Review: Palazzo Roma

Why book?

In the Eternal City, where a new five-star hotel has cropped up seemingly daily in recent years, the property is something truly singular: a spectacularly refurbished, early 18^th-century palazzo, awash with newly restored, pastel-hued frescoes, showstopping artworks, and centuries-old antiques–offering palatially proportioned rooms fit for royalty, smack in the heart of the buzzing historic center.

Set the scene

Spanning four floors of a grand building once owned by the Roman noblesse near the southern end of Via del Corso–the city’s ever-bustling main artery, stretching from Piazza del Popolo to Piazza Venezia–the hotel offers an almost otherworldly respite from the controlled chaos just outside, where throngs of pedestrians jockey for space on the narrow sidewalks as Vespa brigades whiz through the traffic. Guests span a well-heeled mix of international tourists and Italians keen to revel in the hotel’s storied roots and rarefied ambience.

The backstory

A member of the Shedir Collection–a relatively new luxury hotel group cofounded by real estate magnet Eduardo Safdie, a cofounder of J.K. Place–Palazzo Roma marks the collection’s fifth opening in central Rome since 2018. Its sister properties include Hotel Vilòn, a 17-room jewel box that overlooks the gardens of Palazzo Borghese a few blocks away, and the Maalot Roma, a colorfully chic escape steps from the Trevi Fountain and the former home of famed opera composer Gaetano Donizetti.

The rooms

The 39 rooms (including three rooftop suites, each with its own terrace) combine striking architectural details–like impeccably restored intarsia wood ceilings and impossibly ornate crown moldings–with custom-made four poster beds, bespoke fabric wallpapers, and a wide-ranging collection of head-turning objets to dazzling effect. A vibrant color palette of bold greens, dusky pinks, peacock blues–touched off with plenty of black accents and rarefied Giacobazzi woodwork–amplifies the property’s wholly original juxtaposition of heritage and modernity. A particular highlight: the colossal bathrooms, all unique and honed in rare marbles, will make you instantly feel like an emperor (or at least a contessa).

Food and drink

A refined culinary take on la dolce vita begins at breakfast at Core, Palazzo Roma’s lavishly frescoed all-day restaurant, where towers of fresh baked madeleines, Caprese cake, and cream-filled bomboloni (Italian donuts) beckon beneath sparkling 18^th-century Venetian chandeliers. Don’t miss the La Gricia (poached eggs, pecorino mousse and crispy guanciale), a scrumptious Roman riff on eggs Benedict. After a long day pounding Rome’s black sampietrini cobblestones, retire to the Hall of Clocks–filled with a collection of more than 100 timepieces–for a Roman Spritz (Amaro, prosecco, orange bitters, mint, and rosemary) or Red Passion (crème de Cassis, champagne, and house-made raspberry foam), accompanied by cacio e pepe potato chips and mini pizzette. Inspired dinner selections include starters like Amberjack carpaccio with tuna roe and basil, linguine with Sicilian red prawns and smoked mozzarella, and braised beef cheek with carrots and Jerusalem artichokes.

The neighborhood/area

You’d be hard-pressed to find a better base from which to explore bella Roma’s iconic sites and myriad charms: the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and Spanish Steps (to name just a few) are all a short stroll away, as are the glittering shops lining the Via Condotti, the city’s most celebrated fashion destination.

The service

Service is attentive yet subtle–and, in characteristic Italian fashion, unfailingly warm. Don’t be surprised if a plate of bite-size arancini magically appears before you while you’re enjoying a glass of crisp Frascati in the Music Room–the palace’s opulent former ballroom that now serves as the hotel lobby–under the watchful gaze of plaster busts of maestros like Beethoven, Rossini, and Toscanini. The concierge team can arrange experiences including a helicopter ride to the ancient town of Tivoli to survey its sprawling villas, elaborate gardens, and impressive waterfalls from the sky, as well as a private tour of the UNESCO-inscribed Stadium of Domitian, the first and only masonry athletics stadium in Roman history, located 15 feet below Piazza Navona.

Eco Effort

Sustainability efforts in the works include energy-saving lighting, touchless faucets, and limiting plastics on-property.

Accessibility

There are two mobility accessible rooms.

Anything left to mention?

For a rightly aristocratic experience, skip the elevator and opt for the hotel’s magnificent Carrara marble and travertine stairwell, whose grandeur rivals that of those found in the Vatican Museum. The rooms facing the Via del Corso aren’t entirely soundproofed (yet)–if you need silence to snooze, request an interior one.