An avenue connecting central Omonia square, in the center of Athens, with the nearby Metaxourgio (Karaiskakis) square is apparently shedding its more “seedier” reputation in the face of heightened interest by hotel operators, something plainly in sight with the opening of new units.
The development is particularly evident after a significant investment by the Wyndham group, through its cooperation with Greece-based Zeus International and the Viohalko group, which opened the Wyndham Grand Athens at the latter square.
According to information gathered by “N”, another opening of a major tourism unit along the Omonia-Metaxourgio axis, also under the management of Zeus International, is pending, and specifically off Aghiou Konstantinou avenue, which connects Omonia with the Metaxourgio.
Zeus is also reportedly planning another hotel, again in cooperation with Wyndham, on a property bordering on Metaxourgio square, which is officially known as Karaiskakis square.
If counting the units planned for opening, then the Omonia-Metaxourgio axis will have 16 hotels in the near future, with another recent addition being a “smart hotel”, the Kubic Athens Hotel, opened in late 2015 on Metaxourgio square by the current president of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, Giorgios Tsakiris.
Both squares, Omonia and Metaxourgio, as well as the urban squares in between, have been considered as grittier parts of central Athens and unappealing to visitors, something that is changing on the back of increased tourism flows to the Greek capital, part of the “city breaks” phenomenon, as well as a burst “property bubble” in the country as a whole, and especially in mainland urban areas.
