A Piraeus appeals court has frozen work on the Pachaina hotel, a five-star seaside complex on Milos, until it rules on a challenge from two environmental groups.
The Piraeus Court of Appeal granted a request from the Hellenic Society for Environment and Culture (ELLET) and the Milos Mountain and Sea Friends Group. This suspension is temporary and lasts only until the court decides the main appeal.
In its ruling, the court said it acted “to prevent the creation of facts on the ground and further burden on the area from the execution of building permits”.
What the Pachaina hotel permit allows
Developer S Althaia received the permit for the Pachaina hotel in October 2025. It covers a five-star resort with 23 rooms, 46 beds and swimming pools.
Read more: Helicopter Illegally Lands On Greek Beach For Passenger Swim
Under the plans, the complex would have 16 buildings with a total floor area of about 5,000 square metres. They would stand on a 4.95-hectare plot right beside the sea.
According to the two groups, the Pachaina hotel plot has no frontage on a recognised road. Under planning law, land outside town plans needs that access before anyone can build on it.
The groups also argue that the project would heavily alter the volcanic landscape of Milos. Its site lies inside a designated wildlife refuge.
A similar road-access problem sits at the heart of another Milos case. This month, the National Transparency Authority found that the White Coast hotel should never have received a permit.
Ministry sends 30 Milos permits back to the island
Separately, the local ELLET committee on Milos asked the Environment Ministry months ago to check the legality of 30 building permits on the island.
When the ministry gave no answer, the group sent an extrajudicial protest in June. Now the ministry has told ELLET that its environmental inspectors have no power to review building permits.
Instead, it passed the request to the Milos planning office, which issued those same permits in the first place.
On the White Coast case, owner V Tourism disputed the watchdog’s findings. The company said it applied the legally provided building ratio of 0.20, rather than 0.18, under transitional rules that covered the investment at the time.
It added that officials had already examined the road-frontage question during the original licensing. V Tourism said it would use every legal right to protect its investment.
For now, the Pachaina hotel joins a growing list of stalled projects on the island. In April, works also stopped on a five-star complex at Agios Konstantinos after appeals from the same two groups.
Later that month, the government suspended building works in off-plan areas of Milos until the end of 2026. As a result, the fate of the Pachaina hotel now rests with the Piraeus court’s final ruling.
Source: Kathimerini
