The Hotel

Meeting point of East and West. Where history and culture meet luxurious benefits and a wine destination unique to each kind.

Located at the magical wetland of Santa Barbara, Drama, ranked among the 60 best urban parks of Europe.An ideal safe house for ducks and birds, consisted of lakes, waterfalls, sycamore trees, paths and small bridges blending together harmoniously and cover an area of 60 acres.

The Spierer tobacco house was built in 1924 by the Austrian architect Konrand Von Vilas for the Swiss tobacco merchant Herman Spierer and because of its dominant presence it was called by the locals “the Spierer skyscraper”.

A historic listed monument of industrial architecture featuring large rooms for the processing and the mature of the tobacco leaves.
The restoration process was done with the utmost respect for both the wooden interior and the stone exterior of the warehouse.

Stone and 20th century timber are the principal materials of the constriction that blend in harmoniously with the minimal Italian design contemporary.

HYDRAMA GRAND HOTELis equipped with a unique wine dispenser and a well-informed wine warehouse cellar (labels vary from local to international).

Hydraspa is our beauty and wellness center, featuring the Crystal Cave (a room with Himalayan salt covered walls and hot seats).

The Hotel staff is specially trained to accommodate people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The impressive, size wise and volume wise, tobacco warehouse of Drama reflects not only the financial robustness of its owner but also the creative talent and inspiration of Conrand Von Villas, an architect of Austrian origin. Born in the Tyrolo province, Austria, in 1866, he graduated from the Munich Technical University and joined in 1894 the German-Turkish committee in Istanbul, that elaborates the preliminary plans of the railway line between Istanbul and Bagdad.

He resides in Drama, that same year, to help with the construction of the “unifying line”, a railway line that connects Thessaloniki – Alexandroupoli – Istanbul.

The connection between Thessaloniki and Istanbul and through them with every other major European city, has been of significant importance in the development of the city of Drama.

The work of K.J.J. Vilas in Drama covers a wide spectrum of public, private and industrial buildings and seals the character of the city from the end of the 19th century until the early decades of the 20th century.

Initially residing in Trieste and later on in Geneva, he sets as his primary goal to built factories in all the tobacco cities of north Greece, with up to date specifications and innovative equipment in machinery and parts, thus insuring high standard quality buildings.

The Tobacco Warehouse in Drama is a characteristic example of that foresight, as Spierer had installed an elevator, a very bold move for the time.

For the rising of the building, timber from Austria was imported along with Austrian builders and other craftsmen.

In 1927 and in the age of 42, Spierer passed away unexpectedly. The Spierer House continues the merchant activities, as set by it’s late owner, under the name  SFC (Spierer Freres et Cie). The tobacco warehouse, now owned by the Greek-Austrian Tobacco Company would continue to operate as a tobacco processing center until 1974 and as a plain tobacco warehouse after that.