Page 68 - MYCONIAN COLLECTION MAG 2017

all in the

family The inspiring story of how

the native Myconian family
of George Daktylides built

a hospitality empire, which
includes nine of the leading THERE IS SOMETHING about a family business and its unique synthesis of heritage,

luxury hotels on the island. loyalty and emotion, which captures the essence of luxury and accounts for the strength
of some of the world’s greatest portfolios. This quality is at the heart of the Myconian
A true testament to the Collection’s success.
“My brothers and I are as proud of our roots, as we are of our growth”, says Vangelis,
essence of the Mykonos soul. about his parents George and Eleftheria Daktylides, founders of the Collection that
today counts nine of the leading luxury hotels on Mykonos, three of which are members
by Diana Vives of Relais & Chateaux.
Mykonos during George Daktylides’ youth was very different from that of today. The
island ran a barter economy well into the Fifties. “My mother, along with everyone else
who lived off the land, will tell you that they traded their cheese, sausages, cured fish and
produce with the townsfolk for imports such as sugar, flour, rice, coffee and spaghetti, not
to mention the all-important cigarettes, sold individually from a big box”, Panos explains.
Besides visitors to a few private villas, the island was a well-guarded secret before the
yachts and cruise ships of the Sixties began to drop anchor on their way to view the
magnificent ancient ruins of Delos. Onassis and Jackie O were followed by Princess
Soraya, Grace Kelly, Brando and Liz Taylor, to mention but a few, and Christian Dior
famously crowned the town’s tailor Josef Salachas ‘le roi du pantalon’ (‘the king of
trousers’), inspiring Givenchy to collaborate on a couture collection. The secret was
out, and close on its heels came the boho chic of the Seventies.
George Daktylides was a handsome young man in a hurry when he married the beautiful
young Eleftheria from Delos. On completing his military duty, he had returned home
with big dreams. He drove a bus that carried men and materials from town to the barite
mines, and soon convinced his brothers to invest with him in a vehicle of their own.
The Myconian Collection’s founder George Daktylides, Before long, they were operating the only public transport on the island, with a fleet of
returned from the military with great dreams, including that twenty-five buses on which the four boys cut their commercial milk teeth. “As kids we
of winning the heart of young Eleftheria from Delos.
Below, young Eleftheria Daktylides with her family. sold tickets on our dad’s buses, which was a little boy’s dream”, says Markos.

Photo: Christos Drazos, Giannis Dimotsis

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