It’s 11pm on a Friday when I exit my taxi by the entrance of Glyfada’s newly-opened Ace Hotel. The second the balmy air hits me and I hear the low beats from behind the hotel’s glass doors, I pause. Even in my tired state, I think: How are their playlists always this good? As a fan and date shake devotee of Ace Hotel Palm Springs, I have to admit my excitement. At first glance, this place’s shared DNA with its California sister is evident with that inherent, sleek approach to Seventies nostalgia that comes with an unmistakable sense of where you are in the world.
Up in the room, I am instantly at peace amid earth tones, Greek vinyls stacked next to a glossy turntable, sheets that have since given me impossible bedding standards, and a balcony overlooking the hotel’s low-lit pool, with the beach just across the street. I head down to the starlit terrace of Sebastian, the hotel’s restaurant, where I have a late supper of sea bream crudo topped with crispy capers, the best homemade tapenade I have ever eaten and a black salt-crusted Fly Me To Tulum: Ace’s take on a fresh jalapeño margarita, before back up to my room to read on the cabana facing the hidden horizon.
Why book?
For any lover of art and design wanting easy access to both the city centre and beach, there is truly no need to look further. Ace Hotel Athens is a real homage to the Greek Riviera’s golden era, and you immediately feel that it’s a labour of love. It’s rare for a hotel to simultaneously give off a too-cool-for-school vibe and still be a genuinely warm, intimate environment, but Ace makes it look easy. This is a first-name-basis kind of place where the team, staff and suppliers define collaboration and as a result create a home from home.
The backstory
Like its Palm Springs counterpart, Glyfada’s Ace has an undeniable 1970s feel, albeit more clean-cut. Continuing its commitment to giving new life to buildings, the hotel is furnished with repurposed design materials and vintage pieces from the Fenix Hotel that formerly stood here, and has largely preserved the original white brutalist exteriors. The interiors, brought to life by architecture and design studio Ciguë, are a mélange of deep woods and ceramic tiles and the perfect backdrop for the hotel’s art, much of which celebrates Athenian artists. The poolside facade features a mural by Panos Profitis titled Seabirds, while in the hotel lobby hangs a beautiful hand-woven tapestry from the Callas brothers, who grew up in Glyfada and learned to swim in Fenix Hotel’s pool. Over sharing plates at a traditional little restaurant by the Acropolis, one of the team tells me of Ace’s relationship with Viktoria Fassianou, daughter of the renowned Greek folk artist Alekos Fassianos. As founding director of her father’s estate, Viktoria worked closely with Ace to produce a beautiful series of prints for the hotel –– and if you’re new to Fassianos’ work, you’ll quickly learn to spot it while out and about in Athens.
The rooms
With walls painted the colour of seashells, bed blankets to match, and woven straw carpets adding a nature-inspired pop to the room’s almond tiling and wood panels, the hotel’s stylish sleeping quarters are as zen as it gets. The subtle decorative elements are a design pundit’s delight: coffee table books lie neatly on circular tables, a record player sits next to the bed’s marshmallow-like pillows and harpy lamps that are recent winners of the Art Athina Prize 2024, the country’s most distinguished young artists’ award, can be found in each room. Best of all is the balcony: it’s almost impossible not to instantly throw open the doors (in one of Ace’s buttery terry cloth robes, naturally) and collapse into one of the chic camping recliners with a glass of wine to soak up the sunset views.
Food and drink
The hotel’s contemporary French-American restaurant Sebastian is the kind of place you could technically rock up to in either a blazer and heels, or in a sarong thrown over a bikini. The sleek indoor-outdoor space is reminiscent of what I imagine the Athens Riviera was like 50 years ago and the menu, championed by Athenian executive chef Elvi Dimitris Zyba, is dotted with simple yet delicious dishes like the beluga lentil and baby potato Salad Sebastian, or others that subtly nod to Greek cuisine: the chargrilled lamb burger with feta, parsley and cumin mayo is one of those meals you have on holiday and then pine over for years.
Though Sebastian is an all-day bistro and offers enough to keep both hotel guests and walk-ins content, the hotel’s coffee shop Good Chemistry is your essential morning Freddo fix stop and serves a delightful mango and toasted coconut yoghurt parfait. The lobby and poolside are the ultimate happy hour spots: opt for the above fawned-over Fly Me To Tulum for a super-fresh tipple or a Deacon Blues in the early evening, whose mix of bourbon, mezcal, Angostura and vanilla black pepper are like a drinkable Tom Ford cologne. But the real star of the show, admittedly to my surprise, is the wine. With a list curated by Athens’ natural wine bar Wine is Fine (which an Athenian friend had coincidentally recommended to me), I know I’m in the company of low-key oenophiles. The hotel’s Domaine Myrsini, a natural wine from Paros, was a highlight.
The neighbourhood
Located in Glyfada, a suburb of Athens overlooking the coast, you’re a half hour drive from the city centre and under a two-hour ferry to some of Greece’s most beautiful islands. In the neighbourhood itself, you can walk to the beach in three minutes, where you can catch locals taking a dip at any time of day or playing padel at sunset; the inimitable LaLinda Bakery is also 15 minutes away and serves up flourless chocolate tortas, sourdough danishes and pistachio financiers to die for. In Athens, a walk around the Varvakios central market is a must; Hyper Hypo is a cool art and design bookshop worth the visit, whose zines line Ace’s walls. I have my best meal at Ama Lachei, a locally loved restaurant located in an old schoolhouse. For drinks, the Clumsies is your go-to for cocktails (have whatever they’re having) and Wine is Fine is the place to be for pre or post-dinner drinks. There, the owner serves us organic Cretan wine, which we sip outside among locals smoking at little tables or standing around the joint, before dashing off to a DJ gig at Angie Discotheque around the corner.
For a day or overnight trip, Hydra is a magical slice of heaven you can reach by ferry in an hour and a half. Once you arrive at the island’s picturesque port, grab a Greek yoghurt with honey, sliced peaches and walnuts (there are a few spots, but I’d recommend anywhere you can’t read the menu), then walk for miles along vehicle-free winding paths and jump into the Aegean when it gets too hot – there are swimming rocks jutting from the azure waters at quite literally every corner. Just don’t miss your ferry back (though there are arguably worse places to be stranded).
The service
This is truly where the hotel stands out. The Ace team’s relationships with staff and local suppliers are genuinely touching, and I am convinced these are what results in such amazing service. While out in Athens, New York-based Ace managers hug the local owner of Wine is Fine, and back at the hotel, anyone is quick to tell me the story of the Greek artist behind any work I point out. Whether it’s directions, a recommendation or a late-night meal you’re after, the staff – most of whom are from the area – are more than happy to help.
Eco effort
Like many of its sister hotels, Ace Hotel Athens has been brought to life within an existing building and champions vintage furniture in both the communal spaces and rooms. Much of the hotel’s foods and wines are locally-sourced, and the team is committed to working with local makers and artisans. Ace generally avoids single-use plastics and uses wooden key cards throughout the hotel.
Anything left to mention
With stylish cabanas, striped sun loungers and daybeds hemming the pool, the Swim Club is open to hotel guests and anyone in the neighbourhood who wishes to purchase a day pass. A rooftop pool and spa are also set to open in 2025, so, apparently, it actually does get better.
