terraces and paths down to the rocks. The interiors of the rebuild are pale: limestone, oak, linen, marble from Greek quarries, with the long terraces of the originals kept and extended. The three beaches are Astir Beach, the longest and open to the public, a smaller bay for the hotel, and the rocky cove on the Nafsika side.

Rooms and suites

The 303 keys include rooms and suites in both hotels and the bungalows, several of which have private pools. The Royal Suite in the Arion and the top suites in the Nafsika have terraces over the Saronic Gulf. Every room faces the sea or the pine garden.

Dining

There are eight restaurants and bars. Pelagos, in the Arion, is the Greek seafood restaurant and holds a Michelin star. Mercato is the Italian trattoria on the Nafsika terrace. Taverna 37 is a Greek taverna on the beach. Avra serves lunch by the beach and Helios is the Mediterranean grill by the Nafsika pool. The Astir Beach Club and the lobby bars complete the list.

Wellness

The spa has ten treatment rooms, a hammam, sauna and indoor pool, with a programme built around Greek herbs and olive oil. There are three outdoor pools, a tennis academy, a fitness centre and water sports from the beaches. The Astir Marina next door has berths for yachts.

Weddings and events

The resort has the largest event capacity on the Athens Riviera, with a ballroom in the Nafsika, several meeting rooms and the lawns and terraces by the sea used for ceremonies and receptions. Weddings are held on the beach, on the Arion terrace and in the gardens, with the ballroom for banquets of several hundred. Conferences and incentive groups use the Nafsika rooms, with the bungalows and beaches for the programme.

Location

Vouliagmeni is 25 kilometres south of the centre of Athens on the Saronic coast, about 35 minutes by car from Syntagma Square and 30 minutes from Athens International Airport at Spata. The Vouliagmeni thermal lake is next to the resort. As a luxury hotel in Athens it is the one with its own beaches and marina, which no hotel in the city centre can offer.