Hers is a familiar face to guests passing through the Lobby of Annabelle. Her name is Chrystalla Socratous, and she is the longest-serving member of the hotel’s Guest Services team. Chrystalla has been working with the Thanos Hotels group since 1997, when she was hired as a hostess for sister property Anassa. She was invited to transfer to Annabelle for a similar position and quickly bonded with the clientele—so much so that when the Guest Services team was established in 2003, she was asked to join it. Over the years, she has established strong relations with Annabelle’s hundreds of repeating guests, some of them visiting three or four times a year. ‘You must love to be around people to do this job’, she says, underscoring why she enjoys her work so much. Asked what changes she has seen at the hotel, she remarks that the formality in dress and service that characterised the atmosphere in Annabelle’s early years has relaxed into a more flexible, informal mood that guests find very comfortable. Chrystalla attributes her affinity with the guests to her childhood in Canada, where her family relocated after the 1974 invasion of the island. In Canada, she developed intercultural communication skills and a command of the English language. If you have not met Chrystalla, be sure to stop at the Guest Services desk the next time you traverse the Lobby. She and her colleagues are standing by to help you make the best of your time at Annabelle.
