Back in August, we published a story about the top 10 Greek Modernist buildings, as nominated by Objects of Common Interest, and no fewer than half of them were hotels — not because Greece was always a tourist hotspot (in the 1950s it welcomed a mere 33,000 visitors per year) but because around that time, the Greek government instituted a program called xenia, through which it constructed more than 50 hotels all over the country, designed by some of its best mid-century architects. Sadly, in the span of a few decades, many of the buildings had fallen into disrepair or been torn down; others continued operating but without the former glory of their heyday. The Fenix hotel, built in 1975 on the southwest coast of Athens and eventually operated as a Best Western, fell into the latter category, but now — as part of a revival of both these architectural gems and the so-called “Athenian Riviera” in which it’s located — it’s been reborn as the newest Ace Hotel, complete with period-specific furniture and a restoration of its whitewashed Brutalist facade.

The restoration and renovation of the hotel was led by the Parisian architecture firm Ciguë, with vintage sourced by the Athens dealer duo Back to the Future and (mostly Greek) contemporary art curated by Matthieu Prat and Mare Studio. Metal sconces in each room designed by young Breeder Gallery artist Panos Profitis have a harpy motif reminiscent of Alekos Fassianos, the lobby is peppered with 1970s French and Italian lighting classics, new artworks around the space incorporate old Greek motifs and ephemera, iPad stands in the restaurant by Greece Is For Lovers are coated in shells in the style of old-school souvenirs — it all adds up to the perfect amalgamation of what Greece was and what it is now, and makes the hotel feel like a real destination in its own right (a necessity, given that it’s located 30-60 minutes outside central Athens, depending on traffic). Staying at the Ace Athens feels like dipping a toe into the seaside glamour of the Riviera’s golden era, without giving up the just-right vibe of the current one. And dipping a toe into the turquoise pool out back isn’t half bad, either.

PHOTOS BY BILL GEORGOUSSIS AND DE PASQUALE + MAFFINI