Architecture News Plus (ANP) – Architecture and Design Magazine

Kinsterna Hotel & Spa

This is a project by Divercity Architects + Apostolos Parpairis & Partners and it is located at Monemvasia, Greece. It was submitted to Architecture News Plus (ANP) by Divercity Architects. Project's program: 27 rooms hotel and spa. There are fourteen images for Kinsterna Hotel & Spa.

: © Cathy Cunliffe

Project details

Project name: Kinsterna Hotel & Spa
Location: Monemvasia, Greece
Program: 27 rooms hotel and spa
Area: Site Area: 7,278.15 m2 • Built Area: 2,124.60 m2
Year: Construction: 2006-2010
Client: Aighis
Project by: Divercity Architects + Apostolos Parpairis & Partners
Team: Principal Architects: Nikolas Travasaros, Maria Nikolakopoulou
Others: Contractor: Nostos • Interior Designer: Sophia Vantaraki, space consultant

Project images

Designer's statement

In a 13th century manor house, this hotel is camouflaged among olive and orange groves near the medieval fortress of Monemvassia. The sandstone structure is irrigated by an ancient cistern, the hotel’s namesake and focal point of the design concept. The outdoor restaurant is suspended on a cantilevered platform above the reservoir. Running water snakes through the slate and concrete spa before tumbling down the hillside, spilling into a dramatic asymmetrical swimming pool.

The five-hundred-year old building spans Byzantine, Ottoman, Venetian and modern Greek influences. References to this layered history are incorporated in different room types, from vaulted stone ceilings to etched ‘lace’ walls, lampshades and headboards. In the Byzantine suites, bathrooms and wardrobes are concealed behind a triptych, inlaid with photographs instead of icons. Built on different levels to ensure privacy, the 27 rooms are decorated in shades of grey and olive green, a natural palette that mirrors the rural setting.

Kinsterna Hotel & Spa has been shortlisted for The European Hotel Design Awards 2010.