Hotel Experience 2025 | Technopolis transforms into atmospheric hotel experience on October 18 & 19

On the weekend of October 18–19, Technopolis City of Athens is transformed into a cinematic set as part of Hotel Experience, welcoming speakers and visitors from across the high-end hospitality ecosystem: 5 resorts & boutique hotels, architects and designers, hotel chains and management companies, investors and developers. In the heart of the city, a vibrant “lab” of ideas, projects, and tools is set up, shaping the next day.*

The event Hotel Experience, the international platform that bridges strategy with architecture, atmosphere, and experience in hospitality, curated by Vassilis Bartzokas of Design Ambassador and Aris Marinakis Architectural Editions, returns for its second year on October 18–19 with a clear objective: to define the priorities for the industry’s next phase. With a measurable footprint already, last year’s edition welcomed over 6,000 visitors and 100 speakers from Greece and abroad.

This year, at Technopolis in Gazi, the event merges a conference, exhibition, and immersive installations under the scenographic direction of Eva Manidaki and Thanasis Demiris (Flux Office), drawing inspiration from iconic films of global cinema – for example, the entrance and the beach area, which serve as leisure spaces for visitors, are inspired by “Death in Venice” by Luchino Visconti.

More than 100 speakers, including top hoteliers, operators, architects, and executives of major groups, will take the stage, coming from cities such as New York and London, as well as Austria, Egypt, Lebanon, Dubai, and Africa, offering actionable, practical insights.

Total Innovation on Saturday

The day begins at 11:00 with an on-stage conversation: Afroditi Krassa, London-based, presents exemplary projects such as the renewal of the Savoy Grill and the concept behind Dishoom, as well as recent collaborations with Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino and One&Only Athens, in conversation with Harry McKinley, editor-in-chief of Mix Interiors – a leading British publication on commercial interior design and host of the prestigious Mix Awards.

This is followed by a discussion on “meta-luxury” with Constantina Tsoutsikou of Studio LOST, also London-based, known for Royal Senses (Curio Collection by Hilton) and NUMO Ierapetra, award-winning projects in the Hospitality Design Awards and AHEAD Europe, alongside Despina Kalapoda, Sr Director Design Strategies EMEA at Marriott International.

Also on stage: Italian architect Flaviano Capriotti, a key contributor to the Bulgari Hotels & Resorts program since his time at Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel, and recently responsible for the Bvlgari Suite at the Bulgari Hotel Milano; a point of reference remains the newly opened Bulgari Hotel Roma. He will be joined by Hamish Brown, founder of 1508 London, behind landmark projects such as OWO Residences by Raffles in London – Raffles’ first UK presence within the historic Old War Office. The same project will be explored from the brand and heritage perspective in a panel moderated by Justin Quirk (Creative Director and travel editor), with Adrian Caddy, founder of Greenspace (place strategy & branding) and Jill O’Hare, Director of Sales & Marketing of the hotel.

Later, the “Out of the Box” session brings three development perspectives: architect Dimitris Tsigkos, co-founder of Omniview, connects design and development through projects like One Kleomenous, interventions in Super Paradise, and Nammos Cannes. Miltos Kambourides, founder and managing partner of Dolphin Capital Partners, brings the transformation of the Greek resort landscape, from Amanzoe and One&Only Kea Island to Kilada, with over €1.2 billion in capital raised across several countries. Meanwhile, Hassan Morshedy of Memaar Al Morshedy introduces megascale as a city-building tool through Skyline in Cairo, currently undergoing Guinness World Record validation, while also launching investment plans in Greece. Here, “out of the box” means action: challenging plots become accelerators, bold forms align with long-term commercial logic, and courage generates economic, cultural, and spatial value.

