Emir of Qatar to leave Corfu because of… bureaucracy

The newspaper says that Qatar investments in Greece are coming to an end with the decision of the Al Rayyan Group to give up the management of the Miramare Hotel in Corfu, which Hamad bin Halifa Al Thani bought in 2013.  

According to the Sunday Eleftheros Typos, the ownership of the luxury resort is being transferred from a Greek company in Kolonaki, Athens, which is part of the Al Rayyan Group, to another Qatar company based in France. The Arab investors, however, do not wish to manage the resort themselves, and have decided to rent it to another tourism-related company, which will operate the hotel.

The luxury resort has been ready for use for a year, but remains closed due to repeated complaints and bureaucratic inflexibility. However, it is the only Qatar project in Greece to be completed despite the obstacles. Qatar has spent about 500 million Euros on investments in Greece - it has shares in a large bank, has bought the island of Oxia in the Echinades island group, as well as 1.5 hectares in the area above Shipwreck Beach in Zakynthos.



The Miramare cost approximately 50 million Euros - 15 million for the purchase of the real estate and the remainder for reconstruction work, furniture and equipment.

In front of the main building in Moraitika, Corfu, an Olympic-sized pool has been constructed and minimalism and earth colours dominate. The comfortable beds in the rooms are white or pale shades of green and grey and the materials used are chiefly wood and glass.


The bathrooms are aesthetically decorated with fine mosaics.

The luxury bungalows, constructed next to the sea with private pools, have been designed to appeal to VIP guests. The fine mosaics give the bathrooms and halls finesse and Arabic touches can be seen throughout. There are, of course, hamams with white marble – trademark of the Eastern culture. In total, the 5-star resort has 250 rooms, including the bungalows.



In the gardens, the olive trees that have been in the area for decades have been protected as well as the palm trees in front of the main building. Initially, work was only done on the side facing the sea and there were plans to improve the section facing the road later. A special apartment was constructed at the Miramare for the Emir of Qatar and his wife Sheikha Moza, who, up to 2016, both visited the Ionian Islands on their floating palace the Katara, 124m in length.

The Arab leader loved the Ionian Islands and on his vacations the locals used to see him buying fish in Lefkada or drinking coffee at Liston.

This was the reason why he decided to invest in the area. Last summer, however, the couple and their large entourage did not come and the last time Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani inspected the works at Miramare was in September 2016 while he was in Corfu incognito. At that time he spoke to his partners about his displeasure at the continuous obstacles and described Greece as a ‘hostile’ place for investments.

This gradually led to the withdrawal of Al Rayyan from Greece, since not even Qatar – which has invested mythical amounts of money worldwide, from Harrods to Porsche – was able to cut the Gordian knot of bureaucracy and inflexibility in Greece.

Minimalism and earth colours dominate
 

  Opened by Konstantinos Karamanlis  

In the past, the Miramare was identified with the Onassis family. It was built in 1960 by Gerasimos Patronikolas, husband of Calliroi Patronikola, step-sister of the tycoon, and was formally opened by the then Prime Minister, Konstantinos Karamanlis. Political personalities from all over the world, powerful businessmen and artists enjoyed their holidays there by the crystal clear waters of the Ionian Sea.

In 1994, the hotel was taken over by the Sourlas brothers, who initiated the first radical renovation, bringing the hotel back to life and in 2004, the year of the Olympic Games in Greece, the owners expanded the resort to include the Miramare Park.

The downturn began in 2008. As the economic crisis got worse, reservations decreased, leading to a financial crisis for the business. The hotel remained closed for the summer before its sale, thus bringing to an end an era identified with the wealth and glory of the Onassis family.

Although its acquisition by the Emir of Qatar gave hope of it regaining its old glamour, five years later the Qatar businessmen have decided to get rid of it along with all its problems.