Wander With Wonder – Discovering Wow Moments Around the World or Across the Street

Read on to discover design-focused 5-star luxury boutique hotels in Athens, blending luxury and stunning views of the Acropolis for an unforgettable stay.

Athens, where ancient marvels and contemporary culture converge, is a beacon for travelers worldwide. Renowned for its iconic landmarks, Greece’s capital invites visitors to step back in time and explore the birthplace of democracy. Beyond its rich historical tapestry, the city pulsates with vibrant neighborhoods, world-class museums, and a flourishing culinary scene that tempts with both traditional Greek flavors and modern gastronomic innovations.

Whatever your reason for visiting Athens, luxury accommodation choices abound. Moving past the more expansive lodging options, we present three of Athens’ design-rich 5-star boutique hotels, each offering a unique experience. These properties go beyond comfort, offering a blend of luxury, design, and history that’s sure to captivate. As a compelling bonus, each has Athens’ most famous landmark, Acropolis Hill, as a spectacular backdrop, providing breathtaking and unforgettable views.

Academias Hotel

Nestled in the prestigious district of Kolanaki, one of the most prominent and distinguished old-Athenian neighborhoods, the cosmopolitan Academias Hotel is ideally situated. Premised on Akadimias, one of the city’s landmark streets, the road is named after Plato’s Academy. Scholarly University of Athens (UoA) is a neighbor. The areas’ high-end shopping, art galleries, central Syntagma Square, and the Hellenic Parliament are within walking distance.

Opened in May 2019, this 60-room and suites hotel offers guests a modern, sophisticated base to explore the city. Global design firm HOK transformed the existing building, which was once part of the UoA Law faculty. The realized brief incorporates a contemporary interpretation of Plato’s Academy’s three orders: the lobby and common areas feature the sciences, philosophy in guestrooms, and the arts in amenity spaces. These are depicted via visual cues and design touches, adding inspiring stimuli.

The order of Art is brought to life in the hotel’s bars and restaurants. With its Acropolis views, the NYX Rooftop is undoubtedly the hotel’s most vibrant space. Be sure to book your table, as locals have enthusiastically taken to this Japanese Fusion Gastrobar. Lobby level and gleaming golden, Plato Lounge Bar’s expert mixology uses natural Greek herbs, citrus, and fruits in imaginative creations. The green and gold accented Symposium on the second floor offers a curated breakfast primarily based on Mediterranean influences.

The last of Plato’s orders, Philosophy, is realized in the guestrooms and suites reimagined as private libraries, encouraging travelers to discover their inner philosopher. Artful décor, tufted upholstered furniture, brass light fixtures, and a king-size bed with an extra-comfortable Simmons mattress tempt visitors to relax. A luxurious marble bathroom with French perfumer Diptyque bath products adds to the amenities.

Orloff Pnoes Wellness Center on the lower ground level offers a private treatment room, sauna, and fitness centre with the latest Technogym equipment. A dramatically lit heated lap pool anchors the space, complemented by a blank wall acting as a cinema screen for classic black-and-white movies playing on loop.

The well-appointed and centrally positioned Academias Hotel is equally influenced by its landmark namesake and the vibrant culture of contemporary Athens. It provides a modern base as you delve into the city’s attractions. Independently owned and operated, the property is a member of Marriott’s exclusive Autograph Collection.

Athens NEW Hotel

Athens NEW Hotel neighbors the city’s financial and trade center, based around Syntagma (Constitution) Square and the pedestrianized retail haven Ermou Street. Athens’s oldest and heritage-listed neighborhood of Plaka, with its picturesque paved streets and neoclassical houses, sits immediately behind. Acropolis Hill is Plaka’s imposing backdrop. And just a short stroll from the hotel doorstep is the inviting green expanse of the National Gardens.

Opened in 2011, offering 79 rooms and suites, Athens NEW sees the original Olympic Palace Hotel reimagined by award-winning Brazilian design duo Fernando and Humberto Campana. Chosen for their eco-friendly ethos, love for contemporary materials, and sensitivity to local culture, the Campana brothers teamed up with University of Thessaly architecture students, thus combining the brothers’ design philosophy while tapping into Greek culture.

