Cyprus-based Thanos Hotels and Resorts has Big Plans for Greek Market
Thanos Hotels and Resorts, a family-run company in Cyprus, on Wednesday announced big plans for the Greek hotel market, which include the addition of 10 new units in Greece over the next three years.
“We are ready to create our own footprint in the large and competitive tourism market of Greece with a multi-level investment plan,” the company’s CEO, Thanos Michaelides, said during a media briefing in Athens.
Over a period of 50 years, Thanos Hotels and Resorts has grown into a leading hotel chain in Cyprus, spanning iconic hotels and resorts that have substantially modernized the Cypriot tourism product. The chain today has a portfolio of eight hotels including six 5-star plus units in Cyprus (Anassa, Antasia, Annabelle, Almyra, Berengaria, Amyth of Nicosia) and two in Greece (Amyth of Mykonos and another hotel in the pipeline) .
The first step of the company’s investment plan in Greece will take place with the opening of its second hotel on the island of Mykonos.
According to Michaelides, Thanos Hotels and Resorts will open its second Amyth-brand hotel on the Greek island in May 2024. Located in the popular area of Super Paradise, the new renovated complex (the former Lio hotel) will consist of 50 rooms, suites and villas of 70 square meters, and two restaurants.
The Cyprus-based hotel chain first entered the Greek market in 2023 with the opening of the Amyth of Mykonos Agios Stefanos, an investment of 12 million euros. Located on a hilltop at the edge of the former fishing village of Agios Stefanos, the Amyth of Mykonos consists of 17 boho-luxe rooms. By 2026, Thanos Hotels plans to have added 22 more suites to Amyth Agios Stefanos, an investment expected to reach some 5 million euros.
“After 50 years of activity in the luxury hospitality sector of Cyprus, we have assessed the positive course of the investment climate in Greece and therefore our entry into the Greek market with Amyth of Mykonos in Agios Stefanos was a natural development in our business path,” Michaelides said.
Aim to open 10 more Amyth hotels in Greece
During the event, Michaelides said the goal of the company’s three-year investment plan is to open another 10 Amyth hotels in Greece, bringing the total number to 12.
“We are currently in discussions with asset owners in order to expand the Amyth Hotels network to other Greek locations, aiming to add a mix of well-known, up-and-coming and new destinations to our portfolio,” he said.
Thanos Hotels and Resorts is interested in expanding to both commercial destinations as well as to lesser-known locations, while Athens and areas in northern Greece are also under consideration.
Bringing the ‘Anassa’ brand to Greece
Michaelides also highlighted that the Cypriot chain’s “great aim” is to bring its “flagship” brand, Anassa, to Greece.
“This move will set new standards for the luxury hospitality industry in the Greek market,” he said.
Thanos Hotels and Resorts already operates the 166-room, 5-star plus Anassa resort in Paphos since 1998. “It has rightfully earned the title of ‘Queen of Mediterranean hotels’ and to this day it remains the leading resort in Cyprus,” he said.
It is noted that the bed capacity of Thanos Hotels and Resorts exceeds 900 (including rooms, suites, villas and residences) in both Cyprus and Greece. Thanos Hotels and Resorts manages 10 percent of the five-star rooms in Cyprus.
Moreover, as announced by Michaelides, the company also plans to bring the Thanos Hotel Management to Greece, the management and consulting business unit of Thanos Hotels and Resorts.
Thanos Hotel Management is aimed both at owners who wish to make their property available for use as a hotel, as well as hospitality professionals who already own a hotel and wish to assign the management.
“Thanos Hotel Management is already in the process of searching and discussing with owners of corresponding properties in Greece,” Michaelides said.
In addition to the hospitality industry, Thanos Hotels and Resorts also has a presence in retail clothing with Kult Boutique. Consisting of six stores, it hosts more than 80 luxury brands.