HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Regency Casino Mont Parnes, also known as the Parnitha Casino, is a
casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
situated at
Mount Parnitha Mount Parnitha (, , Katharevousa and ''Parnis''/''Parnes''; sometimes Parnetha) is a lightly forested mountain range north of Athens, the highest on the peninsula of Attica, with an elevation of 1,413 m, and a summit known as Karavola (Καρα� ...
north of
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
. Originally built as Hotel Mont Parnes, it was a
luxury hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suite (hotel), suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a d ...
designed by architect and was built between 1958 and 1961. It was the first luxury hotel in the
Attica region Attica ( ; , ) is an administrative region of Greece, that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, the core city of which is the country's capital and largest city, Athens. The region is coextensive with the former Attica Prefecture o ...
, but was not commercially successful. This would lead to
casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
being licensed on its premises in 1971, that would also become the first one ever in the Attica. Subsequently, an
aerial tramway An aerial tramway, aerial tram, sky tram, cable car or aerial cablecar, aerial cableway, ropeway, téléphérique (French), or Seilbahn (German) is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary cables for support, with a third movin ...
(the Parnitha Funitel) would be built in 1972 to help transport quests up to the hotel. The hotel ceased operations in 1974, while Casino it would still continue to function. In 1984, Mont Parnes became the property of the
Greek National Tourism Organization The Greek National Tourism Organisation (, ''Ethnikos Organismos Tourismou''), often abbreviated as GNTO () is the governmental Board for the promotion of tourism in Greece. It functions under the supervision of the Ministry of Tourism. History ...
and would become
privatized Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
again in 2003.


History


Construction and operation as a hotel

After the
Greek National Tourism Organization The Greek National Tourism Organisation (, ''Ethnikos Organismos Tourismou''), often abbreviated as GNTO () is the governmental Board for the promotion of tourism in Greece. It functions under the supervision of the Ministry of Tourism. History ...
was re-established in 1950, a series of hotels were designed throughout Greece to meet the growing tourist flows in the country, with the participation of notable Greek architects. In 1958, it was decided to build a luxury hotel on Parnitha, along with other facilities, such as
bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is typically single or one and a half storey, if a smaller upper storey exists it is frequently set in the roof and Roof window, windows that come out from the roof, and may be surrounded by wide ve ...
s,
restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...
s, a small
open-air theater An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...
and
sports facilities A sports venue is a building, structure, or place in which a sporting competition is held. A stadium (plural: stadiums or stadia) or arena is a place or venue for sports or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely ...
spread over an area of 800 acres. The program had the support of Prime Minister
Konstantinos Karamanlis Konstantinos G. Karamanlis (, ; 8 March 1907 – 23 April 1998) was a Greek statesman who was the four-time Prime Minister of Greece and two-term president of the Third Hellenic Republic. A towering figure of Greek politics, his political caree ...
, who also suggested the name "Mont Parnes", as a nod to the French district of
Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. It is split betwee ...
. The design of the hotel was assigned to the architect Pavlos Mylonas, who had designed the Bafi Refuge in 1936. The construction was undertaken by the contractor and civil engineer
Aristeidis Alafouzos Aristeidis Alafouzos (Greek: Αριστείδης Αλαφούζος; 9 March 1924 – 17 May 2017) was a Greek shipowner, civil engineer and media mogul. In the media area he was best known for his ownership of the Kathimerini newspaper. Early ...
. The initial budget for the building was 35–40 million
drachma Drachma may refer to: * Ancient drachma, an ancient Greek currency * Modern drachma The drachma ( ) was the official currency of modern Greece from 1832 until the launch of the euro in 2001. First modern drachma The drachma was reintroduce ...
s, but the final cost amounted to 150 million, causing reactions in the press. The hotel was inaugurated on 17 June 1961, in the presence of Konstantinos Karamanlis. It was the first luxury hotel to be opened at
Attica region Attica ( ; , ) is an administrative region of Greece, that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, the core city of which is the country's capital and largest city, Athens. The region is coextensive with the former Attica Prefecture o ...
, beating the American Athens Hilton which began also began construction in 1958, but was opened later in 1963. However, the hotel did not receive the expected attendance. Reportedly, the hotel had "more staff than visitors" in 1963. In the period 1962–63, its management was given to the company Chaire Rhore Hotels Greece S.A. and a Swiss hotel school began to operate on its premises. The hotel did not operate during the winter season of 1963–64, resulting in it once again becoming the subject of severe criticism. Reportedly
Konstantinos Tsatsos Konstantinos D. Tsatsos (; July 1, 1899 – October 8, 1987) was a Greek diplomat, professor of law, scholar and politician. He served as the List of heads of state of Greece#Third Hellenic Republic (since 1974), second President of Greece, Pr ...
, who cut the ribbon at the inauguration, would subsequently deem that the hotel was "a failure both artistically and financially."


