Brown Acropol, a member of Brown Hotels

The 1960s provide the visual cue here: cosmopolitan interiors, design-led rooms and a lobby arranged around the Brown Hotels Collection library. Brown Acropol Athens suits you if your trip is built around the city rather than a resort timetable, with a central base for museums, squares, restaurants and a late drink before bed.

There is enough practical comfort to make the hotel work when your legs have had their fill of Athens. Air conditioning, soundproofing, a minibar and a proper lounge-style lobby give you somewhere to regroup, while the rooftop bar-restaurant brings the Acropolis and Lycabettus Hill into the evening picture. It is a city hotel with a bit of theatre, but the useful sort: metro access, a 24-hour reception and places to sit down.

You are in Athens, Greece, directly on Omonia Square in the capital's commercial and business district. Omonia Metro Station is roughly 0.1 mile away, so the city's wider map is close at hand without making every outing a taxi decision. Metaxourgio Metro is about 0.7 miles away, while Monastiraki Railway Station is around 0.8 miles from the hotel.

Several of Athens's familiar names are walkable. The National Archaeological Museum is about 0.7 miles away, Monastiraki Square around 0.8 miles, and the Temple of Hephaestus roughly 0.9 miles. Syntagma Square is about 0.7 miles away, the Acropolis and Parthenon around 0.8 miles, and the Acropolis Museum is also within walking distance. Lycabettus Hill sits roughly 0.9 miles away.

This is an urban base, not a seaside hotel. Flisvos Beach is about 4.5 miles away, with Edem Beach at roughly 4.6 miles and Votsalakia Beach around 5 miles. Eleftherios Venizelos Airport is 11 miles away, and the port of Piraeus is around a 30-minute journey from the hotel.

For a couple, the Cosy Double Room keeps things straightforward, while the Classic King or Twin Room gives you more room to spread out after a day spent walking, travelling or underwater. The Deluxe King or Twin Room adds a balcony, which changes the evening routine in a small but useful way: you can step outside rather than treating the bed as the only available chair.

Travelling with a third person calls for the Superior Room with Sofa Bed, which accommodates three and has a private bathroom. The Presidential King Suite is the obvious choice for a group of four, with three bathrooms and considerably more space to divide the night from the living time. The hotel has 165 design rooms in total, so the room map is broad rather than built around one standard layout.

Inside, air conditioning and heating cover the seasonal basics, while soundproofing is welcome in a central Athens location. A minibar, complimentary Nespresso coffee machine, flat-screen television, desk, wardrobe and modern Vinyl music player give you enough to settle in without turning the room into an electronics cupboard. Bathrobes, slippers, towels, toiletries and a hairdryer are also provided. Daily housekeeping keeps the practical side moving, and allergy-free rooms are available.

Breakfast is served as a buffet, with continental, vegetarian, gluten-free and American choices, as well as breakfast to go. That gives you room to choose between a proper sit-down start and something quicker when the day's plans have already begun making demands. During the day, the main restaurant also serves light snacks for the moment when lunch has been postponed by one more museum, one more square and one more photograph.

The lobby bar is set beside the Brown Hotels Collection library, with spirits served in an elegant, comfortable corner. It is the indoor option for a drink without immediately committing to another expedition through the city. There is also a bar-restaurant with views towards the Acropolis and Lycabettus Hill, making the roof the natural place to take the evening upstairs.

Special-diet menus are available on request, and the minibar means you can keep something cold in the room rather than relying on the first open café downstairs. Wine and champagne are available too. The food offer is practical rather than a formal dining programme: breakfast, daytime snacks, a lobby drink and a rooftop setting for the city views.

When you have had enough pavements and ruins for one day, the wellness facilities give you a reason to stay inside. The spa includes a steam room, sauna, hammam, hot tub and relaxation area, with spa packages and massages covering the head, neck, back, hands, feet and whole body. Couples can book a couples massage, which is a more sensible post-dive plan than pretending the legs still want another hill.

There is also a fitness centre for those who prefer a short session before heading out again. The outdoor side of the hotel consists of a terrace and sun terrace with outdoor furniture, so you have somewhere to sit in the open air without leaving the building. No pool is part of the described offer; the leisure time here is built around the spa, the terrace and the city beyond the front door.

For a quieter afternoon, the concierge and tour desk can help shape a cultural day, while the National Archaeological Museum, Monastiraki Square, the Ancient Agora and the National Garden are all close enough to form your own itinerary. Athens supplies the activity. The hotel supplies a seat, a shower, a massage and somewhere to recover afterwards.

Check-in starts at 15:00 and check-out runs until 11:00. You need photo identification and a credit card at check-in, and the hotel asks you to provide your expected arrival time. Reception operates around the clock, with concierge service, luggage storage and a tour desk available when your plans do not quite survive contact with Athens.

An airport shuttle is available, and the hotel also offers car hire. Eleftherios Venizelos Airport is 11 miles away. If you are travelling by public transport, Omonia Metro Station is about 0.1 mile from the entrance, while the central location also puts Monastiraki within roughly 0.8 miles. Free WiFi covers all areas, useful for checking maps, arranging the next move or simply avoiding an expensive data hunt.

Children of any age are welcome. A cot is available for babies from birth to one year, while extra beds are not available, so the room layout matters if you are travelling as a trio or family. Pets are allowed on request, with dogs up to 9 kilos accepted. The hotel also has accessible facilities, including wheelchair-accessible areas, lifts to upper floors and toilets with grab rails.

Laundry, dry cleaning and ironing services are available, and meeting facilities can host up to 450 people. That last point may matter if your Athens visit involves work rather than wrecks and reefs. For everyone else, the useful combination is simpler: lift access, luggage storage, 24-hour reception, concierge support and a direct metro connection.