Insights

Grecotel: The Power of Renovation in Hospitality Design

By WATG
July 3, 2023

grecotel amirandes - hospitality design

Now, more than ever, renovation in hospitality design is offering developers and investors a significant opportunity to reimagine and refresh their existing buildings. In addition to sustainability advantages, which are critical to brand longevity, renovation can provide several major investment benefits. By working with existing properties, we can help brands to stay ahead of the competition, to keep up with revised safety codes, to optimise energy efficiency, and to generate higher gross operator profits.

WATG and Wimberly Interiors have worked with major brands on entire portfolios of hotels in Europe, including Grecotel, on several of their resorts across Greece. This owner/operator has held a strong presence in the country for over four decades, with properties in some of the most beautiful and highly sought-after locations.

Each property comes with its own unique set of challenges and we, as designers, have to ensure any redesign successfully aligns with the client vision, while respecting the local surroundings. Our hospitality design teams therefore worked in close collaboration with Grecotel to understand their brand standards and to find creative and efficient solutions that help elevate the Grecotel brand.

Grecotel Amirandes

Architecture and Wimberly Interiors

Amirandes is a five-star resort destination offering guests contemporary luxury. Located on the Cretan coastline, WATG and Wimberly Interiors converted Amirandes from a dated, budget, 1970s-era hotel to an award-winning, upscale destination, designed to encapsulate the style of an ancient Minoan palace.

While the original hotel comprised two hundred standard guestrooms, the updated design has seen the addition of private sea villas and waterfront suites, as well as key enhancements to the public areas. An Elixir spa, with massage suites, restaurants and bars have also been introduced, elevating the overall experience, and contributing to an increase in the hotel’s star rating and ADRs.

Grecotel Creta Palace

Architecture

Overlooking the breathtaking Creta Sea and old town, WATG transformed this previously three-star hotel into a five-star luxury resort.

The updated design brings light into the hotel, with several new features including entry and arrival spaces, as well as a variety of new F&B and an Elixir spa.

Works were carried out during the winter period to minimise the impact on the popular summer months. Additionally, the design solution focused on working with the existing structure to fully transform the hotel and guest experience.

Grecotel Eva Palace

Architecture

Positioned on Kommeno Peninsula, just 10 minutes from Corfu Town, the Grecotel Eva Palace offers panoramic views of the coastal villages and small islands which frame the Ionian Sea.

The hotel has undergone a significant transformation, from a 1970s-style property into a highly sophisticated five-star resort. Key features now include several luxury suites, two seawater pools, six private swimming pools and a roof-top spa and wellness retreat.

Grecotel Cape Sounio

Architecture and Wimberly Interiors

Grecotel Cape Sounio is a uniquely positioned development surrounded by rich heritage. Not only does this project sit on an archaeological site and conservation area, facing the legendary Temple of Poseidon, but it comes with a picturesque beachfront and local nature reserve.

The hotel was originally designed to echo the Attica landscape, with the blue sea and clear skies of the Aegean.

Taking direction from the legacy of this location, WATG and Wimberly Interiors successfully transformed this once aging property into a modern-day luxury resort that now serves as a haven for serenity and relaxation.

The design took into careful consideration the historical elements, while bringing in new features such as a glass boardwalk leading to vistas of the site’s own archaeological ruins, and four intricately designed water features made from traditional Greek marble. Natural materials and indigenous plants were incorporated, adding to the distinctiveness of the site, while maintaining the utmost respect for the native environment.

Ultimately, renovation offers a successful and often cost-effective way to adapt to changing market demands – by adding elements to a property that can enhance the value of the asset or reviewing areas of a property that are non-revenue generating and evolving them.

Whether it’s to create a fresh look, improve efficiencies, or a total transformation; clients who upgrade their existing properties can better protect their assets, as well as their reputation. Additionally, they can achieve or exceed ROI goals, with clear objectives and an experienced team.

It’s important to remember though, that the renovation of a hotel is a constant process, starting the day the hotel opens and continuing throughout its entire life.

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