A history that begins from the memories of a significant name,
both for its etymology glass and because of the family itself that with
dignity and pride kept its roots unchanging over the centuries.
The name Olokalos can be translated either
as beautiful or as a good man.
This beauty is definitely referred to both the physical
appearance and the rich inner world of the people carrying this name.
Ioannis Olokalos (1496-1543) was a notary by profession at that time in
Ierapetra, Crete and the owner of the land that the hotel was recently
erected.
As centuries went by, the land remained in family hands and
was cultivated to offer its fruits to the following generations. In
1912, Konstantinos immigrates to Brazil with the hope of a better
future, leaving his three children George, Michael and Maria behind in
the village of Anatoli. Four decades later, the two boys with their
families followed the way abroad after their father’s invitation, so
the only one remaining on the island is Maria.
For the harsh years to come this land will be a source of life
for the family, since the oil, the almonds, the wheat and the barley
produced there will help the family survive. In the late ’60 and while
the mountainous areas are depopulated because of the immigration of the
citizens to the plains, the farm is abandoned and the family, in turn,
follows the shift to the more fertile lands of the beach.
After Maria’s death in 1981, the farm was inherited by her son
George, who took his name in memory of her beloved brother. 25 years
later, George recalled his mother’s prophetic words when one evening he
and his brother, weary by the harvest, used degrading words to talk
about a land that was so tiring, but at the same time offered them so
little. “Beautiful houses are going to be built here”, she said
resentfully. At that time these words seemed a fruitless dream.
Today this dream comes true and unites the
history of the past with today’s luxury.