SCOOP: What's it like inside Europe's most talked about new social club, the House of NYNN?
Is there anything to actually like about the freshly minted lifestyle compound on the site of the iconic Athens Hilton? Maybe, but it doesn't come cheap
ATHENS — New York just hasn’t got it. Nothing quite like this, anyway.
Let’s try this again: For a country that invented drama (perfected, arguably, by Hollywood) and democracy (perverted, arguably, by Washington, D.C.), would you expect the debut of a new private members club so close to the heart of the city where it all began to be anything less than totally dramatic?
Yes, the new House of NYNN is “an inspiring private members club for inspiring people, located in the heart of Athens, at The Ilisian. A nurturing place designed to spark members on their own unique journeys.”
So what if a lot of those journeys seem to consist of self-absorbed people sitting in really nice chairs hammering away at their laptops? And if there is a risk that this all becomes a sort of facsimile of the latest Centurion Lounge or similar upper-bracket international airport bolthole?
But from an exclusive first look, we can confirm that the House of NYNN is going to change the social fabric of Athens — and whether you get a chance to experience it or not, it’s going to be one tough act to follow.
So what’s the Ilisian? It is, or soon will be, the rechristened site of the iconic Hilton Athens on busy Vasilissis Sofias Avenue in the heart of modern Athens (in other words, not in the touristy Plaka part of Athens, but a more business-oriented side, on the edge of trendy Pagrati). When it opens in February (according to our sources), the old Hilton will sport the Conrad and Waldorf Astoria brand names and include branded luxury residences in addition to a hotel component. Hotel guests will have certain access privileges at the House of NYNN, a big sprawling place that’s nestled into the property at the street level and that rocks something of the ethos of a Soho House, but on a larger scale.
Is there a big impressive gym? Check. A large outdoor pool in the middle of the city? Check. Tony restaurants big on organic ingredients and not big on tiny prices? Check. Was that an important minister I just saw saunter through the entrance and past the post-modern velveteen spaceship style lobby area en route to a table at what is soon to become the most coveted (and private) restaurant in town? (uh, what do you think?)
It’s nice to see some high-powered locals potter about before the Kardashians get here.
Will NYNN steal some thunder from the ne plus ultra of Athenian prestige, the Hotel Grande Bretagne? In some respects it already has — anything so shiny and new in a city this old is naturally going to set tongues wagging — but in other respects, no. Nothing can replace a great city hotel.
NYNN itself is a different animal, and to be clear, not simply because it is not a hotel. They say that the “the spirit of community runs deep here” and while I’m not actually sure about that, they are trying to make the place more than just a plush lobby-style place to hang out: “We curate an ever-changing calendar of events and diverse programming across various thematic pillars,” etc. They’ve got a little cinema in there, with plush blue velvet chairs, so curated screening nights might be one them pillars.
On the day of my visit, with a bad back from carrying too much luggage up and down too many Greek island stairs (lovely to photograph, but oh, my Instagram account for an escalator!), I repaired to the “Heat & Cold Therapy” space which includes a pair of dry saunas (one Finnish-style and hot, the other bioclimatic i.e. a bit less hot) and a modern steam-room hammam. Everything was immaculately clean. These are mixed (men and women) facilities, but the aesthetic, with soft peachy tones right down to the towels and robes I thought leaned into the effeminate when a little more Levantine flair (even just a soupçon of bolder color palette) might be more in tune.
Also, though it was not yet open, there will be a large fancy Japanese restaurant to which my attitude is the same as it is toward that odd Nobu in Malibu: Why is it there? We are beyond the point where a sushi roll or variation thereof outside Japan is new or interesting. The Nobu in Malibu should be replaced, logically, by a more culturally synched Cal-Mexican restaurant — enough said.
Because this post is not meant as a social critique — that much I’ll save for anyone who still uses fake words like influencer — though there are plenty of people who say that hotels should stay hotels, and there are even more people who cannot afford the high price of membership at these clubs.
However, hotel groups like Rosewood are absolutely the ones to blame for the new global pricing architecture because it trickles down to all manner of related products on the market: this feeds into the ubiquitous inflation to which politicians everywhere are completely oblivious. That said, everything costs money, including building out a new community, or new brand.
Of course, fostering some newfangled “community” in places, whether or not you consider them to be elitist, also risks pushing out authenticity. Once that’s gone, it’s gone: consider Manhattan below 23rd Street, what it was in 2000, and what it is now, or rather, what it is not.
I don’t know Athens well enough to know whether the spot where the old Hilton was, sort of between Kolonaki and the the American Embassy, was better before or better off now as a hybrid luxe hideaway and social club. As stated, this post is not meant as a social critique, but at House of NYNN and at similar though less impressive spots in New York and dysfunctional Los Angeles, there is certainly something new being created. But it would be anti-Hellenic to not wonder, would it not, about what is also being left behind? 📚
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