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290 Maryam Springs 260,
Courbevoie, Paris, France
About Us
The Hotel
From 1965
The history of three generations
of real hospitality
The Emily first opened in 1965. This was when Alexandros Bolias built the first floor of this small hotel on the beach that he loved so much, as he had spent his spent his summers there since 1948, together with his family. He called it the ‘Emily’ in honour of his wife. As a fisherman, he supplied the family’s taverna of the time with the fresh fish so enjoyed by visitors. He also gave rides in his boat around Achladi bay, Vari cove, and other nearby beaches.
Thirty years later, in 1996, his son took over, and, in 2018, his grandson, Alexandros Bolios, assumed directorship of the Emily. Today, as then, the whole family works in the hotel, together with the specialist staff, in the hotels various services. This is what makes a stay at the Emily Hotel feel like a visit to your country home.
The Bolias Family
Alexandros Bolias
Alexandros Bolias lives in a small house in the Emily’s garden. He is a champion marathon runner and a lover of a balanced natural diet. He studied economics and has a master’s in management. He went on to work in the private sector, but in 2007 he decided he loved the Emily too much to let it decline. And so, he undertook the management, applying his knowledge and personal values. He chooses to welcome all guests personally to the hotel, and you will find him constantly keeping an eye on everything.
Athanasia Bolia
Alexandros’ sister lives in another small house in the Emily’s garden. In the summer, she works in the Emily’s cafe-bar, but in the winter months, she makes folk instruments in the workshop a few metres away from the hotel: lutes, bouzoukia, tzoura, and baglama. In the afternoon, you will most likely find her testing some instrument in the garden.
Chariklia Bolia
Alexandros’ other sister and her husband have taken on the day-to-day running of the family business. They are also raising their daughter, Adamantia, who’s mission it is to get all the other children on the beach to go for one more swim.
Manto Bolia and
Pantelis Bolias
Although they have handed over the management of the hotel to Alexandros, their parents are always there to help. Manto bakes the bread and makes home-made marmalade. Pantelis looks after technical matters, small jobs that can’t wait until a specialised technician can get there. However, he is basically a fisherman, and so he spends the rest of his time on his boat and his fishing.
Genuinely simple, light, Cycladic landscape
Rooms
As soon as you leave the rooms on the ground floor, or the Emily’s garden, you will find yourself walking on sand. This concept of beach life and walking next to the sea under the light of the Greek sun determined the decoration of the rooms.
The building is orientated south-east, with the front facing the picturesque bay with its fishing boats and bright blue waters. Both the sunrise and moonrise are visible from all the rooms in the building.
Cycladic architecture
The partitions between the ground floor rooms, the wooden decking that connects the building with the beach, the large pergola, the stone inlay on the ground floor, and the native tamarinds shading the veranda, all comprise the organic connection between the building and natural elements of the bay.
The rooms, equally white with wooden elements, are in harmony with the minimalistic style, exuding the modern take on traditional architecture and decor.
When you stay at the Emily, you are staying in a genuinely simple, light, Cycladic landscape.
Renovating with respect
for the landscape
The hotel was renovated with great care to preserve the traditional elements of the austere Cycladic style. It therefore emanates a sense of the continuation and evolution of a traditional Greek hotel. Modern style meets tradition, seen through the prism of an authentic identity inspired by the members of this family business.
The starting point for the re-modelling of the building was the personal style of the owner, Alexandros Bolias, in cooperation with professional decorators. The key concepts were ergonomics, minimalist design, discreet comfort, and the renewal of the traditional Cycladic character.
We kept the original white, both inside and out, and decided to preserve the various wall textures that bear witness to the various stages of construction and the architectural history of the Emily. We also highlighted the wooden entrance and added some elements, such as the sun-shaped marble transom, to show a connection between the traditional and renewed look of the building.
A modern version of concrete mortar runs through the exterior flooring and sections of the walls of the ground floor. The colour we chose mimics that of Byzantine ochre, one of the colours that was used in traditional Syriot architecture. It heightens the already warm atmosphere of the space and blends with the colours of the sand on the beach.
The lighting design makes use of warm, subtle light, which is enough but not so much that it spills over into the calm night of the beach.
Our garden
We designed the Emily’s garden, a new exterior space on the hotel’s property at the edge of the beach. It is a place for relaxation, reading, or simply gazing out over the sands. This is where we serve breakfast. It is also open all day as somewhere to enjoy the products on sale in the cafe‑bar.
We preserved the large tamarinds in the garden and added clusters of aromatic herbs in keeping with local Syriot vegetation: oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, marjoram, and laurel. We also planted a pomegranate tree, a symbol of luck and well-being, and a mastic tree to remind us that our family originally came from Chios.
In between the greenery there are tables and chairs, all different from each other, set on gravel as a continuation of the beach.
Reception
The element that creates the unique character of the whole hotel, beginning with the reception area, is the furniture used throughout from d.Mod and its designer and founder, Guy Stefanou. Singular furnishings, made of metal and marine plywood, designed especially for the Emily, were the starting point for the creation of the reception area.
The décor was based on marble and ceramic decorative elements as well as works of art from favourite artists: the striking wooden boat by Vasilis Michailidis, and the unique oxidised boat by Panagiotis Pougaridis are an integral part of the decoration of this space.
