Tour an Athens hotel that doubles up as a retro swim club

For decades, Glyfada on the Athens Riviera has been synonymous with the glamour of its 1960s golden age, when glitterati from Brigitte Bardot to Jackie Onassis lounged in exclusive hideaways on sandy beaches. Now, the profile of the scenic coastal neighbourhood – just a short drive from the city centre and still popular among Athenians for its luxury resorts – is being sharpened further with the arrival of Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens.

Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens

The hip New York hotel brand’s newest location spans an iconic 1970s hotel structure, renovated by French architectural and design studio Ciguë, with the area’s famed resort heritage still echoed in its brutalist façade of geometric white cube balconies. The hotel – home to Ace’s second Swim Club after Ace Palm Springs – aims to attract fresh creative crowds to Glyfada, with its 120 guest rooms, a layered lobby, a coffee counter and gallery, a restaurant and a pool.

A bold atmosphere is set immediately upon arrival, reflected in the four-storey property’s rhythmic white façade, with cantilevered balconies sitting alongside a large David Hockney-inspired mural in shades of blue by Claire Manent, an Athens-based artist from France. ‘The exterior is designed to stand as a landmark that bridges the past and the future,’ explains Alphonse Sarthout, co-founder of Ciguë. ‘The building was stripped down to its concrete skeleton to reinforce it without destroying it and to enhance its geometric purity.’

Inside, touches of Greek midcentury modernism are expressed through clean interior lines and curves, a curation of vintage furniture and the warm textures of a local material palette (sun-reflecting whites, stones, marbles and terrazzos). The raw energy of Greece’s rising contemporary creative scene is another key ingredient, with a variety of artworks, from bed textiles to paintings, by more than a dozen artists and artisans from across the country – a reflection of Athens’ ongoing cultural renaissance post-economic crisis.

Ace’s idea of creating community is a defining quality in all its hotels – and Athens is no exception. An atmosphere of relaxed modernism flows through two connected communal spaces, where bespoke furniture and vintage gems sourced by Athens’ Back to the Future sit alongside a 5m communal table with curated chairs (from Carlo Scarpa for Cassina to Sedie) and a rare pair of Harvey Guzzini table lamps. Threaded throughout is a showcase of contemporary Greek art: dynamic paintings by Eleni Psyllaki, sculptural objects by Despina Charitonidi and paper collages by Theo Michael (among 18 local artists in the hotel’s art programme).

The art of coffee, always taken seriously at Ace hotels, comes to life at Good Chemistry, a coffee shop with a sage green and black tiled counter, overlooking a small gallery space, which leads into Sebastian, a ground-floor restaurant. Here, sunlight filters through rotating wood panelling onto blue tiles, vintage Vaarni 1003 Hans Pendant lamps and curved banquettes, where guests are served bistro-style cuisine and natural wines, curated by Wine is Fine in Athens (a second restaurant will open on the rooftop in March 2025).

Playful modern dishes inspired by French and US cuisine are expressed through local Greek and Mediterranean ingredients – with creations ranging from Green Goddess Caesar salad and Sardines Kalonis on toast to chargrilled lamb burger and local market fish, served with wild green fricassee and chervil with drizzles of lemon and olive oil.

Signage – bold black font on raw-edged travertine by Athens’ studio Ogust – guides guests to their rooms, whose numbers are woven into traditional Greek linen textiles. A compact homage to contemporary Greek creativity, rooms have bright abstract bed covers by Greek-Egyptian Salma Barakat, green marble vanities, wall sconces in the form of half-bird half-women ‘harpies’ by Panos Profitis and framed works by a medley of artists (from Alekos Fassianos to Aristeidis Lappas) – plus, the Ace touch, turntables with vinyl collections curated by cultural archivists Greek Visions. ‘We wanted the guest rooms to reflect this idea of an urban hideaway,’ says Sarthout.

The heartbeat of the hotel is the Swim Club. Blue waters are theatrically fringed with tiered wooden platforms, playful yellow-striped sun umbrellas, Eero Aarnio’s Rattan Mushrooms and a time-weathered Greek amphora. Here, Ace’s playfulness is reflected in the DJ sessions, pool bar and another mural overlooking the entire scene, by artist Profitis, capturing purple seabirds. Sarthout explains: ‘The pool area is like an open-air theatre, surrounded by the balconies and the platforms to enjoy afternoon sunlight in custom sun loungers, draped in shades of pale olive green and graphic stripes, echoing the 1960s and 70s poolside mood pictured in Slim Aarons’ photos.’

Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens is located at Artemisiou 1, Glifada 166 75, Greece, acehotel.com