Sofitel Athens Airport Opens New Rooftop Restaurant: Jenny’s

The Sofitel Athens Airport hotel recently completed the final phase of a 15-million-euro renovation with the opening of the fully revamped rooftop restaurant bar on the ninth floor named “Jenny’s”.

A member of French hospitality group Accor and owned by Mitsis Hotels, the Sofitel Athens Airport is the only hotel located just a few steps away from the arrivals terminal of Athens International Airport (AIA). The hotel has a capacity of 345 rooms, including 12 suites, 2 luxury restaurants, 2 bars and a gym with an indoor pool. The hotel’s business facilities include 11 fully equipped meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 600 people.

Speaking to journalists during a media event Wednesday, the hotel’s president and CEO, Jenny Mitsis, said the renovation of the Sofitel Athens Airport began in 2016.

Sofitel Athens Airport President and CEO Jenny Mitsis.

Works included the refurbishment of the hotel’s Luxury and Luxury Club rooms, as well as its Club Sofitel Suites, on the fifth and seventh floors The renovation wrapped up with the completion of the hotel’s spa, which is expected to open in the next few weeks, and the Jenny’s Rooftop Restaurant Bar.

Now open to the public, the revamped Jenny’s Rooftop Restaurant Bar was named after Jenny Mitsis herself, a member of the Mitsis family, who envisioned and supervised the renovation.

“Jenny’s is a restaurant that aims to become a point of reference not only for foreign tourists, who are guests at the hotel, but also for Greeks,” she said while presenting the new restaurant to journalists.

Jenny’s Rooftop Restaurant Bar, interior.

“Our goal is to make the restaurant more widely known and attract the Greek market as well,” she added.

The restaurant’s architecture, interiors and terrace draw on the style of Spanish architect Lazaro Rosa Violan, known for his work at the Amazonico London and Amazonico Dubai restaurants.

Athens International Airport (AIA) as seen from Jenny’s Rooftop Restaurant Bar.

“I tried to give the restaurant an identity that is not ordinary. What makes the restaurant special is that its style and decor includes many different materials. This is the first time one of our renovations included 180 different types of materials,” she said.

A unique menu

Sofitel Athens Airport President and CEO Jenny Mitsis introducing the team of chefs of Jenny’s Rooftop Restaurant Bar.

Jenny’s Rooftop Restaurant Bar focuses on the art of gastronomy through the philosophy of Greek and Mediterranean cuisine. The unique menu was curated by the team of Executive Chefs Panagiotis Giakalis and Petrou Foteinis, in collaboration with Sofitel Athens Airport Executive Chef Theofanis Stathis, Executive Sous Chef Dimitris Dimtsos, Chef Theodoros Ypsilos and Mitsis Group Executive Chef Dimitris Steiakakis.

The team of tasters and Sommeliers have carefully selected each bottle to complement the food menu and enhance the dining experience. The list of drinks and wines has been selected with care and attention by the Bar Manager of Sofitel Athens Airport, Spyros Pandis, and the drinks consultant of the Mitsis Group, Christos Houseas.

“The menu of Jenny’s aims to give the visitor the feeling of a ‘home away from home’ in an elegant and luxurious environment…” – Jenny Mitsis

Salad with baby leaves.

The entire restaurant concept is under the coordination of Executive Chef Alexandros Papandreou, who is committed to offering guests a unique culinary experience combined with a focus to the quality of raw materials and the simplicity of flavors.

Sofitel Athens Airport General Manager George Stavrou with Jenny Mitsis.

“I give a lot of attention to food because I believe it is the best way to cater to people. Food is a very important element for our hotels,” Jenny Mitsis said, adding that the first thing customers rate is the food of a hotel, according to statistics.

“It’s not the room or the cleanliness. Food is the best form of hospitality because it unites people around a table and offers them enjoyment… With this as a basis, the space and the menu of Jenny’s aims to give the visitor the feeling of a ‘home away from home’ in an elegant and luxurious environment,” she added.

The Sofitel Athens Airport is a member of Mitsis Hotels, a Greek hospitality group that has a portfolio of more than 20 hotels in some of the most popular tourism destinations in Greece including Athens, Crete, Kamena Vourla, Kos and Rhodes. The Mitsis Hotels group has more than 45 years of presence in the Greek hotel industry.

New projects

The Mitsis Hotels group currently has several projects in the works both on islands and mainland Greece. Plans include the development of a unique tourism destination in the Golf-North Afantou area on Rhodes; the ground-up renovation of the Grand Hotel on Rhodes; the development of a new 4-star hotel in Megaro Metaxas in Piraeus; the upgrade of the Galini hotel in the spa town of KamenaVourla; the development of a new hospitality property on a plot on Mykonos; and the revamp of the 4-star beach hotel Bali Paradise on Crete.

Moreover, the group recently announced plans to invest 36 million euros to convert the historic Schliemann – Mela Mansion in Athens into a 5-star hotel.