Atelier Ace has revealed it will be a late summer opening for the Ace Hotel and Swim Club Athens, a new hotel on the Greek Riviera, located alongside the region’s best beaches yet a short jaunt to the city core.
Designed by French architecture and interiors firm ciguë — renowned for their comprehensive research process and custom fabrications — the 120-room hotel furthers Ace’s growing global footprint following recent openings in Kyoto, Brooklyn, Sydney and Toronto.
Featuring a welcoming public Lobby, two pools, an all-day ground-floor restaurant and bar, rooftop restaurant and lounge, sweeping art program and a gallery space, Ace Hotel and Swim Club Athens stands as an overlapping expression of eras, landscape and local climate.
“Animated by the continual meeting of past and future, Athens is the sort of city Ace was built for.,” said Ace Hotel Group / Atelier Ace Partner and CEO, Brad Wilson.
“The urban heart sits within easy reach of our home in the laid-back Athens Riviera and its world-famous beaches.
“We couldn’t be happier than to arrive here at a moment when the local creative community feels richer than ever, providing fertile ground for collaboration, continued innovation and growth.
“We’re excited to soon open our doors to the natural energy of the area and invite the magic in,” he said.
Retaining the classic ’70s coastal resort-style facade of the former Fenix Hotel, ciguë seamlessly juxtaposed the Brutalist bones of the existing structure, Greek modernism’s naturalist bent and the laid-back charm and playful energies of poolside culture.
Thus the property, which joins Palm Springs as a sister in the Swim Club brand extension, is imbued with vibrant contradictions — much like the city itself.
Ace Hotel and Swim Club Athens offers a leisurely blur of indoor and outdoor space, with a sprawling ground floor that stretches from the lobby through to the expansive pool and ground-floor dining area.
From the roof, guests can take in cinematic seaside and mountain views from the dipping pool and the rooftop restaurant and lounge.
Cantilevered balconies in the Sea Resort architectural style welcome the country’s fabled light into the guest rooms, each one filled with artful details such as custom bed covers by Greek-Egyptian designer Salma Barakat and trademark Ace furnishings like acoustic guitars and turntables.
“Our aim was to celebrate and revitalise the existing brutalist structure by transforming it into a timeless landmark in Glyfada,” said Ciguë Founding Partner, Alphonse Sarthout.
“We bridged the past with the present by uncovering and amplifying its geometric purity, transforming the iconic Fenix Hotel into a beacon of modern hospitality.
“The synergy between ciguë and Atelier Ace is palpable in every corner of the Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens.
“Our shared passion for craftsmanship, authenticity, and cultural resonance has resulted in creating a place that celebrates Greek Modernism, contemporary design, and cutting-edge local arts,” Sarthout said.
The hotel’s thoughtfully curated art program — a partnership between Atelier Ace and ciguë — is supported by curators Matthieu Prat, as well as Aliki Lampropoulos in collaboration with Mare Studio.
The program showcases a colorful cross-section of the contemporary Athenian art scene, with commissioned works from established and emerging artists working across disciplines including sculpture, mural, tapestry, painting and line drawing.
Getting to Athens
Wayfarer recommends flying to Athens via London Heathrow with British Airways. The great British airline flies daily to Athens and Wayfarer recommends flying in Club World (Business Class) on the long-haul flights to London, which features flat-bed seats, hundreds of hours’ entertainment on demand, a great selection of wine and some of the best meals in the sky.
To view a video review of Club World, click on the image below.