Debts force Athens Ledra hotel to shut down

eKathimerini — Guests staying at the Greek capital’s Athens Ledra hotel were gradually being turned out of their rooms and relocated to other units, Skai reported on Tuesday, quoting workers in the establishment.

According to the report, all guests will be relocated by Wednesday and the front desk is not accepting any new arrivals, at a time when the five-star, 314-room unit is booked to 70-80 percent capacity, callers told Skai.

The company that owns and operated the hotel, ASTY SA (a part of the Cyprus-based Paraskevaides Group), on Tuesday attributed the shuttering of the unit to financial difficulties,  bank and IKA  debts  which are said to top 40 million euros.

It added that it will later announce more on the future of the hotel, which operated under the name Ledra Marriott until December 2013, when Marriott Hotels decided to depart from Athens.

The workers at the hotel say they have not been paid since mid-March and have stayed on without wages. On Tuesday around 150 of them staged a protest outside the hotel.

The Athens Ledra  hotel was built in 1980 and was hailed as one of the Greek capital’s most luxurious modern units.

It has been privately owned since 2013 and filed for protection from creditors in 2014.