GREECE – ATHENS
The Semiramis Hotel is the brainchild of Dakis Joannou, an eminent collector of modern art. Keen to create a new art form in hospitality, with a finely tuned balance between style and comfort, he entrusted the project to designer Karim Rashid. The brief was simple but bold: a fusion between Rashid’s refusal to embrace the mundane and Joannou’s dedication to the world of modern art.
It was in Kifissia, on the outskirts of the Greek capital, that this astonishing encounter, materialised in the form of this 51-room hotel. A veritable pop manifesto, the place adopts a striking palette of lime, pink, orange, but also yellow and white. Not exactly a neutral canvas, on which Karim Rashid projected glass tiles, terrazzo floors, custom-coloured carpets, patterned wall coverings and coloured glass walls.
As for Joannou’s collection, guests will be able to admire pieces by Jeff Koons, Sue Webster and Tim Noble.
In the bedrooms, they can also discover the work of Karim Rashid, who offers this address unique pieces of his own furniture. The pool bungalows have their own private gardens, while the hotel’s Penthouse suite offers panoramic views of the surrounding greenery, and the hills that cradle Athens. Also not to be missed is the hotel’s Semiramis restaurant, serving modern Mediterranean cuisine all day long.
A small haven of peace just a twenty-minute train ride from central Athens.
Lisa Agostini