The original structure was built during 1842 as a house for Antonis Dimitriou, a wealthy Greek businessman from the island of Lemnos, twelve years after independence of Greece from the Ottoman Empire. In 1874, it was bought by Efstathios Lampsas, who restored it with an 800,000 drachma loan and named it "Grande Bretagne." By 1888, the hotel had electricity installed. In November 1930, a new wing on Panepistimiou Street was inaugurated, and in 1950, another wing on Voukourestiou Street. In 1957, Dimitriou's mansion was demolished and a new wing was built on its place. The architect Kostas Voutsinas and the owners retained some of the style of the original building.