2023 marks a new chapter for Fresh Hotel with the inauguration of the hotel extension by acclaimed Italian designer Paola Navone.
Connecting the original building on Sofokleous Street with the neighboring Neoclassical mansion on Athinas Street, the hotel opens its doors on one of the city’s most historic streets with a brand-new reception lobby, 15 new rooms and another roof garden.
Drawing inspiration from both the Mediterranean character of Greece and the Athenian urban landscape, the design of the new spaces combines contemporary, neoclassical and vintage elements, just like modern Athens, turning the renovated hotel into a microcosm of the city where the past converses with the present and where contrasts are not eliminated but glorified.
FRESH HOTEL OPENED ITS DOORS…
Fresh Hotel opened its doors in 2004 in a building with a strong Modernist style on Sofokleous Street. The idea of expanding to Athinas Street, one of the most commercial and liveliest streets in Athens with a history of almost two centuries, was in the mind of owner Anta Yfanti from the beginning
However, it took several years to begin its implementation with the acquisition of the neighboring neoclassical building in 2019. Only one kilometer long, Athinas Street is inextricably linked to the history of Athens as the capital of the Greek State but also to its modern identity. Known as the city’s first boulevard, it connects the historic Plaka and the modern Omonia Square and hosts a number of historic buildings intermingled with modern constructions.
THE REDESIGN
The redesign of the hotel is inspired by the multifaceted character of the street, but also of the wider downtown area, combining seemingly incongruous architectural and design choices – externally, Modernism converses with Neoclassicism, while internally, tradition is filtered through an avant-garde aesthetic.
The renovation of the listed neoclassical building includes the meticulous repair of the existing facades on Sofokleous and Athinas Streets, the complete interior renovation, including the addition of a new mezzanine, and the construction of two additional floors in the form of a modern glass volume that sits discreetly on top of the existing three-story building. Covered with metal blinds, the glass construction aesthetically unites the original hotel building with the neoclassical extension without detracting from the architectural uniqueness of each.
The new spaces combines contemporary, neoclassical and vintage elements, just like modern Athens.
Inside, the two buildings are united spatially and aesthetically through Paola Navone’s design approach, which is based on the fusion of contemporary, classical and traditional elements as well as a diversity of graphic motifs. hand-painted plates and ‘Buffet de Granny’ lamps made from recycled glassware add imaginative folkloric touches.
Navone’s stylistic eclecticism is complemented by a vibrant palette of blue hues. Closely linked to Greek history and culture, blue is also a color full of mysteries and contradictions, which explains why it also underpins the hotel’s new identity. Inextricably linked to the sky and the sea, this abundant, yet paradoxically rare color carries a rich narrative, symbolizing divinity, wealth and freedom.
Blue hues dominate all 15 new rooms and suites where guests will find ceramic wall and floor tiles designed by Navone herself, Gervasoni furniture, as well as a wealth of decorative patterns in wallpapers, carpets and fabrics. Six rooms have unparalleled views of the Acropolis while five rooms have balconies, some of which include outdoor showers.
Navone’s avant-garde eye is not limited to the new rooms and public areas of the Neoclassical extension but also extends to the spaces of the original building, including the new ground floor cafe, breakfast area and existing rooms. With a common background of the creative reconciliation of old and new, classic and modern, tradition and modernity, Fresh Hotel’s new and renovated facilities, as well as the “freakish” corporate identity, reflect and celebrate the contrasts of both the hotel itself and Athens.
