Four Seasons plan advances in Ermionida

A Four Seasons-backed resort plan in Ermionida has moved into public consultation, the latest step in a licensing process that is still in its first phase. (ekathimerini.com) The filing is the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment for the AKS Hinitsa Bay Resort, a project tied to Irish businessman Paul Coulson. Greek approvals still require that study to clear review before a presidential decree and then building permits can follow. (ekathimerini.com) Ekathimerini reported on April 22, 2026 that the consultation had opened, two years after Four Seasons said it would manage the property and four years after Coulson’s first deal tied to the site. The same report said the permitting sequence remains lengthy and unfinished. (ekathimerini.com) The consultation matters because it is the stage where local residents, groups and agencies can weigh in on the environmental study before the state decides whether to advance the project. Ekathimerini said reactions from parts of the local community and environmental organizations have continued despite the study’s provisions. (ekathimerini.com) The resort is part of a wider luxury buildout around Porto Heli and Ermionida. Ekathimerini said other major projects in the area include Kilada Hills Country Club, a Six Senses resort and Waldorf Astoria’s Scarlet Beach, with debate centered on roads, water and sewage capacity. (ekathimerini.com) Four Seasons and Hinitsa Bay Holdings announced the Porto Heli project on December 5, 2024 as a redevelopment of a beachfront estate at Hinitsa Bay into a luxury resort and private residences. Four Seasons said the site spans 75 hectares and 3.25 kilometers of coastline. (press.fourseasons.com) Four Seasons said the plan presented in 2024 included 80 guest rooms and suites, 30 bungalows and branded residential villas. Ekathimerini’s April 2026 reporting, citing the environmental study now under consultation, described an investment budget of €191.5 million, a 74-room hotel and 22 independent luxury residences. (press.fourseasons.com) (ekathimerini.com) Ekathimerini reported that the project area totals about 64.2 hectares from the AKS Hinitsa Bay hotel and the neighboring Alexiou Estate acquired in 2022. It also said 18.55 hectares inside the project area are classified as private forest land that would keep protected status under the study, even as local bodies have raised concerns about construction pressure and landscape change. (ekathimerini.com) Financing is also taking shape before final permits arrive. Ekathimerini reported that a €64.43 million joint bond loan was approved in 2024, including €38.6 million from the European Union Recovery Fund, with the balance covered by bank debt and company funds. (ekathimerini.com) Coulson has been building a larger position in Porto Heli for years. Ekathimerini reported in 2023 that he had bought the AKS Hinitsa Bay and AKS Porto Heli hotels for a reported €50 million, along with two large land parcels, as investor interest in the area intensified. (ekathimerini.com) What happens next is less about branding than paperwork: the environmental study must get through consultation and approval before the state can issue the spatial decree and, after that, building permits. Until then, the Four Seasons name remains attached to a project still waiting on its core licenses. (ekathimerini.com)