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There’s a reason Rome is nicknamed “the eternal city”—and not just for the endless remnants of bygone times to uncover across its cobbled streets and bucket-list historical sights. It’s also because there’s never a bad time to go (except, perhaps, during the sweltering and tourist-thronged month of August).
That being said, over the course of 2023, a new guard of hotels has arrived to offer a range of perspectives on the city—from the Bulgari Hotel, which honors both the brand’s legacy as a Rome-founded jewelry house and the rich history of the building that houses it, to a new outpost of the Edition hotel group, which celebrates the vibrant creative spirit of the younger generations currently making their mark in the city.
Here, find our guide to the new wave of hotels reimagining Rome for the modern traveler.
Bulgari Hotel Roma
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This June, another layer of history was added to the grand Piazza Augusto Imperatore, which houses the mausoleum of the first Roman emperor, Augustus: the Bulgari Hotel Roma. Situated within an enormous Mussolini-era Rationalist building that has been meticulously renovated from top to toe (a four-year-long process due to its historic significance), the idea that the hotel—which also sits a short walk away from the Roman jewelry house’s headquarters—would deliver opulence at the grandest scale is something of a given. And once you’ve stepped through its doors, you’ll know immediately that you’re in Bulgari-land, with glittering mosaic details, rippled marbles, lacquered wood, and crisp neutrals covering every surface.
Yet while the glamorous, gilded Bulgari hotel formula is all present and correct, it’s also underpinned by a very Italian design rigor that nods to the building’s origins in the 1930s, whether in the Ginori vases from the same decade designed by Gio Ponti, or the various original mid-century pieces dotted throughout the property. There’s also a lavishly appointed spa complex inspired by the ancient Roman Baths of Caracalla that manages to be at once sumptuous and soothing. Not least in its dramatic centerpiece: a 20-meter pool featuring eight columns of arabesque marble, with sparkling niches of black-and-gold housing both relaxation areas and 19th-century replicas of classical statues. For all these cutting-edge luxuries, though, the project was underpinned by a deep reverence for the city that surrounds it, including a partnership with the Torlonia Foundation, whose collection of sculptures Bulgari is helping to restore. Not only is the Bulgari Hotel Roma ushering in another chapter in Rome’s complex history, but it’s also looking firmly to its future. —Liam Hess
The Rome Edition
When it comes to opening a hotel in Rome, it’s all about location—and on that, the first outpost of the modish Edition hotel group, co-created by the Studio 54 hospitality legend Ian Schrager, firmly delivers. Housed in a stylish former bank that dates back to the 1940s, it’s tucked away a few blocks behind the Piazza Barberini: just steps from the glamorous Via Veneto thoroughfare so famously immortalized by Fellini in La Dolce Vita, as well as a hop, skip, and a jump away from major tourist sites like the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. But most importantly? The Rome Edition feels just removed enough from the action so as to offer a sense of sanctuary: step into its colossal lobby, with marble-clad walls offset by opulent green velvet drapes (and perfumed with the familiar, uniform scent of Edition hotels around the world) and you’ll immediately feel far removed from the city’s hustle and bustle. No more so than when you whizz up in an elevator to one of the plush, neutral-toned rooms, which feel comfortingly familiar while also featuring a few subtle nods to Italian design culture with its walnut-paneled walls and Carrara marble sinks.
It’s an atmosphere of stylish serenity that continues throughout the hotel’s communal spaces: first in the leafy, expansive outdoor terrace, half of which is dedicated to its flagship restaurant, Anima, overseen by chef Antonio Gentile. (Don’t miss the stuffed squid with buffalo ricotta
cream and parmesan.) Elsewhere, there are two jewel box bars: the speakeasy-style Punch Room, which features cozy wood paneling and a roaring fireplace, or the decadent Jade Room, a boutique 12-seater cocktail bar with veined marble walls and twinkling emerald lights. The real showstopper, however, is the roof terrace, which comes complete with a pool to cool off in the dog days of summer, and offers views that stretch all the way to St. Peter’s—expect Rome’s next-gen cool crowd to gravitate here once the warmer days of spring roll around in 2024. —L.H.
Six Senses Rome
The Six Senses Rome marks the luxury hotel group’s first foray into an urban property (the brand is known best for its wellness- and sustainability-focused destination resorts)—and as with so many landmarks in the city of Rome, the building it’s housed in has borne witness to many centuries of history, with its interiors nodding to everything from ancient Roman building techniques to the height of Baroque splendor. Yet upon stepping into the lobby, tucked away in a small piazza past the whizzing motorcycles of the Via del Corso, the feel is decidedly more contemporary. An airy atrium sits at the heart of the building, featuring open-plan interiors and light-drenched outdoor spaces playing host to a head-spinning array of dining options, from wood-fired pizzas with doughs made from ancient grains to your very own gelato counter—all within a calm, neutral-toned space that seems worlds away from the riotous energy of the city just outside its walls.
It’s a sanctuary-like feel that continues throughout the property, all of which was overseen by the Spanish architect and industrial designer Patricia Urquiola, whose thoughtful, ergonomic approach is here channeled into something impressively sleek that speaks to the hotel’s overall air of serenity. No more so than in the hotel’s sprawling spa facilities, which feature marble walls etched with bushels of laurel (a nod to the myth of Daphne, the mythological nymph who turned into a tree at the touch of Apollo), as well as baths inspired by the ancient Romans, scented steam showers, saunas heated at various degrees to warm or cool the body, and an ice fountain from which you’re encouraged to gather handfuls of the stuff and rub it gently across your chest. It’s the perfect blend of hi-tech and homely; the best of both worlds, old and new. —L.H.
