Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens, Glyfada
A Riviera revival where Brutalist geometry, Greek modernism, and Ace’s creative spirit meet on the coast of Glyfada.
Why DNA Hotels Loves It
● A sharp transformation of the former Fenix Hotel, preserving its 1970s architectural character while giving it a new cultural purpose.
● Ciguë’s design brilliantly blends Greek modernism, retro Riviera mood, local craft, and contemporary art.
● The Swim Club gives the hotel a true social heartbeat, turning it into a design-led gathering place for Athens’ creative crowd.
A Riviera Landmark Reborn
On the coastline of Glyfada, Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens brings new energy to one of the Athenian Riviera’s most recognizable 1970s hotel structures. Originally built as the Fenix Hotel, the building has been reimagined by Paris-based architecture and design studio Ciguë in collaboration with Georges Batzios Architects. Rather than masking the building’s past, the renovation embraces it. Layers of later additions were stripped away to reveal the strong geometry of the original structure: rhythmic white balconies, cubic forms, and a crisp modernist façade that immediately recall the Riviera’s golden age. The result is a hotel that feels both nostalgic and entirely current.
Brutalist Bones, Riviera Mood
Ciguë’s intervention respects the building’s Brutalist framework while softening it through texture, craft, and color. Travertine floors, terrazzo, ceramic tiles, wood cabinetry, marble counters, and plaster reliefs create a material palette that feels unmistakably Greek yet globally sophisticated. Outside, the façade is animated by a large-scale mural by Athens-based artist Claire Manent, inspired by the poolside atmosphere of David Hockney. It gives the building a new public face without diluting its architectural clarity. This is not a retro pastiche. It is a careful recalibration of Greek modernism for a new generation.
Lobby Culture, Athens Style
As with every Ace, the lobby is more than a transitional space. Here, it becomes a layered social hub where hotel guests, locals, creatives, and travelers can gather throughout the day. Two interconnected rooms are filled with bespoke furniture by Ciguë and Atelier Ace, vintage pieces from the 1960s and 1970s, craft cocktails, coffee, wine, small plates, and a gallery-worthy art collection. The atmosphere feels less like a conventional lobby and more like the coastal home of a well-connected art patron. It is exactly where Ace does its best work: turning hospitality into community.
Art as Infrastructure
Art is central to the hotel’s identity. Developed with Atelier Ace and local collaborators, the art program brings together works by 18 contemporary Greek artists across painting, sculpture, tapestry, photography, mural, and textile. Pieces by The Callas, Eleni Psyllaki, Theo Michael, Panos Profitis, Alekos Fassianos, Aristeidis Lappas, Zoe Paul, and others appear throughout the property, from public spaces to guestrooms. These works do more than decorate the hotel. They connect it directly to Athens’ evolving creative scene. The hotel becomes both a showcase and a participant in the city’s contemporary cultural life.
Rooms with Coastal Rhythm
The 120 rooms and suites continue the dialogue between Ace’s signature style and the character of the Athenian Riviera. Natural woods, earthy tones, shell-like textures, bright textiles, and locally inspired details create a relaxed yet thoughtful atmosphere. Custom aluminum sconces by Panos Profitis take the form of harpies, echoing the seabird motifs found elsewhere in the hotel. Bed covers by Greek-Egyptian designer Salma Barakat, handmade pillows by local weavers, circular hemp rugs by Tantuvi, and artworks by Greek artists give the rooms a strong sense of place. Some rooms include turntables or acoustic guitars, a familiar Ace gesture that reinforces the hotel’s creative spirit.
The Swim Club as Stage
At the heart of the property lies the Swim Club, the second of its kind in the Ace universe after Palm Springs. With lemon-yellow parasols, pale olive loungers, tiered wooden platforms, striped fabrics, and a large mural by Panos Profitis, the pool area feels like an open-air theatre. It is both relaxed and performative, designed for sunbathing, swimming, music, conversation, and long afternoons that slide easily into evening. DJs, a pool bar, and the surrounding balconies give the space a distinctly social quality. More than an amenity, the Swim Club is the emotional center of the hotel.
Coffee, Cocktails, and Coastal Dining
The hotel’s food and drink spaces carry the same layered approach. Good Chemistry, the counter-service coffee shop, serves as a bright, easygoing entry point from both the street and the hotel interior. Sebastian, the all-day bistro, brings together French-American references, Greek ingredients, natural wines, and Riviera ease. Blue tiles, timber louvers, curved banquettes, and playful seating give the space a distinctly coastal energy. Elsewhere, the Lobby Bar offers a moodier counterpoint, with warm wood paneling, copper details, leather stools, and low lighting creating an intimate evening atmosphere.
Glyfada Reframed
Glyfada has long been associated with the glamour of the Athens Riviera, from its 1960s beach culture to its modern role as a coastal escape for Athenians. Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens reinterprets that legacy for today. Just a short drive from central Athens, the hotel allows guests to experience both the cultural intensity of the city and the slower rhythm of the coastline. Lazy beach days, poolside gatherings, gallery visits, and quick trips to the Acropolis all become part of the same stay. It gives the Riviera a new cultural anchor.
A Revival with a Rebel Soul
Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens succeeds because it understands the value of what was already there. The building’s 1970s bones, Glyfada’s Riviera history, Athens’ contemporary art scene, and Ace’s instinct for community all come together in a way that feels natural rather than imposed. The result is more than a stylish hotel. It is a creative platform, a social club, and a design-led revival of a landmark building on the Athenian coast. Brutalist, playful, cultured, and unmistakably alive, Ace Athens gives the Riviera a fresh rhythm without losing its soul.
