The words ‘financial crisis’ have unfortunately become synonymous with Greece and these days new Greek projects aren't as easy to get off the ground and sometimes never see the light of day. However some new ventures like this have recently come along and made the rest of the world stop and take notice again…
Now you also have to ‘think big’ and outside the square to picture that an abandoned tobacco factory can ever become a five-star hotel. Yet Cretan businessman Manolis Ledakis has spent the last 12 years transforming this industrial site into a luxury hotel.
Located in the northern Greek city of Drama, the newly opened Hydrama Grand Hotel is a window into the old-world and situated in the heart of the most iconic spots of Drama, overlooking the Aghia Varvara springs and lake. The hotel building symbolises the city’s golden years of industry (1914 to 24 period.)
Seeking to highlight the building’s historical qualities by retaining many of the architectural elements from the 1920s, the former tobacco factory has become a state- of -the- art hotel designed by architects 3SK Stylianidis.
The new accommodation space consists of 73 rooms and luxury suites, a conference hall, an a la carte restaurant, bistro, a jazz bar and a small museum at the lobby. It also boasts an elegant wine store, where local labels are celebrated.
You can definitely sense the old world meeting the new in both decor and design and this new venture is an outstanding physical reminder that to dream big is essential.
www.hydramagrandhotel.gr/index.php/en/
