We will be staying in Athens for two days before heading home. There will be 12 of us and 3 of them young children. I would like to stay in walking distance to the Acropolis in a safe nice area with restaurants and shops. I really don’t want to have to be taking the metro with all of us.
Is Plaka where we need to be? Any recommendations that are nice but won’t break the bank? I had hoped for a couple airbnb’s but most of them do not seem to be in Plaka area and require taking the metro. Feeling a bit overwhelmed and doubting my idea to add the couple days in Athens.

Plaka or Syntagma Square areas for hotels with access to Acropolis.

I think you'd be better off in the area near the Acropoli Metro Station. Hotels include the Herodion, Airotel Parthenon, AD Athens Luxury Rooms and Suites, Acropolis Boutique Suites and Hotel Byron.

we stayed at royal Olympic, amazing breakfast.
we were there in July..hot so we were out in am and then pool in afternoon.
we did a walking tour which we found on line..wonderful but a lot of walking.
I hope this helps
ps got sandals from the shoe poet.

If you need something more on a budget you could check out the Student & Travellers Inn in Kydathineon Street. Nothing fancy but the location was superb. It is conveniently set in one of the most famous streets in Plaka, walk-able to everything!

We stayed here with three kids. Relatively inexpensive. Nice place to stroll around without traffic.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/gr/athens-cypria.html

Xcountry, Hotel Cypria is my "go to" hotel in Athens, but I use their own website. Apart from convenience, the bathrooms are larger than some other budget hotels. They have a variety of different types of rooms, too: Hotels in Athens | Athens Holidays | Athens Cypria Hotel, Greece