I’m convinced Rome has the best hotels in Europe, just look at these

Europe’s most exceptional places to stay, brimming with charm and charisma, are undoubtably in the Eternal City.

A warm September evening, sitting on my terrace under a peachy sunset sky, surrounded by the domes and flourishes of the Roman metropolis, the soulful strains of “Summertime” filling the air courtesy of a saxophonist on Via Condotti below. This is the moment I first fell in love with Rome. Or, more correctly, Roman hotels.

I’m convinced Rome has the most exceptional hotels of any European capital. Perhaps it’s because many of the top addresses are still family-owned, so there’s a personal charm and charisma to them. The welcome is warmer, the service feels so much more on point, the properties are often grand and historic, oozing with character and charm. Rather than cocooning guests in generic five-star luxury, they tend to embrace and celebrate their city. I’ve had more moments of wonder and joy in Roman hotels than in any other city.

The sunset saxophone was an unexpected perk of staying in the attic suite of the Residenza Napoleone III, a tiny but opulent hotel tucked into the 16th-century Palazzo Ruspoli. The hotel is named after Napoleon III who, with his mother, Hortense, lived in these same apartments in the 1830s, a fact which only reinforces my view that Rome has some of the continent’s most extraordinary places to stay.

Just paces away from the Palazzo Ruspoli, at the foot of the Spanish Steps, I have fond memories of both PiazzadiSpagna9 and the Hotel de Russie. The former is a chic six-room hotel set in a 15th-century palazzo – once used as a brothel – on Rome’s swankiest square. Owner Stefania Grippo has created a showroom for art and design; staying there feels like being in the home of an extremely tasteful (and very rich) friend.

The Forte family’s Hotel de Russie is a rockstar hotel (Bono and his U2 bandmates were checking out as I checked in) with a “secret garden” that’s the place to be seen at aperitivo hour.

The sunset saxophone was an unexpected perk of staying in the attic suite of the Residenza Napoleone III. Picture: Alberto Mantegna/Supplied.

Elsewhere in the ancient city I like the stylish and adults-only The Fifteen Keys in trendy Monti and Hotel Eden at the top of the Spanish Steps, where I could happily spend a lifetime breakfasting or cocktailing on the terrace, with Rome’s dazzling diorama spread out before me.

How anyone has a “favourite” place to stay in Rome – or anywhere else – is beyond me. When it comes to beautiful hotels I am shamelessly promiscuous. Each visit is a passionate love affair but I’ve rarely slept in the same bed twice. 

Lately my attention’s turned to stylish newcomers such as Palazzo Talìa, a 26-room hotel from the design studio of film director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, Challengers). Set in yet another 16th-century palazzo, this one richly decorated with sculptures and frescoes, its Renaissance beauty is complemented with contemporary furnishings, theatrical spaces and the sort of comforts you’d expect in a 21st-century palace.

PiazzadiSpagna9 is a chic six-room hotel set in a 15th-century palazzo on Rome’s swankiest square. Picture: Supplied.

The Orient Express brand has chosen the Eternal City for its first-ever hotel, set in a palace on the Pantheon Square (Piazza della Rotonda). The 93-room Orient Express La Minerva Rome will make a handy base for passengers on the OE’s just-launched Italian sleeper train La Dolce Vita, but you don’t need a train ticket to stay in this impeccably restored property with hand-painted Roman skies above every bed and panoramic views from the rooftop Italian restaurant, Gigi Rigolatto Roma.

There’s even more extreme luxury at Romeo Roma, the 74-room, Zaha Hadid-designed address that Conde Nast Traveler magazine describes as being for “the one percenters and A-listers”. Its futuristic-meets-fresco interiors are right by Piazza del Popolo, arguably Rome’s most atmospheric square.

Meanwhile the first Edition hotel has opened in Italy with a top-shelf location right by Via Veneto, a rooftop lap pool and terrace, 93 rooms (with walnut-wood beds) and exuberant greenery everywhere. It looks fun.

There’s even more extreme luxury at Romeo Roma, the 74-room, Zaha Hadid-designed address. Picture: Supplied.

In one of my favourite quarters of the city, the 36-room Casa Monti is also family owned (though they’re French, not Italian) and kind of quirky. Or, in the words of French designer Laura Gonzalez, it has “cultivated interiors (of) layered creative references”. Either way, it looks intriguing and a little decadent, and it’s very handy to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Michelangelo’s sculpture of Moses at the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli. Aperitivo hour on the roof terrace here is one of the city’s many delights.

While there’s never a bad season to visit Rome, perhaps 2025 isn’t the ideal year… The papal jubilee’s expected to attract an extra 30 million pilgrims to the city this year, so good luck finding room at the inns.

Room for more

Stay tuned for these: The 122-room Nobu Hotel Roma, opening soon on the storied Via Veneto, and the long-delayed Corinthia Rome, with star chef Carlo Cracco in charge of dining and the sort of grand interiors you’d expect from a former Central Bank building.

Originally published as I’m convinced Rome has the best hotels in Europe, just look at these