It’s not all bad news coming out of Greece these days. Now’s the time to take that trip you’ve been planning, capitalizing on great rates while also helping the local economy. A splendid design hotel opened in Athens on July 1, 2011, decorated by the Campana brothers (the Brazilian dream team). In fact, the New Hotel Athens was the first hotel project for the duo who have "earned a reputation for creating living art from cast-offs and spares." (We recently swooned over their work at the Café de l’Horloge at the Orsay Museum in Paris.)
Behind the modernist exterior, the hotel is filled with custom furniture and lamps. Many of these furnishings were created from recycled materials-- salvaged from the old property that stood on the site (the Olympic Palace Hotel)-- with the help of art students from the University of Thessaly. The Campana Brothers took inspiration from Antiquity and traditional Greek themes (like the evil eye) in their adventurous design. A member of Design Hotels, the New Hotel has 79 rooms equipped with all the contemporary conveniences, a restaurant, a fitness center, and a rooftop terrace with killer views over Athens. Close to Constitution Square not far from the ancient city center and the Acropolis, the hotel is owned by Greek Cypriot art collector Dakis Joannou.