Where to Stay on the Athens Riviera: Glyfada or Vouliagmeni?
I’ve spent my whole life in Athens, and the Athens Riviera is still one of the hardest parts of the city to explain.
The coastline is long, and the areas along it are very different from one another. Staying in Vouliagmeni, for example, is nothing like staying in Glyfada.
Vouliagmeni is calmer, prettier, and better for a proper seaside escape. Glyfada is livelier, closer to the city, and better if you still want that “city vibe”.
Personally, I prefer Vouliagmeni, but that does not mean it is the right choice for everyone.
That is exactly why I put this article together.
I’ll walk you through the best areas to stay on the Athens Riviera, who each one suits best, and the hotels I would look at in each part of the coast.
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- Best luxury hotel: Four Seasons Astir Palace in Vouliagmeni, with three private beaches and a full resort feel.
- Best boutique luxury hotel: The Margi in Vouliagmeni, a smaller luxury hotel a few steps from the sandy beaches.
- Best small boutique stay: Somewhere Vouliagmeni, with only eleven rooms and suites right in the heart of Vouliagmeni.
- Best new high-end resort in Glyfada: One&Only Aesthesis, set on a beachfront estate in southern Athens.
Vouliagmeni: Best area overall
Vouliagmeni is calmer, greener, and more self-contained than the busier stretches further up the coast.
There is quite a lot to do here when it comes to swimming.
Lake Vouliagmeni, a thermal lake tucked into the rock, with water that stays warm enough for swimming through much of the year, is the famous example.
Then there is Astir Beach with its beach-club feel, and Vouliagmeni Beach as a simpler organised sandy beach.
If you prefer something more low-key, the rocky piers around the bay and the coves at Limanakia are just as good.
The only thing to keep in mind is that Vouliagmeni can feel more isolated than Glyfada if you are staying for more than 2-3 days.
That is part of its appeal, but it also means you have fewer shops, fewer nightlife options, and less of that everyday city energy around you.
Four Seasons Astir Palace
Four Seasons Astir Palace is not just a hotel on the Athens Riviera. It is more like its own little peninsula.
The property sits in Vouliagmeni, on a pine-covered headland with the sea all around it.
It is large, but not in a cold way.
The resort is spread across three distinct concepts: Arion, Nafsika, and The Bungalows. That is why it never really feels like one single block of rooms by the sea.
There are three private beaches, a main pool by Nafsika, and a mix of rooms, suites, and bungalows, some with their own pools or larger outdoor terraces.
The Arion side is more classic, while Nafsika is brighter and more open to the water.
The bungalows are the most private part, and they still carry some of the old Astir Palace glamour from when this stretch of coast first became synonymous with luxury in the 1960s.
Food is also a big part of staying here, because the property has a lot of range.
Pelagos, the hotel’s Greek seafood restaurant, holds one Michelin star, while Mercato leans Italian, with a terrace overlooking the sea.
Then there is Taverna 37, the more relaxed beachfront option, serving more traditional Greek dishes.
Check prices and availability – Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens
The Margi
The Margi is very different from the bigger Riviera hotels.
It sits on Litous Street in Vouliagmeni, a few minutes from the beach, and the whole place leans much more boutique than resort.
The hotel is quieter and more contained, with warm neutral tones, wood, soft lighting, white walls, olive trees, and a central pool area.
Inside, the rooms and suites stay in that same lane. They feel calm and understated rather than flashy, with handcrafted furnishings, soft colours, and a more intimate mood than the large Riviera resorts.
Some look toward the courtyard, pool, or pine forest, which suits the hotel well.
It is also a family-run property with roots going back to the 1960s, when the original Margi House was built in Vouliagmeni, and that history still gives the place a more personal identity.
Patio, housed in the hotel’s courtyard, is a degustation restaurant with one Michelin star and one Michelin Green Star, using organic ingredients from The Margi Farm.
Then there is Malabar by the pool, with modern Greek food.
The hotel also has a spa with treatment rooms, a couples’ suite, steam and sauna areas, and an indoor pool.
Check prices and availability – The Margi
Somewhere Vouliagmeni
Somewhere Vouliagmeni is a much smaller hotel, set at 1 Agiou Panteleimonos Street in the heart of Vouliagmeni.
With only eleven rooms and suites, the whole place feels contained and private.
The rooms and suites are what make it stand apart.
There are the simple cozy rooms, the larger Deluxe Riviera Suite, and the much more impressive Grand Rooftop Penthouse Suite, which takes up the entire third floor and comes with panoramic bay views, a large furnished terrace, and a private outdoor jacuzzi.
Even the standard rooms keep the same upscale boutique feel, while the better suites push the property much more clearly into “small luxury hotel” territory.
The hotel also has a small pool and wellness area, and offers breakfast, brunch, all-day dining, café service, wine, and spirits on site.
Check prices and availability – Somewhere Vouliagmeni
Athenian Riviera Hotel & Suites
Athenian Riviera Hotel & Suites is just a short walk from the beach, and it lands somewhere between a boutique hotel and an upscale mid-range Riviera stay.
The building is more compact than Four Seasons or even The Margi, but it still keeps that polished Riviera look.
