Athens, May 10: The Athens Hilton was declared as the 2004 Olympic Games' "official hotel of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)", organisers said yesterday. A contract to that effect was signed between the Athens Olympics organising committee president Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki and Peter Van Der Vliet, vice president of Hilton International.
The hotel, which opened its doors in 1963, resumed business in February after a year-long closure for renovation. It is partly-owned by Greek commercial bank Alpha, one of the Games' biggest sponsors.

Faced with a shortage of four- and five-star hotel rooms in the Athens area, the 2004 Olympics organisers unveiled in December a plan to find at least 3,000 top-notch private homes for Olympic spectators.


Bureau Report