The history of the hotel takes us to the 1970s, when the concept of organised tourism in Cyprus did not exist. This is when your grandfather, Shukri Hanna Shammas, built the largest hotel in an Eastern Mediterranean marina. To open such a largescale project was a rather risky venture, especially after the division of the country. Was this intuitive and a thoughtful vision for the future?

My grandfather wanted to create this project from the late 1970s and, in 1981, he signed an agreement with the Republic of Cyprus to build a marina, a hotel and a 60unit condominium. The marina was the first to open, in the summer of 1986, and was the first and largest commercial marina not only in Cyprus, but in the whole area of the Eastern Mediterranean. In 1987, the hotel opened in June. The condominium was not built at the time. The whole project cost 50 million dollars, all of which came from overseas. Mr Shukri Hanna Shammas was always a man of vision and patience. He carefully chose this area of Limassol to build his project and he always told us to wait and see, as this area would flourish to become the most desirable area of Limassol. Sadly, my grandfather died in 1993, just six years after the marina opened and only five years after the opening of the hotel, but he lived long enough to see this project begin its journey.

Business intuition is an invaluable quality of any businessperson and is not given to everyone. Do you think this quality is inherent in you?

It is not given to every person and as my father always likes to quote: ‘‘Common sense is not that common’’. However, while you may be given brains, education is so important to help develop your wisdom, business acumen, patience and practicality, whilst experience is invaluable. I believe that I was raised to have and possibly inherited a good sense of business intuition.

How did you undertake the challenge of continuing the business of your family?

This is something that I always wanted to do. I always felt that I wanted to gi­ve back to this amazing business empire with roots in construction that my grand­father and, in turn, my father had created and to continue their dreams and ambition for the family. It has been a challenge, but an exciting one. I can honestly say that I’ve loved every step of the journey.

Did you have any thoughts about what else you wanted to do with your life or did you feel that everything was predetermined for you?

That’s a tough question. When I was very little, I always wanted to paint and write books and, to be honest, this is still on my ‘‘to do list’’. I was painting until a few years ago and then life, business and kids took over and it’s hard to find the time, but I do feel it’s something I will take up again in the future. There was nothing predetermined in my life, especially not any pressure from my parents or family to work in the family business. On the contrary, even after I started working for the hotel, my father asked if I was happy or if I would prefer to become an artist. I don’t believe in regrets and am happy to say that I’m pleased that I continued in the business and am now running the company. In a way, this is a dream come true and seeing the company go from strength to strength is one of the most fulfilling things that I have done in my life so far.

How did your career in the hotel industry unfold?

My first degree was in Classical Literature and Civilisation, which, in the UK, is considered one of the best and hardest degrees to obtain. However, in the Middle East and Mediterranean, it is viewed more as a subject girls take before either marrying young or going into teaching. Hence, I switched direction and did a Master’s in Tourism Marketing before coming back to Cyprus and starting work in the hotel, in the sales department. Believe it or not, there are not many people who want to train the daughter of the owner, but it was an exciting and challenging time and I’ve always worked well with my father, who visits Cyprus from Lebanon on a regular basis. Over the years, I made my way up the management levels and eventually took over as the Managing Director, which is, indeed, an honour.

What qualities, in your opinion, should a businesswoman have while doing business in a male-dominated setting?

I think business women should be strong and capable. While I do not believe that either men or women should be segregated due to their sex, there are obvious human differences in their natures and characters that can be both advantages and disadvantages for either sex. One of women’s biggest advantages, although I have unfortunately seen some women who this does not apply to, is the female inbuilt capability to multitask. This is a great asset, especially in a business environment. I also think that the female nature of sensitivity and ability to empathise with coworkers and employees can also be a great asset and can help push women forward in a maledominated society. Unfortunately in this side of the world, the problem lies in not just the fact that the society is sexist, but it is also ageist, so if you a young woman in business, you have two battles to face and this can be very frustrating at times. However, with a lot of deep breathing, positive thoughts and humour, I believe that you can get through anything. Humour really is a key to a lot it. So keep laughing and eventually, people will laugh with you.

How do you prefer to relax and which countries are on your top list?

