Best hotels in Rome

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.

Rome doesn't lack grand hotels, but few have earned the kind of devotion that the Hotel de Russie inspires. Designed in 1818 by Giuseppe Valadier, the same architect responsible for the neighbouring Piazza del Popolo, it has welcome Russian royalty, Picasso and Cocteau through its doors (the latter famously declaring it "paradise on earth"). Restored by Rocco Forte in 2000, the hotel sits on Via del Babuino between the Spanish Steps and Piazza del Popolo, with the Tiber, Trevi Fountain and Villa Borghese all within easy walking distance. The real showstopper, though, is the terraced Secret Garden — 2,800 square metres of orange trees, roses and trickling fountains climbing the Pincian Hill, which makes it genuinely hard to believe you're in central Rome.

There's something really quite special about staying in a home that's been in the same family for five generations, especially when that family descends from Napoleon's sister. Perched on the Quirinal Hill, a short stroll from the Trevi Fountain, the intimate Villa Spalletti Trivelli was built in 1901 for Countess Gabriella Rasponi, a formidable woman who turned her drawing rooms into a salon for Rome's intellectual elite. Today, her descendants welcome guests into a world of honesty bars, heirloom antiques and the family's own organic wines from Umbria set the tone. The result is less hotel and more family home... and one with impeccable taste.

Rome has no shortage of fancy hotels, but few feel as alive as this one. Occupying three connected palazzi on Via Sistina, literally at the top of the Spanish Steps, the building spent centuries hosting European nobles on their Grand Tours before becoming a hotel in the 1920s. In 2019, Rocco Forte gave it a head-to-toe transformation that's bold, colourful and full of wit, without ever losing touch with its magical 18th-century bones. Celebrity chef Fulvio Pierangelini runs the kitchens, the rooftop draws Romans and visitors alike, and the location is within a few minutes' stroll of pretty much everything. It's polished, buzzy and thoroughly Roman.

Casa Monti is the Rome you picture when you close your eyes — cobblestones, sage-green shutters, artisan workshops and gelato on every corner — yet inside, it's a different world entirely. An old 18th-century palazzo, Parisian designer Laura Gonzalez has turned it into a maximalist love letter to Roman craftsmanship. Think hand-painted frescoes, Murano glass, Pompeian-red tiles, artfully clashing fabrics and colour. All the colour! It's vivid and personal, and the location is just as fantastic. Slap bang in the middle of the city, on a quiet stretch of Via Panisperna, it's in the heart of the city's coolest boutiques, galleries and bars.

A tangle of ochre alleys, ivy-draped facades and piazzas that buzz until the small hours, Trastevere is the Rome the Romans go to. And tucked away at the quieter end of the neighbourhood, just at the foot of the Janiculum Hill, is Donna Camilla Savelli, a former 17th-century convent designed by Francesco Borromini. Named after the noblewoman who commissioned it in 1642, the building was home to Augustinian nuns for centuries before becoming a hotel. Its chequerboard marble floors, vaulted corridors and pretty gardens also featured in To Rome With Love - and in fact, the whole place really does feel like a beautifully preserved film set.

A Liberty-style villa on the banks of the Tiber, this spectacular hotel was once famous for its raucous parties thrown by the Malaspina family, one of Europe's oldest noble dynasties, with diplomats and aristocrats gathering beneath its crystal chandeliers (which, incidentally, once hung in New York's Plaza Hotel). It's brilliantly positioned for exploring the Eternal City while offering that rarest of Roman treats: a proper garden with a marble-lined swimming pool. Add a Peruvian-Nikkei restaurant, a deep-blue Pisco Bar and original artworks by the likes of Warhol and Dalí, and you've got a stay that's every bit as characterful as the city itself.

The view from Palazzo Manfredi is one of those that will stop you in your tracks. After all, you are literally gazing across the Colosseum from your (enormous) bed. If you hadn't guessed, this intimate five-star palazzo is directly opposite Rome's most iconic monument, on the very foundations of the Ludus Magnus, the ancient training ground where gladiators honed their craft before stepping into the arena. Bought in 2002 by Count Goffredo Manfredi, the 17th-century residence is now a refined boutique hideaway with bold interiors, a Michelin-starred rooftop restaurant and one of the city's most fabulous cocktail bars. It's small, it's personal and the location is, quite frankly, perfect.

Here, take the key to your Roman apartment. There’s no lobby at G-Rough—walk into our 17th-century palazzo through the wine bar, to the sound of clinking glasses, and head up to your pied-à-terre. Throw down your bag and fling open the windows—you’ve arrived.

G-Rough is all about the visceral. Every surface has a texture, from the brass-finished bar to the exposed foundation beams and original walls. The hotel is an homage to timeless good taste, with midcentury furniture by Italy’s top designers and revolving art installations in the Gallery Bar. There, you can enjoy local wines, classic aperitivo, or signature cocktails while the city thrums on out the windows.

JK Place Roma is a discreet, exclusive and intimate boutique hotel in the heart of Rome. It has a distinctive and luxurious design in an elegant atmosphere, where guests can feel at home. The hotel also offers you poersonalised service for high-end travel experiences as well as first-class service, stunning facilities, top-notch food, and a great central location for exploring the surrounding attractions.

Among the ancient alleys of authentic Rome, nestled like a diamond between the Lungotevere and some of the city center's most beautiful squares, lies a small, intimate universe, a concentration of perfection and elegance. Intimate and welcoming spaces, a mysterious and captivating atmosphere, the refined allure of exotic and sophisticated details. The intense pleasure of an exquisitely curated welcome, attentive to every detail: just close your eyes and imagine yourself at home. Vilòn is all this... and so much more.