Staying at the brand new Demilmar Luxury Suites at the shores of the black sand Perissa beach and falling asleep to the lullaby of the sea is a beautiful reality when you are on your dream holiday in Santorini, Greece.
This was our pleasant surprise when we stayed at the Demilmar Luxury Suites as most of the luxury hotels in Santorini are located on the rocks and heights and at some distance from the sea. This boutique hotel offers 11 beautiful and luxurious rooms from which you can listen to the sound of the waves. Very romantic. The hotel also has a magnificent restaurant and a beach club famous for a couple of years thanks to a special atmosphere of a forever vacation and a great choice of food, drinks and hookah. At the hotel you can also do some sports activities such as beach volleyball, mountain climbing, ping pong, tennis, water sports.
Chic Icon interviews Charlie Charbel, the owner of Demilmar and one of the pioneers of the hospitality industry on the island who discovered Santorini for himself more than 30 years ago. Charlie has been an essential catalyst for the tourist flourishing on this volcano turned into an island of pleasure and joy. Santorini is one of the most attractive destinations on the Aegean Sea nowadays.
When did you arrive to Santorini?
I arrived to this island in 1990 on a ship after sailing twenty-seven hours from the port of Piraeus. At that time, there were no commercial flights connecting us with Athens or with other airports, there were only emergency or military flights.
What was your first business in Santorini?
I opened a Greek food restaurant that stood out from other restaurants for its live music and atmosphere. This restaurant continues operating under the new name El Pescador after a big renovation and rebranding. This is a restaurant with increadible seafood, pasta, and of course, Greek cuisine, and a traditional Greek show which became very famous in Santorini. The chef Simos Vasileios, known as a Greek Nusret, is giving a real food performances to our guests.
What is special about the Demilmar Luxury Suites?
The location! You can’t find any other hotel in Santorini with such a perfect location literally on the beach. If you are a sea lover you will fall in love with it! Also, it has a very special energy and vibes being very close to the mysterious Ancient Thera.
What do you like about the Cyclades islands?
They attract tourists with exquisite magnetism due to their history, their geographical location, and also their dreamy landscapes. Santorini dazzles with its white houses at the top and on the slopes of the cliff that contrast with the deep blue of the Aegean Sea. Strolling through these places seeing the stone and the black beaches reminds us that we are moving through the caldera of a volcano. Santorini gives you a license to dream!
In addition to being an entrepreneur, you are a great athlete. You have a motorcycle license, you can drive cars, yachts, even helicopters. Is there anything that can resist you?
I like sports and everything related to it. It is a pleasure for me, but also a good tool to understand the tourists who come to Santorini to enjoy the action. With my experience, I can understand them perfectly, and thus I can also help them make their stay as fabulous as possible.
Tell us about your other businesses!
In addition to the Demilmar Luxury Suites, I have another hotel in Santorini called Suites of the Gods together with a restaurant and the famous Cave Spa. Also, I have the beautiful Golden Beach Resort Anafi located at the virgin island of Anafi, just thirty kilometers away from Santorini. It is a very quite place with no tourists, with beautiful beaches and virgin nature. I also had twelve restaurants in Athens, but we closed them with the 2004 crisis. Now we are focused on these islands.
I managed to merge five soccer teams on the island in a super powerful one called Santorini 2020 F.C. that plays in Greece Super League 2.
Another project that I am developing is an aero club on the island of Anafi; it will be a reality in a few years. Our goal is to train air navigation pilots and also preserve the island as an elite place where massive charter flights do not arrive. The idea is that the planes that arrive at the aero club have a maximum capacity of about twenty passengers. It is a guarantee to preserve the calmness and rest for those who choose this vacation option.
Model Alina Dyachenko
Photo by Andimage Pro
Stylist Julia Afanasenko
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