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It has a spa with an indoor pool, but the best dip in the Coco-Mat hotel in Athens is the one you can take on the rooftop, overlooking the Parthenon . It is one of those photogenic infinity pools that spill onto the horizon, surrounded by stylish hammocks and attended by the hotel's friendly staff.

Built for more or less a year, the young five-star has, apparently, everything the traveler could want. It has only encountered one small problem in its short walk: it has gone over meters in height. The Greek Archaeological Council has decided that its ten floors should remain eight .

Thus, the residents of the Makriyani neighborhood, close to the Acropolis, win the battle. They saw how, floor by floor, the hotel was stealing the views of the archaeological treasure, World Heritage of Humanity, also altering the prevailing aesthetics in the area.

According to the decision of the Archaeological Council, the country's highest authority on heritage matters, the establishment exceeded by more than seven meters the 24 that are established as the limit height .

With the Parthenon in the background.

The decision to demolish its dazzling rooftop comes after more than a year of protests against the building that had become the tallest in the neighborhood. The neighborhood struggle intensified in April when they launched an online campaign to collect signatures demanding that the government protect the archaeological site. In a few days they added the support of 23,000 people. The Expert Council then unanimously decreed that the hotel should be lowered.

The decision was applauded by Lina Mendoni, the Greek minister of culture "When the Acropolis is damaged, in essence our civilization is also affected," he said. "The Acropolis is a symbol. It is not simply a monument." Also, Makriyani's neighbors have already warned that this will not be the last battle they wage against ten-story buildings.

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