It might seem that Rome really doesn't need another luxury hotel, but the Six Senses brought something the Eternal City was genuinely missing — a place to properly decompress without leaving the centro storico. Tucked into the 15th-century Palazzo Salviati Cesi Mellini on a quiet piazza just off the Via del Corso, you're a five-minute stroll from both the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, yet the moment you step through the discreet entrance, the chaos evaporates. The interiors are warm and peaceful, whilst suspended greenery and plenty of natural light keep things fresh. The spa, centred around a reimagined Roman bathhouse, is a real draw — and it's absolutely superb.
Urquiola's design is deliberately understated utilising cocciopesto plaster (an ancient Roman technique using crushed brick), travertine stone and curtains spun from recycled fishing nets. The ground-floor BIVIUM restaurant doubles as a buzzy, open-plan social hub with a Josper grill, wood-fired pizza oven and a courtyard garden draped in greenery. Upstairs, there's a hammam, sauna, meditation rooms and the Alchemy Bar for mixing your own skincare concoctions. But the real favourite is Notos rooftop, a garden-in-the-sky fringed with olive trees and terracotta pots, serving aperitivi with 360-degree views across the Roman skyline.
The 96 rooms and suites span 12 categories, all finished in that same earthy tones, with slat-wood panels and locally sourced stone. Beds are organic, there's a pillow menu, and the complimentary minibar is stocked with healthy snacks and a cookie jar that's refilled daily. Bathrooms are floor-to-ceiling travertine with refillable Italian-made toiletries. Some suites come with private terraces overlooking the neighbouring church or Via del Corso, and the two-bedroom Mellini suite has its own kitchen and a terrace practically made for morning espressos.
Between the Roman bathing circuit, biohacking sessions, sound healing and rooftop yoga at sunrise, the spa alone could fill an entire day! Downstairs, the Earth Lab runs sustainability workshops and the Alchemy Bar lets you blend your own scrubs using herbs from the rooftop garden. Beyond the hotel, the concierge can arrange walking tours tracing Caravaggio's footsteps, underground aqueduct explorations or simply point you towards the Colosseum, Trastevere's trattorias and the gelaterias that the locals actually go to.
The Roman Baths. Moving from the caldarium to the tepidarium and into the icy frigidarium beneath carved bas-reliefs feels almost ceremonial.
Book an archaeologist-led tour of the adjacent San Marcello al Corso church and its 4th-century baptismal font. You can actually glimpse it through the glass tiles in the hotel lobby.
Standard rooms start at a fairly compact 28 square metres, and the Notos rooftop is seasonal (April to November), so a winter visit means missing the best sunset spot.
2,000 years of history – and excellent aperitivo – in one of the prettiest capital cities in the world.
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