Hotels
Bulgari Hotel Roma, Via di Ripetta (Centro)
The site of Bulgari’s first Rome hotel is a 1930s-era administrative building that once housed a pensions office. The company signed the lease in 2019, just as the long-awaited restoration of the Mausoleum of Augustus, situated directly in front of the lobby, was completed. Inside, the hotel epitomises all the spartan glamour of a modern Roman aesthetic. Architects Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel designed the 114 rooms and facilities to reflect Bulgari’s gem-studded heritage while preserving many elegant details from architect Vittorio Ballio Morpurgo’s original 1936 structure.
Villa Medici by India Mahdavi, Piazza di Spagna (Centro)
French-Iranian architect and designer India Mahdavi was tasked with transforming six rooms in this renaissance villa in 2023 as part of the Académie de France à Rome’s “re-enchantment” process. The project has successfully revitalised one of the city’s finest palazzos and the guest rooms have been decked out in a vibrant and novel style. The Debussy and Galileo rooms are the most impressive, featuring exquisite cabinetry and tasteful marquetry by French designers such as Pascal Michalon.
Hotel Locarno, Piazza del Popolo (Centro)
The Locarno was opened in 1925 by a family from the eponymous Swiss city. The hotel was reconfigured to create 44 modernised rooms that retain the building’s original art deco charm. Today owner Caterina Valente is adamant that the Locarno is not a “generic hotel”. Everything from the original poster designed by Anselmo Ballester, a master of 1920s silent cinema, to the cosy elegance of the bar and salon makes the boutique inn unique. The cocktails are not to be missed and can be enjoyed by the open fire in the chillier months, as well as in the palm-shaded garden or on the spectacular roof terrace in summer.
