Kalia Konstantinidou & Antonis Eliopoulos first met at a shipping event – he was in the family shipping business at the time and she was working in PR for a think tank. On one of Antonis Eliopoulos’ countless trips to Santorini, he decided to buy a rustic vineyard as his family’s summer estate. He then had the bold idea of turning it into the first 5-star hotel of the island in 1993, the now renowned Vedema, a Luxury Collection Resort. The couple cultivated a passion for hospitality that motivated them to expand in 2007 towards the north of the island, on the iconic Oia village, with Mystique, a Luxury Collection Hotel. In 2018, they took the decision to transform an abandoned mansion of a legendary socialite on the famous black-sand beach of Perivolos, to the peaceful Istoria, a Member of Design Hotels that offers a unique residential accommodation experience.
While Santorini is their first and eternal love, in 2019, they decided to broaden their horizons and journey to the island of Paros, where they used to spend their family vacation, for their fourth property. Parīlio, a Member of Design Hotels, is a statement hotel, envisioned as a gateway to the real Cyclades. The following year the duo introduced Acron Villas, a uniquely cultured collection of twenty-four villas with minimal Cycladic aesthetics. The visionary couple is establishing its position on the island and launching their third property in 2022, Cosme Hotel, that is conceived to be a celebration of the authentic Mediterranean villages, carrying the visitors away in time and filling them with a sense of overwhelming serenity.
“The islands’ singular aura, abundant nature, traditional architecture, indigenous culture and the deep blue of the sea that meets a clear blue sky; all of these elements together inspire us and try to always incorporate them in our hotels.”
– Kalia Konstantinidou & Antonis Eliopoulos