Hilton Athens Marks Brand’s 100-year Anniversary with Art Show & Tour

The HIlton Athens hotel

The Hilton Athens hotel joins the festivities marking a century of the finest hospitality worldwide offered by the Hilton brand.

On May 31, the world’s first global hotel company, Hilton celebrates its milestone 100th anniversary.

The company that pioneered air-conditioned lobbies, in-room televisions, and the computerized reservation system, began with one hotel in 1919, set up by New Mexico-born Conrad Hilton in Cisco, Texas.

The Hilton Athens in the 1960s.

Since then, the hospitality brand has grown now holding a portfolio of 17 brands comprising more than 5,700 properties with more than 923,000 rooms in 113 countries and territories.

It was named in 2018 as the one of the world’s best workplaces, and has welcomed more than 3 billion guests in its 100-year history.

By 2020, Hilton will be expanding to more than 20 additional countries with 2,300 under-construction hotels in the pipeline.

Indicatively, one in every five hotel openings in the world is a Hilton.

The Hilton Athens during its construction, 1961-1963. © Hilton Athens History Archives / Benaki Museum Photo Archives

Hilton Athens Celebrates with Art

To celebrate the company’s 100-year anniversary, the Hilton Athens opens its Aethrion Lounge with a photography exhibit curated by art critic Katerina Koskina to run through to the end of the year.

The Aethrion Lounge

The show, which is open free of charge, will feature photos depicting the history the Athens hotel, which is inextricably linked to Greece’s modern history.

At the same time, for the first time, the Hilton Athens will be hosting guided tours introducing visitors to the hotel’s vast contemporary art collection featuring works by such prominent Greek artists as Yiannis Moralis, Eleni Vernardaki, George Zongolopoulos, Chryssa, Giorgos Lappas, Pavlos and Theodoros Stamos, among others.

Vases by Eleni Vernardaki at Hilton Athens

Hilton opened its first hotel in Athens in 1963, playing a pivotal role in the development of Greek tourism while focusing on the promotion of contemporary Greek art in its spaces, so much so that the entire area near the hotel is now known as the “Hilton district”.

Artwork by George Zongolopoulos

The Hilton Athens was also the first luxury chain hotel to open in the Greek capital and a daring architectural venture combining ancient Greek stylistic elements with modern aesthetics.

Hilton himself thought so: “I agree with all those who believe that the Athens Hilton is the most beautiful in the world,” he had said.

-The photography exhibit runs to 31 December 2019 and admission is free.

-The one-hour guided tour costs 22 euros per person, including drinks and snacks at Aethrion.

Artwork by Chryssa

For more information and bookings, call 210 7281000 or visit www.hiltonathens.gr.