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Historic Aegli Hotel in Volos Shows that Glamor Never Fades

The Aegli Hotel in Volos. (The word "aegli" in Greek translates to "glamor".)

The Aegli Hotel in Volos. (The word “aegli” in Greek translates to “glamor”.)

“Aegli Hotel is a historic hotel… It tells stories of the past,” Konstantina Mamada, the managing director of the Aegli Hotel located in the heart of Volos, told a group of Greek journalists while giving a presentation of the fully revamped hotel.

Located in the Pagasitikos Gulf, the city of Volos is the capital of Magnesia, in the region of Thessaly.

Konstantina Mamada, managing director of the Aegli Hotel in Volos.

Konstantina Mamada, managing director of the Aegli Hotel in Volos.

The presentation of the hotel was part of a press trip to Volos organized by the management of the Aegli Hotel, which aimed to introduce the port city and its most important landmarks. The press trip was held on the occasion of the recent completion of the Aegli Hotel’s renovation.

Having maintained its identity, Aegli Hotel combines its past glamor with the needs of the present and also with future trends.

View of Volos Port from the Aegli Hotel.

View of Volos Port from the Aegli Hotel.

Built at the beginning of the 20th century, the Aegli Hotel is located at the most privileged spot in town, with a fantastic view on Volos port.

The hotel first opened in 1938 and was later joined with the adjacent Pallas Hotel, which dates back to 1921, and have since operated as one establishment.

Memory lane: The union of the Pallas and Aegli Hotels - Photo 1 shows the Pallas Hotel, the oldest in Volos, in 1929. Photo 2 shows the Aegli Hotel in 1938 when it began operation. Photo 3 is the union of the two hotels. Since 1996, Aegli Hotel and Pallas hotel operate jointly, offering high standards services.

Memory lane: The union of the Pallas and Aegli Hotels – Photo 1 shows the Pallas Hotel, the oldest in Volos, in 1929. Photo 2 shows the Aegli Hotel in 1938 when it began operation. Photo 3 is the union of the two hotels. Since 1996, Aegli Hotel and Pallas hotel operate jointly, offering high standards services.

Aegli Hotel has 72 rooms- three of which are luxurious suites – all of which have been fully refurbished as part of an investment project which began in 2011 and completed in late 2016.

“We tried to give the hotel a more boutique character while showing the utmost respect to its original architecture as both buildings are listed,” Mamada said during the presentation.

“We faced certain limitations regarding the interventions we could do but we feel blessed,” Mamada said, adding that certain original elements of the hotel have remained such as the stairwell, the railings and exterior details.

“We did our best to connect two different architectural trends – the Palace building is Art Deco architecture and Aegli is a distinctive monument of Art Nouveau, designed by a very famous architect of the time (Kassiopoulos) – and aimed to revive the past images, both in the interior and exterior,” she said.

Following its major investment, Aegli Hotel opened its doors fully revamped in early 2017 with a change in its pricing policy and an increase to its average room rate.

“Our investment brought an upgrade in facilities and services… The majority of our clientele, which include a large percentage of repeat guests, has responded positively to this change, especially our corporate clients,” Mamada told GTP Headlines on the sidelines of the presentation, adding that the hotel occupancy rate this year is expected at 70 percent.

Mamada also underlined that Volos is a popular all year round destination that attracts many Greeks during the winter months.

“We are grateful because as the destination did not experience a downturn in tourism as observed in other areas… Greeks may have a reduced their spending but they continue and travel to Volos on weekends… Volos never stopped being a year round destination for the Greeks,” Mamada told GTP Headlines.

Volos

Volos, Greece

Magnesia sees increase in tourists

Volos is the capital of the Magnesia regional unit, which is seeing an upward trend in its tourist flow, according to a visitor satisfaction survey conducted by the the Hotel Owners Association of Magnesia.

President of the Hotel Owners Association of Magnesia, Giorgos Zafiris.

President of the Hotel Owners Association of Magnesia, Giorgos Zafiris.

Presented to the journalists during the press trip, the survey revealed that Magnesia’s average hotel occupancy increased by five percent in the 2016-2017 period, reaching 51 percent. This is compared with 46 percent average hotel occupancy in the 2015-2016 period. As noted in the survey, the hotel occupancy increase came from foreign arrivals mainly from Balkan countries.

While presenting the data, the association’s president, Giorgos Zafiris, spoke of the ever-increasing tourism offerings of Volos and Pelion. He also focused on the prospects that the region’s Nea Aghialos National Airport can offer Magnesia on a 12-month basis. Meanwhile it was recently announced that low-cost carrier easyjet in June 2018 will launch direct flights from Gatwick Airport in London to the Nea Aghialos National Airport.

Volos is a major commercial port of mainland Greece in the Aegean sea (after Piraeus and Thessaloniki), with ferry connections to the nearby Sporades Islands, which include Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos.

Aegli Hotel gives journalists tour around Volos

During the press trip, the group of Greek journalists toured the city of Volos and visited:

Volos Museum of the City

The Volos Museum of the City allows visitors to take a look at the life and stories of the people of the city through rich visual material. The museum offers a collection of black-and-white photos from the 1800s to the present day, including a riveting section on the population exchange in 1923 between Greece and Turkey.

Rooftile and Brickworks Museum N. & S. Tsalapatas

Housed in the old Rooftile and Brickworks Factory of Nikolaos and Spyridon Tsalapatas, the museum presents daily life in the factory, as well as all the production stages of different types of bricks and tiles. Its objective is to showcase the historical identity of the town of Volos and to contribute to the preservation and promotion of its industrial heritage.

Biological Vineyard and Distillery of Tokali Family

The Biological Vineyard and Distillery of Tokali Family since 2004 has been processing and marketing certified organic wine products (wine – tsipouro – moustos, etc.).

The coastal port city of Volos is located 330 kilometres (205 miles) north of Athens and 220 kilometres (137 miles) south of Thessaloniki. Volos is the newest of the Greek port cities, with a large proportion of modern buildings erected following the catastrophic earthquakes of 1955. Volos is a major commercial port of mainland Greece in the Aegean sea, after Piraeus and Thessaloniki.

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About the Author
Nikos is Greek-American born in New York, USA, and has lived in Greece for over 30 years. He is the managing editor of Greece's leading monthly travel and tourism guide, the Greek Travel Pages (GTP) since June 2008 and of news site GTP Headlines since its launch in September 2012. Nikos has also served as international press officer for the City of Athens and for the mayor. He has a degree in Mass Media and Communications, specializing in Journalism. Nikos is a native English speaker and speaks Greek fluently.

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