Anantara Palazzo Naiadi Rome
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Stepping inside the Anantara Palazzo Naiadi Rome is an experience in and of itself. There’s the marble colonnade out front which dates back to the late 19th century, then the Art Deco arches of the lobby, presided over by enormous Murano chandeliers; at one end, an illuminated case full of pastel pastry confections beckoned, while glasses on the bar at the back of the center of the lobby salon glowed in the jewel tones of Campari and Aperol. Within the hotel’s suites, the cool marble underfoot gave way to cherry red tile in the bathroom, covering all surfaces. Meanwhile, the lighting in the shower could be adjusted to mimic something more like the dance floor of Saturday Night Fever, but the overall effect—with the suite’s chrome and leather furniture—was more Paolo Sorrentino than Bay Ridge Italiano. Evidently, the mandate for the first Italian property from the wellness-oriented Thai hotel group was to go big or go home.
Yet while it overlooks the Piazza della Repubblica, where Fiat cinquecentos zoom like toy cars on a racetrack and an imposing 16th-century church stands at the north side of the circle, the Anantara Palazzo Naiadi prides itself on its impressive spa offering. The hotel, in fact, is built on the remains of public baths dating back to the 4th century when the Roman emperor Diocletian would send his subjects to these venues to cleanse their bodies and their souls. Underground remains of the public spa are visible, I would learn, through plexiglass flooring on the lowest level of the hotel, and the on-site spa at Anantara (which opened just this past February) has incorporated some of the ancient rituals into their offerings. A “Diocletian bath ritual” uses ingredients that have remained unchanged for millennia: sage, lavender, honey, laurel, and olive oil. It’s an unexpected oasis of wellness in one of Rome’s busiest corners. —Chloe Schama
Palazzo Vilòn
The entrance to Hotel Vilòn may be fairly inauspicious—it’s tucked down a cobbled sidestreet mere steps away from both the River Tiber and the luxury boutiques that line the Via Condotti—but its illustrious history is anything but. Housed within the enormous complex of the former Palazzo Borghese that takes up an entire block (it was once the city center property of the noble family who produced one of Rome’s most controversial popes, the descendants of which still live in the building’s residential quarters today), its corridors were once Rome’s most important halls of power. Today, however, it serves as one of the city’s most desirable, design-forward boutique gems, with impeccable service and just 18 rooms, all decked out with the owners’ impressive collection of contemporary art and photography and colorful, off-kilter decor choices courtesy of architect Giampiero Panepinto and film production designer Paolo Bonfini, who oversaw its restoration back in 2018.
And now, the owners of Hotel Vilòn are offering something even more spectacular: the Palazzo Vilòn, a self-contained three-bedroom apartment next door that can be rented in part, or as a whole, with a private butler alongside all the amenities offered by the neighboring hotel. Except the term apartment doesn’t really do it justice: this is Roman Baroque grandiosity at its most eye-popping. Entered through a rear facade overlooking the Tiber—an architectural treasure in and of itself, designed for Cardinal Camillo Borghese in the early 17th century—you’ll find yourself in a lobby lavished with pastel blue and putti-filled frescoes, as well as gilded surfaces upon gilded surfaces. Meanwhile, each bedroom is like a mini-apartment, retaining the sensitively restored skeleton of the building and lending it a stylish update with mid-century furniture; and that’s without mentioning the unparalleled views across the private gardens of the palazzo. It doesn’t come cheap, but if you want unabashed splendor and ultimate privacy, there’s no other stay in Rome quite like it. —L.H.
InterContinental Rome Ambasciatori Palace
The InterContinental Rome Ambasciatori Palace reopened in 2023 after a multiyear renovation that revived the landmark building to its neo-Renaissance splendor. The Carlo Busiri Vici-designed palace dates to 1905, when it opened as a hotel for diplomats working in Rome’s embassies. Architecture buffs will appreciate the granite columns and stucco work of its grand exterior and the sweep of its fin de siècle central staircase. The hotel’s 160 rooms and suites, meanwhile, have been brought discreetly and elegantly up-to-date. Our 15-year-old was particularly taken with the marble bathroom and rain shower, while we also appreciated the Byredo toiletries.
Just as essential to the Ambasciatori’s allure is its location. The hotel is situated halfway up the historic Via Veneto in the shade of its giant sycamore trees—they’re practically saplings in La Dolce Vita, the Fellini movie that put this Roman street on the global map in the 1960s. It’s one of the most peaceful spots in this perennially busy city—quiet enough to hear the sweet chirping of the parakeets who make their nests in the trees—yet still at the center of everything: minutes from the Spanish Steps, the setting of a recent Valentino couture show, and the Palazzo Barberini, home to Raphael’s La Fornarina, and only a short stroll from the Borghese Gardens. When you’ve had enough walking, you can peep the Borghese’s leafy canopy from Charlie’s Bar; the hotel’s rooftop boite serves up an excellent Aperol spritz, and when you nab an outdoor table as the sun sets over the Tiber, life feels very sweet indeed. And for the morning after, don’t miss the Ambasciatori’s generous breakfast spread. —Nicole Phelps