The whole place is neat, modern, and attractive without trying too hard.
The hotel has 47 rooms and suites, ranging from standard rooms and junior suites to Deluxe Family Rooms and larger upper-end options like the Penthouse Comfort Suite with Hot Tub and the Executive Suite with Sea View & Hot Tub.
It also has a small wellness side, with a massage and sauna area.
The location helps a lot too, because it puts you close not only to Vouliagmeni Beach, but also to Lake Vouliagmeni and the rest of the area’s highlights.
Check prices and availability – Athenian Riviera Hotel & Suites
Glyfada: Coast and City
Glyfada is the part of the Athens Riviera I would choose if I wanted the coast, but not only the coast.
It is busier, more urban, and much more built around everyday life than Vouliagmeni.
Glyfada is more about shopping streets, cafés, bakeries, bars, late dinners, and that very specific southern-Athens luxury.
After all, the area is more of a seaside suburb than a resort zone.
The centre is full of shops and cafés, especially around Metaxa Street, Kyprou, and Esperidon Square.
It also helps that Glyfada is one of the few parts of the Riviera where you can have a very good dinner without having to retreat into a hotel restaurant.
A few names that stand out are Astakos for seafood, Amigos for Mexican food and good vibes, and Pino for Michelin-level dinners.
One&Only Aesthesis
One&Only Aesthesis feels more like a private coastal estate.
It sits on 21 hectares of beachfront land on Poseidonos Avenue, and the whole property leans into that old Riviera glamour very deliberately: low buildings, mid-century lines, and lots of open space.
The resort has a much more horizontal, garden-and-bungalow setting than a classic city hotel, which suits Glyfada well because it softens the area’s busier, more urban side.
The accommodation is also built around that sense of space.
There are rooms, bungalows, residences, and villas, and the better categories move quickly into full private-retreat territory.
The property also has enough inside it that the stay does not depend entirely on going out into Glyfada to justify itself.
There is a private beach area, outdoor pools, and the Guerlain Spa, which is the first Guerlain Spa in Greece.
Check prices and availability – One&Only Aesthesis
91 Athens Riviera
This is not a standard hotel in the usual sense.
The hospitality side is built around 28 luxury cabanas rather than conventional rooms, each one of which comes with its own private deck.
Inside, there are plush furnishings, a custom super-king bed, and 1,000 thread-count linens, which tells a lot about the level they are aiming for.
The wider property adds to that private-club feeling too.
There is a beach and pool area, changing rooms, and SOMA SPA – The Finest by Domes, which includes four treatment rooms, a hydro pool, sauna, hammam, and relaxation area.
The food side is built around Barbarossa, bringing its Paros identity to the Athens Riviera with Mediterranean dishes served by the beach.
Check prices and availability – 91 Athens Riviera
Dusit Suites Athens
Dusit Suites Athens is a small, all-suite hotel in Glyfada, just a short walk from the beach.
The building itself is modern and fairly compact, but the hotel has more going on than its size might suggest.
One of its strongest points is the rooftop, where “O Live” restaurant sits beside the infinity pool and bar.
Downstairs, there is DAO, the hotel’s pan-Asian restaurant, which gives the property a second, very different food identity.
Last but not least, there’s also Namm Spa which includes a heated indoor hydro-massage pool, sauna, hammam, and six treatment suites, giving the hotel a more complete high-end setup.
Check prices and availability – Dusit Suites Athens
Glyfada Riviera Hotel
Glyfada Riviera Hotel sits on Poseidonos Avenue in Glyfada, about 200 metres from the beach.
The building is more compact, and the location is a big part of the appeal, with beach on one side and Glyfada’s centre on the other.
Inside, the hotel has 47 rooms and suites.
There are simpler room categories, but the upper end is where the hotel becomes much more distinctive, especially the Penthouse Suite Sea View, with its rooftop terrace and private jacuzzi looking out toward the sea.
There is an outdoor pool, a pool bar, a wine and cocktail lounge, a fine dining restaurant, and a small wellness side built around the Cave Spa, with spa treatments, a hammam, and a gym.
Check prices and availability – Glyfada Riviera Hotel
Congo Palace
Congo Palace is one of the older hotel names in Glyfada, and you can really feel that history.
It first opened in the 1960s, and even though it has been renovated, it still feels more old-school Riviera than glossy new lifestyle hotel.
The food and common areas also follow that same style.
There is an outdoor pool with a pool bar, a warmer lobby bar, and Boyoma Falls, the hotel’s main restaurant, which has a more decorative, African-inspired look and serves Mediterranean and international dishes.
So while the area around the hotel already gives you plenty to do, the property still has enough of its own spaces that it does not feel like only a room on a busy avenue.
Check prices and availability – Congo Palace
Final Thoughts
The Athens Riviera is not one single place, and that is exactly why choosing the right base makes such a difference.
If you stay too far north, it can feel more like Athens with better sea air. Too far south, and it can start feeling detached unless that is exactly what you came for.
The sweet spot is in my opinion Vouliagmeni or Glyfada. Sea, the slower pace, the dinners that stretch a little longer, the feeling that you are still near Athens without really being in it anymore.
