Grecotel celebrated 50 years of history at the iconic Fortezza fortress in Rethymno, with an evening filled with music, emotion and gratitude. The Daskalantonakis family welcomed employees, partners and friends to a grand Cretan celebration – a tribute of honor and respect to the Group’s people, and to the place that gave birth to Grecotel and continues to inspire it. This heartfelt “thank you” was accompanied by the sounds of Vasilis Skoulas and Evanthia Reboutsika, who, together with the Cretan Traditional Dancers Group and Cretan artists under the musical direction of Spyridakis Zacharis, filled the historic venue with music and intense emotions that marked a journey of half a century, hand-in-hand with the local community and Cretan tradition. Special brilliance was added by the unique drone show that unfolded above the city of Rethymno against the backdrop of the Cretan sea, the waters that have embraced half a century of the Group’s history.
“Crete is our home. From here we started, here we remain rooted and from here we extend a big ‘thank you’ to all of you, our people, the Grecotel family,” emphasized Mr. Nikos Daskalantonakis emotionally, returning the prolonged applause to those who shared the vision, made it reality and who will continue to carry Grecotel into its next 50 years.
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Grecotel: Strong promise for the future from Mari Daskalantonakis
Her own special “thank you” along with a strong promise for the future was delivered by the Group’s CEO Ms. Mari Daskalantonakis: “In Crete we live with symbols. Grecotel is fortunate to have its own, its founder. Beside him tonight, symbolically, sit his granddaughters and representatives of the second and third generations of Grecotel, twenty, thirty and forty-somethings. Their generation’s strength is Grecotel’s continuity! For the next 50 years ahead! Rethymno and Crete, we three generations of Grecotel thank you deeply.” Among those attending the event were Archbishop of Crete Mr. Eugenios, Metropolitan of Rethymno and Avlopotamos Mr. Prodromos, Minister of Civil Protection Yannis Kefalogiannis, Regional Governor of Crete Stavros Arnaoutakis, Deputy Regional Governor Maria Lioni and the Regional Council, Mayor of Rethymno Giorgos Marinakis with the entire Municipal Council, mayors of Hersonissos Zacharias Doxastakis, Mylopotamos Giorgos Klados, Chania Panagiotis Simantirakis, Amari Pantelis Mourtzanos and archaeology professor Nikos Stampolidis.
Speaking at the event, Archbishop of Crete Mr. Eugenios, Regional Governor of Crete Stavros Arnaoutakis and Mayor of Rethymno Giorgos Marinakis emphasized Grecotel’s strong and unbreakable ties with Crete, its lasting social and economic contribution to the region, respect for the environment and contribution to upgrading the tourism product.
Words full of emotion and gratitude were delivered by Archbishop of Crete Mr. Eugenios: “We are here as you are for us,” he said starting his speech, characterized Nikos Daskalantonakis as a “symbol of Greek hospitality” and emphasized that “Grecotel’s name encompasses everything, says everything, passes everything to the next generations, because we cannot live without this virtue.” Referring to the timeless value of hospitality, he invoked Menander and the Church Fathers: “Welcome strangers so you won’t become a stranger yourself… hospitality is a divine commandment that you have put into practice,” Mr. Eugenios noted and concluded: “The greatest thing you achieved at Grecotel is not that you built 25,000 beds, but that every day you make friends. And above all, you make the people who work with you feel like they’re working for themselves, that Grecotel is their home.”
