Page 101 - MYCONIAN COLLECTION MAG 2019

heritage

the Myconian Collection’s close ties to the local mykonos town, the island’s capital and the location of the first myconian collection property.
CApitAL AppeAL
community are no accident: the daktylides family
have been living on this island for generations.

tHere is sOMetHing about a family business and its unique george Daktylides was a handsome young man in a hurry when he picked up second-hand, and the golden crown of Mykonos,
synthesis of heritage, loyalty and emotion which captures the essence married the beautiful young eleftheria from Delos. On completing it remained his favourite set few are said to gleam as brightly
of luxury and accounts for the strength of some of the world’s greatest his military duty, he had returned home with big dreams. He drove of wheels long after he could as the broad swathe of fine
portfolios. this quality is at the heart of the Myconian Collection’s a bus that carried men and materials from town to the barite mines, have any car he wanted.” the sand on the south side of the
success. “My brothers and i are as proud of our roots as we are of and soon convinced his brothers to invest with him in a vehicle of well-worn but solid 920 four- island. so, in securing the most
our growth”, says Vangelis about his parents George and Eleftheria their own. Before long, they were operating the only public transport cylinder diesel loader went scenic cliffs and gentle slope
Daktylides, founders of the Collection that today counts ten of the on the island, with a fleet of twenty-five buses on which the four on to dig the foundations of of fields that joined them with
leading luxury hotels on Mykonos, three of which are members of boys cut their commercial milk teeth. “As kids, we sold tickets on his first four hotels, starting the ocean, the family acquired
Relais & Ch�teaux. our dad’s buses, which was a little boy’s dream”, says Markos. with the 25-room Kohili in the perfect setting for the
Mykonos during george Daktylides’s youth was very different Concurrently, george started trading in cement, bricks and sand 1979. set high above town new stars in the Myconian
from that of today. the island ran a barter economy well into the that he was hauling to the mines and construction sites, and for ten and looking directly onto the Collection’s luxury constellation:
Fifties. “My mother, along with everyone else who lived off the land, years mixed concrete and brought in coils of rebar used for structural seven famous 16th century the 5-star royal in 2000 and the
will tell you that they traded their cheese, sausages, cured fish and reinforcement. “i can still remember the ringing sound of both of my windmills, the charming little imperial in 2002, followed by
produce with the townsfolk for imports such as sugar, flour, rice, grandfathers hammering to uncoil the steel just below our house. hotel commanded sweeping the Villas, Utopia and Avaton.
coffee and spaghetti, not to mention the all-important cigarettes, everything was done by hand.” views of the Aegean by day throughout this time, the
sold individually from a big box”, Panos explains. Besides visitors tourist accommodation on the island had grown modestly with the and the glittering spectacle of the town by night. Kohili was the first Collection never lost the sense of family and organic growth. informed
to a few private villas, the island was a well-guarded secret before state-funded construction and informal room and board offers, but private hotel on Mykonos outside Chora, and an instant hit, followed by the family’s managerial and operational philosophy, it pervades
the yachts and cruise ships of the sixties began to drop anchor on demand from visitors drawn to experience the warm hearts, rich by Korali a year later to double the room count. the relationships between the Daktylides family, the island and the
their way to view the magnificent ancient ruins of Delos. Onassis and culture and exceptional hospitality of the locals continued to grow. it their success was built on the back of hard work. eleftheria made staff – and flows into guests’ experience of warm and personalised
Jackie O were followed by Princess soraya, grace Kelly, Brando was not uncommon for cash-strapped backpackers in the eighties to breakfast for all the guests and did the housekeeping and laundry, service, as well as the privileged relationships that discreetly open
and Liz taylor, to mention but a few, and Christian Dior famously be invited to open up their sleeping bags on private terraces under the as well as providing meals for the 40 construction workers who were doors to the island’s best suppliers and services. the family remains
crowned the town’s tailor, Josef salachas “le roi du pantalon” [“the stars. so, with his burgeoning contacts in trading and construction, busy erecting the new hotel. she was also raising four sons, and firmly rooted in Mykonos. their children go to school on the island.
king of trousers”], inspiring givenchy to collaborate on a couture george decided to undertake a development of his own, seeing an somehow still found the time to take her boys for a daily swim. “i can And their dedication to give back to the island finds expression in
collection. the secret was out, and close on its heels came the boho opportunity to build the first hotel on Mykonos outside of town. still smell the cake she baked for the hotel in our kitchen”, Vangelis environmental conservation initiatives, local sourcing and consistent
chic of the seventies. Marios recounts: “He came home one day on a Caterpillar that he’d recalls. “she gets emotional when we talk about those times... My support to the Cycladic communities: Waste is recycled, worn linen
parents would sacrifice anything to create opportunities for us. Dad is donated to old age homes, prisons and monasteries in the Cyclades,
worked from morning to night and invested all the profits back into seawater is desalinated.
the business. My mother had one good pair of sunday shoes which even nowadays, five years after stepping down as CeO, george
she would only wear before walking into church”. Daktylides remains a busy man. His way of relaxing is getting
the personal touch and attention to detail that to this day defines the involved in the new projects, as well as making sure that all nine
Myconian Collection inspired a loyal clientele and a reputation that grandchildren have a steady supply of “real” food. He does his
spread by word of mouth. six years later, Kyma and Kalypso joined rounds to every home once a week in a toyota Hilux, with trays of
Kohili and Korali to form what became known as K-Hotels. in 1986, farm eggs on the passenger seat and home-bred lamb and goat meat
in anticipation of growing demand for luxury destinations, george in the back, as well as cheese and cake made by Eleftheria. “As you
purchased a plot on the south coast, above the bay of Platys gialos see, I’ve got my retirement sorted out”, says Vangelis. “And it’s a
and built the island’s first 5-star hotel, the Myconian Ambassador good thing that we are four brothers, because our parents’ shoes
Relais & Ch�teaux. are very big to fill”.
“By then, my parents had realised that we needed an education in “someone once asked me what advice our parents gave us along
international management”, says Vangelis. All four sons attended the way. My answer was short: they led by example. in French, i
in turn the premier establishment of its kind, the world-renowned believe there is a term for it, “l’�ducation silencieuse”. We are each
hotel school in Lausanne. “there was never a question in our minds other’s most honest critic, and we are loyal allies. When we balance
whether this was what we wanted to do”. Once all four brothers the pragmatic demands of a competitive business with deeply rooted
were back on the island, they were ready for a new challenge: the emotions, we’re not just planning for the financial year, but also for
conquest of elia bay. if the seaside beaches around the peninsula are the next generation”.

the Collection never lost the sense of family
and organic growth. it pervades the relationship
brothers in time
the four Daktylides brothers, george’s sons, remain as close to mykonos today (right) as they were as children (left) between the daktylides family, the island and the staff.
exploring the winding alleys. ˝There was never a question in our minds whether this was what we wanted to do˝, they say.

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