THE BEST HOTELS IN ROME, CHOSEN BY CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER EDITORS
A retro-cool hotel in an artsy neighbourhood
Owner Lorenzo Lisi (also the manager of hit seafood restaurant Pierluigi) enlisted a crack team of creative directors for his hotel. Stylist Daria Reina, fashion illustrator Andrea Ferolla and the gang responsible for nearby concept store Chez Dede have decked the place out to a highly polished shine. There are deep dark-green velvet curtains and sage walls in the bedrooms, lots of mirrored surfaces, vintage Italian furniture, murals of Rome painted by Ferolla, princess-and-the-pea-worthy beds and Frette sheets. The logo, on the dressing gowns, towels, pillows, napkins and glasses, is sage on white too, in a font Wes Anderson would like.
The whole place hums with a kind of moody coolness, and smells floral and delicious thanks to the enormous bottle of Dr Vranjes Rosso Nobile Limone e Mandarino fragrance by the entrance. There’s no official restaurant, but breakfast (organic yogurt, wholemeal croissants, pink grapefruit juice so fresh it makes you wince and knock-your-socks-off Italian coffee) can be taken in the retro-style sitting room or, via room service, on an enormous silver tray placed by the floor-to-ceiling bedroom windows overlooking via della Barchetta. The focus instead is on the Charade bar, where they take aperitivo hour seriously; drinks are served with a flourish alongside an impressive cheese board.
Each room is kitted with its own mini-cellar with eight different wine varieties from Piedmont and Trentino. The location is great, in the artsy neighbourhood of Regola Rione with its crumbling buildings, fledgling galleries and buzzy shops, and central enough so you can walk everywhere. Essential, as getting in a car is futile in Rome. By Sylvie Tredegar
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