A31 Architecture have transformed a 1980s 2 star hotel on Ios Island, Greece, into Hotel Relux, a contemporary 4 star boutique hotel.

Sometime during the mid ‘80s, Blue Bay Hotel Ios** was built at the Port of Ios island, overlooking Sikinos, without being renovated or reconstructed for more than two decades.

That is until the complete renovation of its premises was seen as a necessity, in order to improve the facilities and upgrade the services offered. A31 was then assigned with the responsibility to transform that 2* hotel to a contemporary 4* boutique hotel, which was named Relux Ios Island.

In order to succeed in that task, A31 redesigned the existing buildings’ outline as well as the bedrooms, the common areas and the surrounding landscape. The landscape design takes advantage of site specific features such as microclimatic and topographical conditions as well as the existing vegetation to blend the hotel exterior seamlessly into the surrounding natural setting.

The uneven shape of the plot which seems to be “embracing” the complex, forms private gardens as well as adding outdoor spaces for the hotel’s function. The gentle slope that can be easily detected in the surrounding space was utilized as the ideal environment for the addition of build-in sitting rooms or elevated planted areas.

The plant selection includes Mediterranean species, with rich aromas and flowering, selected on the basis of their low maintenance requirements and their ability to fit in the architectural unity.

Designed in a subtractive manner, this project is defined by the sleekness of its surfaces. A31 also established flow and movement to the project by securing the organic integration of the water element in the surrounding space. The rooms were treated as individual spaces of island architecture, with unique morphological properties, and not as typical hotel rooms.

Therefore, all of them were redesigned and new rooms were created with brand new layout and access, in order to meet the 4-star classification requirements.

Furthermore, additional establishments of common areas were constructed, including an open bar, restaurant and wine bar, swimming pool, outdoor revitalization spa and a contemporary orthodox chapel.