Curated by Travelworks PR, Kostas Panagakis moderates an “off duty” conversation with Pedro Dias (GM of Amanzoe) and Gerald Krischek (GM of One&Only Athens), where these two international hoteliers – now living and working in Greece – put aside manuals and speak about the country from a personal perspective. Their shift from “outsiders” to “insiders” reveals first cultural surprises and emotional connections, offering practical lessons for the global hospitality industry.

The day closes with architect Dimitris Karampatakis leading a conversation on locality as a design force, where identity meets responsibility and tourism acts as a force of cultural balance. On the same panel, Serdar Kutucu, CEO of Slowness, opens up the perspective of conscious, slow experience through his place-building model. Next to him, Kostis Karatzas, founder of The Modernist Hotels and The Greek Foundation, bridges hospitality brand-building with contemporary Greek storytelling. Eva Papadaki, creator of 10AM LOFTS in Gazi, shows how careful reuse of industrial shells can form a living ecosystem of hospitality and creativity with an urban footprint.

All-Star Hoteliers on Sunday

On Sunday, Design Hotels highlights the model of independent, architecturally driven hotels as cultural hubs, strongly rooted in their locations and connected to Marriott Bonvoy for selected network members. The discussion is led by Matt Turner, editor-in-chief of Sleeper Magazine, a leading international trade title that also organizes AHEAD, the only global awards for hospitality experience & design, with events in Singapore, New York, Dubai, and London.

Joining the panel is Jason Holley of Universal Design Studio, who collaborated with Design Hotels during Milan Design Week 2025, translating the Further Forecast: Community Capital research into a live participatory installation titled “Space Between”, focusing on how shared spaces create community. Also present: Maria and Tom Heidenreich, founders of Stieg’nhaus in the Salzburg Alps, offering a “pure” European example of small-scale, mountain slow living.

Next, the discussion shifts from quantity to meaning: Yiannis Tsakalos, founder of AQ Strategy – responsible for crafting the experience of Electra Hotels & Resorts, and for GNTO’s strategy and “All you Want is Greece” campaign in collaboration with Ogilvy – argues that the question is not “how many visitors,” but “how much value” stays behind and where it flows – economic, cultural, social – pointing to new metrics: quality, duration, and meaning, rather than mere occupancy.

This perspective introduces the next section, focusing on longevity: how a hotel remains relevant after half a century. Ismini Tornivouka shares insights on reviving historic properties into modern city-icons; George P. Spanos discusses resort brand-ecosystems that scale internationally without losing identity; and Tasos Georgantzis of Urban Soul Project grounds timelessness in practice – from design concept to maintenance and operations. Ultimately, it becomes a matter of choice: which trends you resist, which values you preserve, when you renew.

If the European experience shows how resilience is built, East Africa shows how narratives are rewritten. The Hemingways Collection – with properties in Nairobi, Ol Seki Mara, Watamu, and Eden, and a new expansion in Rwanda – demonstrates how leadership in hospitality and brand strategy can move beyond numbers to experiences that recognize place, community, and the modern luxury of authenticity.

From there, the focus turns to art as an experiential infrastructure. London-based studio Double Decker, together with artist and Athens Biennale co-founder Poka-Yio, share how curated hotel collections do not merely decorate but narrate: site-specific works, cultural references, and contemporary media that increase the memory of the visit, foster emotional engagement, and elevate spatial value over time.

Because value often originates from the land itself, the program continues with wine hospitality as a place identity: Katogi Averoff shows how a winery can open paths to quality mountain tourism; Eumelia in Laconia combines regenerative agriculture with daily rituals of slow living; and La Tour Melas proves how obsession with production and taste can shape a destination with its own rhythm. From cellar to table and field to room, hospitality becomes part of the land.

The day ends by returning to heritage activation. Examples like Kyrimai, where a 19th-century stone building breathes new life into a settlement, illustrate how design, culture, and storytelling can connect communities, create true value, and support a more mature form of tourism. In this way, Sunday creates a cohesive narrative: from value that is measured, to timelessness that is earned, to identity that is cultivated – with tools that define the next day of hospitality.