Hotel Grande Bretagne

The Hotel Grande Bretagne (Greek: Ξενοδοχείο Μεγάλη Βρεταννία) is a luxury hotel in Athens, Greece. It is located on Syntagma Square, on the corner of Vasileos Georgiou A' and Panepistimiou Streets. It is owned presently by Lampsa Hellenic Hotels.[4]

Hotel Grande Bretagne, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Athens
Hotel Grande Bretagne in Central Athens
General information
LocationAthens, Greece
Coordinates37.976300°N 23.735448°E / 37.976300; 23.735448
Opening1874
OwnerLampsa Hellenic Hotels S.A.[1]
ManagementMarriott International
Technical details
Floor count9
Other information
Number of rooms320[2]
Number of restaurants8[3]
ParkingValet Parking
Website
official website

History
The Hotel Grande Bretagne in 1874, in the original Dimitriou mansion designed by Theophil Hansen.

The original structure was built during 1842 as a house for Antonis Dimitriou, a wealthy Greek businessman from the island of Lemnos, twelve years after independence of Greece from the Ottoman Empire. In 1874, it was bought by Efstathios Lampsas, who restored it with an 800,000 drachma loan and named it "Grande Bretagne." By 1888, the hotel had electricity installed. In November 1930, a new wing on Panepistimiou Street was inaugurated, and in 1950, another wing on Voukourestiou Street. In 1957, Dimitriou's mansion was demolished and a new wing was built on its place. The architect Kostas Voutsinas and the owners retained some of the style of the original building.[5]

During the Greco-Italian War and the Battle of Greece in 1940–41, the hotel housed the Greek General Headquarters. During the Axis occupation, the hotel served as Nazi headquarters. When the Axis withdrew from Greece, in 1944, British forces made it their headquarters.[6][7]

During the early stages of the Greek Civil War, the hotel housed Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou, the Council of Ministers, and the British military assistance force under General Ronald Scobie.

During 2003, the Grande Bretagne underwent a €112-million renovation. The hotel has 320 rooms and suites, including a 400 square metre (4,305 sqf.) suite on the fifth floor. The hotel also has a roof garden restaurant.

References
  1. "OWNER". Grande Bretagne. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  2. "Rooms & Suites". Grande Bretagne. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  3. "Restaurants & Bars". Grande Bretagne. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  4. "Grande Bretagne Hotel in Athens". Lux Hotels. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  5. E. Papandreou, The History of the "Grande Bretagne" Hotel, archaiologia.gr.
  6. Alan Crawford; Tony Czuczka (12 June 2013). Angela Merkel: A Chancellorship Forged in Crisis. Wiley. pp. 32–. ISBN 978-1-118-64109-5.
  7. "Greece debt crisis: What happened to democracy when it's a case of 'Vote Yes or else'?". The independent. 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
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