If you rewind back to 1958 in Athens, you’d find the classy Olympic Palace Hotel, a chunky modernist building that sat just steps away from Athen’s Syntagma Square. Fast forward 40 years and you’ll find Greek Cypriot art collector Dakis Joannou dreaming up ways to transform it into a gem!

Joannou, owner of Yes Hotel Group, was determined to salvage every old door and dingy mirror, breathing life back into the hotel, and titling it, New Hotel. Joannou brought in Brazilian design firm Campana to inject some Latin flair into the new establishment.

Humberto and Fernando Campana dressed the walls in layered, intersecting wood slabs, complemented the walls with chunky, wood chip furniture to, and introduced pops of bright color. The team polished up the existing marble flooring and stairwell, paying homage to the history of the building.

The hotel offers 79 suites, each room emulating one of three concepts stemming from Greek culture, “Postcards, amulets and shadow puppets are kept behind acrylic glass plates that float just above the walls, making guests feel like they are linked intrinsically with the art, instead of being its passive observers.

This theme pervades the bathrooms, where blocky, sharp-edged washbasins modeled after diamonds reach into spaces normally left unused.” Sculptures and unique creations are scattered throughout the hotel, making the entire space a living and breathing art piece.

(Photographs Provided By YES Hotels)