I think the best place to relax is your home, when you can just be yourself, with your family and feel love and harmony in amongst your familiar environment. Personally, I love doing yoga and try to practise it at least three times a week, even with the kids and in a crazy and fun environment. With regards to travelling, our most relaxing trips are often our summer holidays to the New Forest in the south of the UK, where we have five country house hotels (www.newforesthotels.co.uk). There, our children can play in the forest, we can go for walks, we can enjoy wholesome country food and we can sleep early. We still have a lot of countries we would like to visit, such as Australia, Japan, areas of the States and Europe, but, maybe, some of these can wait until the kids are a bit older.

You have children. As a young mother, how do you manage to combine family and work?

It’s not always easy and anyone who pretends that it is is just pretending. I have heard two very useful quotes over the past year that I think of often. The first is something my husband told me and I also later found out that Oprah Winfrey also famously said: Women can have it all, but not necessarily at the same time. The second was advice from a friend in America, who, in turn, was given this advice from her successful boss and mentor, which went something like this: If you feel that you are doing one thing in your life really well, the chances are that something else is suffering. This is so true. If you are flying high and doing amazingly at work, chances are you aren’t seeing your kids that much. If you are the best mum in the world and are there 100% of the time for your kids, chances are you aren’t doing so great at work. The secret is to hit the balance.

What can you say about the prospects of tourism in Cyprus? Do you not think that, with further growth in tourism, Cyprus may simply not be able to cope with an even larger tourist flow or is there a potential that can and should be developed?

There is certainly a promising future for tourism in Cyprus. The island has so much to offer, from the weather to the people, culture, archaeological sites, conference venues, great hotels, sea, location and much more. To talk more specifically about Limassol, the town has improved so much over the past ten years and I believe that it will improve for the better again over the next five years. We may see a big change in the types of tourists visiting and, hopefully, become more of a business hub, as well as a summer beach resort. It’s definitely exciting times and I think it will be very easy for Cyprus to cope with increased tourist levels, especially with new hotels opening, as well many hotel condounits. I hope that we will see more arrivals throughout the whole year, not just in the summer months, and that Limassol, in particular, will be seen as a magnet for many activities throughout the year.

Let’s talk about your new ‘‘Tower’’ project. How did the idea of its con­struction come about?

As I mentioned, a condominium was in my grandfather’s original design for the hotel, but this was never built. The government has, quite recently, given some incentives to hotels to build hotel condos and mixed tourist development units, so many hotels are taking advantage of this exciting time. We have wanted to build a hotel condo tower for some time and got the relevant permits required earlier this year, so we are extremely excited to begin building The Tower at the end of this year.

Tell us a little about the concept of this project?

The project will start on the 12th November, 2017 and will be ready by the end of July 2019. It will be fourteen stories high and consist of twelve floors of 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroomultra luxury apartments, for sale on long lease (125 years). All apartments will have stunning views over the St Raphael Resort gardens, pool and beach and also overlook the beautiful St Raphael Marina, making them completely unique in Limassol. The smallest one bedroom apartment will be 108m2 (including verandas) and the penthouse will be over 460m2. The ground floor, with entry via the hotel main entrance, will have a fantastic lobby area, with breath-taking views and, on the lower ground floor, there will be a spectacular speciality restaurant. Sales for the apartments have alrea­dy begun, however there are still some available.

What types of services are offered  to future owners of a property in this complex?

All residents of The Tower will have complimentary access to all hotel facilities and special rates will be granted to them for their guests staying at our fivestar hotel. The apartments all have covered and dedicated parking and are fully serviced. Residents can have room service, concierge service, direct access to the beach via a dedicated beach lift from their apartments and room cleaning whenever required. There is security in the building, priority seating in any one of the hotel’s seven restaurants and much more. There is also the option to rent their apartments via the hotel booking system and professional hotel management is available to make sure their stay, whether for permanent living or holidays only, is effortless. There is also a private infinity swimming pool on the roof of The Tower, with a gym room, sunbathing area and bar that is exclusively for the residents of The Tower.

I wish you every success in all of your projects and thank you so much for the time devoted to our interview!

To find out more information about Tower project call on 25 834 333 or visit www.thetowerlimassol.com