Casino operation

In 1969, it was decided to operate a casino on the hotel premises - until then, casinos in Greece had only operated in
Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...
and
Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...
. The operation of the casino was undertaken by the Cypriot businessman Frixos Dimitriou. The casino was inaugurated in February 1971. A new building was constructed for its needs. In 1972, an aerial tramway was built by the Swiss company Haberger, which bypassed the curves of the road that went up to the hotel. This aerial tram would be later known as the Parnitha Funitel. The Mont Parnes hotel ceased operation in 1974, and only the casino continued to operate. Reportedly, the first decade was the most successful period of the casino's existence. In 1984, the building passed into the possession of the Greek National Tourism Organization. In late 1980s, it was still considered one of the largest Casinos in Europe. The structure was damaged by the
1999 Athens earthquake The 1999 Athens earthquake occurred on September 7 at near Mount Parnitha in Greece with a moment magnitude of 6.0 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''). The proximity to the Athens metropolitan area resulted in widespread str ...
. The earthquake caused cracks in the building, the northwest wing deviated from the vertical, and the nightclub collapsed. The damage from the earthquake was compounded by theft and the abandonment of the hotel. In 2001, a tender was held for the privatization of the complex. The call for interest was made in August 2001 and by December of the same year two proposals had been submitted, from the joint ventures "Casino Attica" and "Hyatt-Hellenic Technodomiki". The auction took place in May 2002 and the consortium Hyatt-Hellenic Technodomiki won the bid, with a price of 92.1 million
euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
s. The tender was awarded in August 2002 to Hyatt-Hellenic Technodomiki, with a final cost of 120 million euros. The sales contract was ratified in Parliament in March 2003 for 49% of the casino and its management. The "Casino Attica" consortium filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against the tender. In 2003–04, the hotel's renovation began, and in 2005 the old cable car station was demolished and replaced with a new one, and there were plans to replace the building with a new one. These plans faced resistance and protests over preserving the historical building. In 2008, three of the hotel's facades were deemed to be protected by the Central Council of Modern Monuments of the Ministry of Culture. But in 2010, it was deemed that the building needed to be demolished, as it was in verge of collapse. It was determined that a new complex was to be built in its place, which would follow the design cues of the original. The attempt to move the casino to
Maroussi Marousi or Maroussi (), also known as Amarousio (), is a city and a suburb in the northeastern part of the Athens urban area, Greece. Marousi dates back to the era of the ancient Athenian Republic; its ancient name was '' Athmonon'' () and it r ...
was blocked the Greek High Court in January 2021, but laws involved the transfer were changed by a Greek Parliament vote, allowing the transfer to proceed.


Features

The building was primarily designed by . There is a plaque in the hotel lounge that contained the names of designers and contributors of project, which include;
Yannis Tsarouchis Yannis Tsarouchis (; 13 January 1910 – 20 July 1989) was a Greek modernist painter and set designer who achieved international fame, and was "known in particular for his homoerotic subjects," including soldiers, sailors, and nude males. Biogra ...
, Yannis Moralis,
Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas (; February 26, 1906 – September 3, 1994), also known as Nikos Ghika, was a leading Greek painter, sculptor, engraver, writer and academic. He was a founding member of the Association of Greek Art Critics, AICA-Hellas, ...
, Panagiotis Tetsis,
Evgenios Spatharis Evgenios Spatharis (; January 2, 1924 – May 9, 2009) was the most prominent shadow theatre artist in Greece. He is credited with having brought the traditional Karagiozis plays to mass audiences through television, recordings and cinema. Biogr ...
and others. It is located at an altitude of 1,078 meters above sea level and has a panoramic view of the Attica Basin. It occupies 90 acres of land, is five-story tall and has 240 rooms. The building hosted a
swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...
which was designed by
Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas (; February 26, 1906 – September 3, 1994), also known as Nikos Ghika, was a leading Greek painter, sculptor, engraver, writer and academic. He was a founding member of the Association of Greek Art Critics, AICA-Hellas, ...
. It also hosted salons, such as the "Macedonian Salon" that was a copy of the interior of , as well as the "Hydra Salon" that contained various furniture, tapestries and works of art, which bear the signatures of great Greek artists. Additionally, it has a peculiar spiral staircase, which was to be preserved during the renovation plans. The 1999 earthquake caused serious damage to the building. Building's basements, hotel rooms, public and auxiliary areas, as well as the
nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...
had collapsed completely. Additionally, the north-eastern wing had become detached from the rest of the building. The restoration of the NE wing was impossible and it was deemed that it would have needed to be demolished and then re-built.


In popular culture

The Parnitha Casino was featured in the 1998 James Bond continuation novel ''
The Facts of Death ''The Facts of Death'', first published in 1998, was the third novel by Raymond Benson featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond (including Benson's novelization of ''Tomorrow Never Dies''). Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright— ...
''. There it is called ''Casino au Mont Parnes'' and is located atop of
Mount Parnitha Mount Parnitha (, , Katharevousa and ''Parnis''/''Parnes''; sometimes Parnetha) is a lightly forested mountain range north of Athens, the highest on the peninsula of Attica, with an elevation of 1,413 m, and a summit known as Karavola (Καρα� ...
, like the Parnitha Casino.


See also

*
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Athens Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Athens () is an under construction integrated resort being built in Athens, Greece. History In 2022, Hard Rock International and Gek Terna partnered to develop an integrated resort in Greece. Construction on Hard Rock H ...


References

{{reflist Defunct casino hotels in Greece Buildings and structures in Attica Entertainment venues in Greece