Monsieur Didot — Athens, Greece
If you ever needed a reliable barometer of Athens’ reviving fortunes, look no further than the rash of boutique hotels that are cropping up all over the Greek capital, almost all in sensitively restored period buildings.
The latest to skim onto our radar is the six-bedroom Monsieur Didot, a lush creamy bolt-hole a few blocks north of the Benaki Museum.
Built in the 19th-century, the building’s sturdy bones have been reset by local outfit BaBatchas Design Studio. Taking their design cues from the French printer Firmin Didot, the interiors are meant to channel the tastes of an aesthete, a task made considerably easier by the painstakingly restored ceilings and original mouldings. In turn, the fin de siècle mood is quietly offset by contemporary touches, not least handmade ceramics, customized lighting, and furnishings specially designed by BaBatchas for the project.
The rooftop gives out over views of Athens, a particularly satisfying venue in which to have breakfast – here, stocked with organic fruits and local produce, alongside an all-day snack menu. There’s no in-house restaurant, but, happily, the hotel is in a neighbourhood of cafés, bars and restaurants, alongside an enviable haul of bookstores and museums.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS:
Sina 48
Athens
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
International African American Museum celebrates life and memory on 'hallowed ground'
The International African American Museum opens in Charleston, USA, acknowledging 'hallowed ground' and celebrating life and memory
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Discover solid gold piercing jewellery from Astrid & Miyu
Astrid & Miyu introduces solid gold piercing jewellery to its core collection
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
CAZA’s Santuario de La Salle aims to ‘connect people to place and heritage’
CAZA’s Santuario de La Salle church pushes the boundaries of traditional religious design at the De La Salle University campus in the Philippines’ Biñan City
By Nana Ama Owusu-Ansah • Published
-
City hotspot The Dolli rethinks Athens’ elegance
The Dolli hotel imbues classic Greek culture with a contemporary twist
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
Monument Athens is a Greek architectural icon reborn
Monument Athens is a hotel housed in a historic Greek structure redesigned by local architecture studio MPlusM
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Amanzoe in Greece is a temple to luxury
Designed by the late American architect Ed Tuttle, Amanzoe, the renowned resort's Greek outpost, is a heavenly hilltop retreat in the Peloponnese
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
W Costa Navarino is a global destination with a local approach
Tombazis & Associates Architects designs W Costa Navarino, the latest addition to the luxury Peloponnese hospitality destination
By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico
By Chadner Navarro • Published
-
Noūs Santorini hotel is a haven of minimalism in the Greek islands
The minimalist haven that is Noūs Santorini, designed by Divercity Architects in collaboration with MPlusM, opens on the Greek Aegean island
By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated
-
Martim — Wroclaw, Poland
By Daven Wu • Last updated
-
Tattersalls Hotel — Armidale, Australia
By Dimity Noble • Last updated