Press Release of 06/06/2008
Astir Beach reopens to the public in June, after thoroughgoing renovation works that began in October 2007. The new Astir Beach facility provides a wholly new beach concept in Greece, with comfortable and functional installations that blend harmoniously with the natural surroundings and offer first-class services designed to satisfy even the most demanding visitor. This renovation of the beach facilities represents an investment of €7 million. It reflects the hotel management’s vision to transform Astir Beach into a favourite leisure centre for the whole year. Our aim is to make Astir Beach an outstanding international destination, offering a unique seaside leisure experience.
The renovation was supervised jointly with Zeppos-Georgiadi Associates. J&P AVAX carried out the works on the interiors of the buildings and the landscaping of the surrounding exterior spaces, taking great care to respect the environment and preserve the exceptionally attractive natural beauty of the area.
The renovation work focused on:
· the interior layout of the buildings, so as to meet the needs of even the most demanding customers,
· external improvements to the buildings of the swimming facilities on the north and south side of the beach (Artemis and Apollon),
· environment-friendly interventions in the surrounding areas, with wooden walkways, light constructions and additional greenery,
· respect and enhancement of the archaeological finds discovered on the site of the beach, such as the Temple of Apollo Zoster and, more recently, the Ancient Fountain, and
· the use of natural materials that respect the environment and potential for sustainable development.
Besides the first-class facilities, spotless beach and crystal-clear waters, Astir Beach now offers visitors a complete leisure experience, including sea and beach sports, shops, restaurants, bars and cafés, including leading international brand names such as TGI Fridays and Starbucks. For safety reasons, as well as a desire to keep the quality of services at the highest standards, there will be a capacity limit of 1,000 persons. This limit will be monitored by a special control system that keeps a count of incoming and outgoing visitors to the beach.
The pioneering services offered to visitors include a pre-booking service for tickets to the beach via the internet, at www.astir-beach.com. On the same webpage visitors and friends can read about events being organized at the beach, many of which will concern educational, environmental and cultural issues.
Furthermore, loyal customers are offered financial incentives with our short or long-term loyalty cards, while special privileges are reserved for holders of our Gold and Platinum membership cards.
Our card options are listed below:
· Green Loyalty Card: entrance to the beach facilities for 10 visits at a 20% discount on a day ticket for the weekend during the summer season.
· Black Loyalty Card: entrance to the beach facilities for 20 visits at a 25% discount on a day ticket for the weekend during the summer season.
· Gold Membership Card: easy access via a separate entrance to the beach facilities for a calendar year. Just one hundred Gold Membership Cards will be issued for the first year of the beach’s new operations.
· Platinum Membership Card: easy access via a separate entrance to the beach facilities for a calendar year plus a car parking service and entrance to the Platinum Lounge, which includes reception staff, free tea and coffee, and free access to the Internet. In addition, Platinum Members have separate shower and changing facilities, towels and a special area reserved on the beach. Platinum membership also includes free entrance to the Astir Palace hotel complex during weekdays, Monday to Friday. Only fifty Platinum Membership Cards will be issued for the first year of the beach’s new operations.
In the summer season, the beach is open daily from 8am to 9pm; in winter, from 9am to 5pm.