The deep blue of the wall of the internal staircase, the blue material used on the sofa in the waiting room, the white line of the light fittings, and the skeleton of a bouzouki on the wall, also bring to mind the musical traditions of the Syriot Aegean in a fresh way.
Furnishings and decoration of the rooms
To start with, the rooms were completely re-designed bearing in mind your safety and comfort during your stay. Ergonomic and understatedly luxurious, the rooms are equipped with automated systems that are friendly to the environment and make the best use of natural resources.
Using the advice and polymorphic creations of Guy Stefanou and d.Mod, the rooms have linear lighting that is a continuation of the furniture, hanging floor lights with rush shades for diffusion, and many other means of discrete illumination.
You will also see this fresh look at traditional Cycladic architecture in the purpose-built furniture in the rooms, the simple forms of metal and wood, the miniature works of art on the walls, and the colours that are in harmony with the natural environment.
Philosophy
Your stay at the Emily will be a unique experience that will leave you with beautiful memories, enhanced by the people you meet here!
For us, all those who stay at the Emily are our guests first and clients second. This is the result of our personal philosophy. Don’t forget that the core of our hotel is a family that has lived here for three generations, in the natural landscape of the sea surrounding the Cyclades, which we love so much.
Take a look through our site and discover all the elements that combine to create this experience: the architecture of the building and the décor of the rooms; the garden next to the beach; the quality of the hospitality; the family atmosphere; our suggestions for activities; our feelings about discrimination and the environment; our social responsibility actions; all come together to guarantee an amazing time. At least, that’s our aim...
Through the prism of experience tourism
The Emily is ideal for small groups of all ages and families.
Apart from the trio of ‘island, sun, sea’ – which is a given when you stay here – because the hotel is on the shores of the bay, alternative forms of tourism are also available:
- Senior tourism
- Gastronomic tourism
- Marine tourism (fishing, diving, etc.)
- Sports and recreation tourism
- Walking and cycling tourism
Customer satisfaction assurance
We believe that a good word from you is the best form of advertising for us. To deserve this, we are constantly improving our services, devoting personal time and energy.
The satisfaction and needs of our guests are personally seen to by the director of the hotel. Apart from the fact that you can find him at any time, we have surveys to record your experience staying with us. Perhaps we could encourage you to leave your impressions on the various travel platforms and on social media, or we could send you a customer satisfaction survey.
Diversity
There are no social exclusions at the Emily.
We are consciously opposed to any form of prejudice or discrimination, and we want our guests to share the same philosophy.
All our welcome here, regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation.
We take special care of individuals with disabilities and older guests, as we believe they might need a little more help from us during their stay in our hotel.
We recognise the rights of children and the right to go on holiday together with your pet.
Guests with disabilities
We provide a comfortable stay for guests with disabilities
All ground floor rooms are prioritised for guests with disabilities, to make their stay easier. For those with mobility issues, we have designed a specific room with all the necessary adaptations in the living area and bathroom. There are also ramps for wheelchair access to all the exterior areas, to the beach, and to the Emily’s ground floor. There is parking for vehicles with a disabled badge in the area outside the hotel, close to the rooms.
For your stay in Syros generally, we recommend the free mobile app ‘Syros Access Point’ [λινκ], where you will find all the registered parking spots for disabled cars and ramp access to beaches on the island.
Pets
Pets are allowed in our hotel
We undertake to keep the rooms and common areas free of animal hair for the safety of any of our guests who might have allergies. On the other hand, pet owners must ensure that they do not unduly burden the cleaning of the hotel areas and do not disturb other guests. This way, everyone is happy.
Infants and children
Our favourite guests!
Although some may be disturbed by the lively and obvious presence of children at the hotel, we have chosen to welcome them with the same respect we show to all our guests. From time to time, we organise activities for our small friends, and in the afternoons, you will find drawing material in our garden to keep them occupied while you enjoy a drink or a snack.
Naturally, every room can have a child’s bed added if you let us know when you make your booking.
Social responsibility
We respond to the current social challenges and sensitivities
We believe we owe it to the community to give back some of our profits, doing our part to deal with environmental and social concerns. We uphold the healthy values of our civilisation, human dignity and the provision of equal opportunities, respect for the environment that we inherited, and improving the standard and quality of life.
For this reason, we are especially careful how we manage materials, and we sponsor cultural activities, with an emphasis on athleticism.
Environment
‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ is our motto
We believe that a basic rule for protecting the environment is encapsulated in the trio of ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’; in other words, limiting the use of resources to the absolute minimum, using them again, and making sure they area recycled. We try to apply practical methods to help in the fight against climate change and our aim is to become a ‘green’ hotel.
Actions that we are taking:
- The collection and recycling of waste
- Keeping energy-using installations in good condition
- Finding ways to reduce water consumption
- Choosing to have drinking water supplied by an environment-friendly company
- Applying rules to towel changing in the rooms
- Conservative ordering of basic ingredients for food
- Avoiding the use of electricity on the beach
It is forbidden to use fireplaces and gas stoves in the rooms, and all the inside areas of the hotel are non-smoking. With your help, we are sure we can do better.
Commercial sponsorship
Corporate sponsorships in the following events:
- Eye’s walk Syros Digital Festival
- Syros International Film Festival
- Syros Accordion Festival
- Syros City Trail Race