Previous hotel fixtures and furnishings were reworked, transforming the old and derelict into the luxurious and contemporary. Dismantled wooden furniture became striking favela art installations in the lobby. The former hotel logo emerged as individual bar tables and other disused elements upcycled into iconic works such as the Tomato, Ladder, and Newspaper Chairs.

Rooftop restaurant Art Lounge, with its library feel, features more of the Campana brothers’ distinctive design elements. Compelling panoramic views of the Acropolis and Lycabettus Hills from the expansive alfresco deck make it a popular afternoon cocktail spot. Executive Chef Babis Kountouris’s gastronomic menu focuses on Greek flavors, presenting an excellent reason to stay for dinner.

The NEW Lobby Bar offers a delicious buffet and a la carte breakfast, with other nourishing options throughout the day. A hidden gem on the building’s lower level, NEW Sense, is the gym and wellness club. With its soothing shades of green, clever lighting displays, and Campana-designed mirrors, the facility includes a treatment room, jacuzzi, steam bath, and well-equipped 24-hour access fitness room.

Guestrooms follow one of three design concepts. Postcards provide poetic retro tourism and historical images in rooms with modern decor twists. A fixture of popular culture, the Evil Eye has become a symbol of good luck through clever lighting design in those themed rooms. Meanwhile, stories of mischievous Greek folklore figure Karagiozis, a shadow puppet, play out on the walls of other guest rooms. Custom-made furniture and fixtures are widespread, providing a feeling of staying within a highly accessible art installation.

Athens NEW’s design and art ethos are apparent in every aspect, providing a stimulating and exceedingly comfortable stay in the city’s heart. This independently owned and managed property is a member of Design Hotels.

AthensWas Design Hotel

Featuring 21 designer rooms and suites, AthensWas Design Hotel is ideally located if discovering Athens’s most historic and famous archaeological sites tops your must-do list. Fronting the wide, paved pedestrian boulevard ​​of Dionyssiou Aeropagitou, the must-visit Acropolis Museum and the southern entrance to Acropolis Hill are just 300 meters from the stylish lobby. The south entrance to the historic Plaka neighborhood, with its boutiques, cafés, tavernas, and restaurants, is opposite.

Once a residential apartment building from an earlier era, AthensWas occupies the 7-story structure. The designers incorporated elements linking to that past, like marble and wood, which is evident upon entering the foyer. Walnut also makes appearances throughout the guest rooms and suites. At the same time, Greek marble, white from the Dionysos area, black from Volos, and green from Tinos Island, is prominent, particularly in guest bathrooms.

Famous international designers like Le Corbusier and Phillipe Starck, plus renowned decor houses Driade, Cassina, and Magis, provided many of the distinct furniture pieces, from the lobby to suites and SENSE restaurant. Italian houses Flos and Nemo were responsible for distinctive lamps and other in-room lighting features. Across the property, 45 striking images by distinguished photographer Stefanos Samios depict elements of statues on display at the National Archaeological Museum. The autumnal-coloured and carpet-imprinted tapestry creation of Stage Design Office fills the wall of the lobby-level MODERN Café.

The selection of suites—Residence, Executive, AthensWas, and Hellenic—provides the most space for your stay. They also afford stunning views from beautifully furnished verandas of Acropolis Hill and onto Dionysiou Areopagitou Boulevard below. Several of the suites come with a comfortable, designer-furniture-filled sitting room.

SENSE, located on the 7th floor, with its unobstructed views of Acropolis Hill and the Parthenon, offers curated modern Greek cuisine for breakfast and dinner. Award-winning Executive Chef Alexandros Charalabopoulos’s evening degustation menus, including olive oil and wine pairings, are a gastronomic tour of Greece’s diverse regional cuisines. With its indoor and outdoor seating, Boulevard level MODERN is a stylish yet relaxed café offering comfort food, cocktails, and wines.

AthensWas provides stylish lodgings for those who prioritize the Acropolis—Athens’s most striking and complete ancient Greek monumental complex. It is a member of Design Hotels, a collection of 300+ hotels rooted in design, locality, and culture.

Outstanding Athens Stay Options

Whether you see yourself ensconced in one of Athens’s most glamorous neighborhoods, in the middle of the downtown action, or at the foot of Acropolis Hill, these three design-focused, chic, and gloriously comfortable 5-star boutique hotels provide outstanding stay options for your next Athens visit. We invite you to explore Wander With Wonder for more of our favorite things to do when you visit Greece.