New Italian hotel offers five-star style without the stuffiness

The place

The Rome Edition, Rome, Italy.

Check-in

Green haven: The garden area.

To bring Italy’s first Edition hotel to life, hotelier Ian Schrager enlisted renowned Spanish interior designer Patricia Urquiola, who recently displayed her design prowess at the Six Senses in Rome. Occupying the site of a historic bank on a parallel street to the iconic Via Veneto, the building is a celebrated architectural gem crafted in the early 1920s by Cesare Pascoletti and Rationalist architect Marcello Piacentini, renowned figures in Italy’s recent architectural history. It’s the ideal backdrop for Edition’s knack of seamlessly combining the contemporary and timeless in one fell swoop.

The look

Its style and sophistication is apparent from the moment you walk through the greenery-decked facade. The lobby leaves a lasting impression with high ceilings and intriguing architectural details, adorned with never-ending green velvet drapes and pristine white furnishings, creating an overall feel that combines design showstopper and relaxed comfort. Here you can relax, see and be seen and even play a round of pool. Spaces flow cohesively, with enticing dining spots, a rooftop pool and spacious gym and treatment rooms.

The room

A loft suite: warm and welcoming.

The loft suite offers all the style you would expect from an Edition hotel, with walnut wood-panelled walls, crisp white linens, tan leather and the brand’s signature fluffy bed throw. The result is warm and welcoming, yet all the while exuding all the quality and amenities of a hotel of this calibre. Bathrooms are dressed in marble and brushed brass fixtures and come with toiletries in the distinctive The Noir 29 scent, an exotic blend of black tea and bergamot born from a collaboration with perfume atelier Le Labo.

Food + drink

The rooftop bar.

To infuse the food and beverage offer with some local flair, the Edition engaged chef Paola Colucci and the team (Chiara, Flaminia and Alice are known to habitual Roman diners) of celebrated Roman and all-female led hotspot Pianostrada to devise menus across the property. The signature restaurant Anima is an ode to the Mediterranean, taking inspiration from the southern regions of Italy and elevating flavours with a modern twist. The result is a fun and fresh menu that flirts with ingredients in dishes like the vitello tonnato (veal with tuna sauce) and il pomodoro e la burrata, a deconstructed take on the frisella bread that’s usually topped with tomatoes. Black and white paparazzi photographs of stars on Via Veneto firmly roots the hotel to its historic location. There are several drinking areas, including the beautiful and verdant, The Garden, the rooftop bar with seasonal bites, and the cool Punch Room with its convivial speakeasy ambience. However, it is the concealed Jade Bar that is described as their jewel box, a stunning dark, moody 12-seat cocktail bar studded with electric green tones offering a limited and exclusive range of curated spirits.

Out + about

While the Via Veneto may no longer have quite the dolce vita splendour of its 50s and 60s heyday, a recent slew of luxury openings are reviving the famous strip. Central yet tucked into a quiet side street, the Edition puts you within easy walking distance of many of Rome’s most famous sights such as the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and Villa Borghese, as well as the designer stores of Via dei Condotti.

The verdict

More than your average hotel stay, the Edition’s dining and entertainment along with the unique design and international atmosphere have redefined ideas of classic luxury. This is five-star without the stuffiness.

The essentials

Rooms from €640 ($1059) a night. The Rome Edition, Salita di San Nicola da Tolentino 14, Rome. See editionhotels.com/rome

Our score out of five

★★★★★

Highlight

The Punch Room and the pouring of the drink - born from trade in the late 17th century - out of a silver bowl, is fun for everyone.

Lowlight

The garden area could be made even more airy and laid back with a few less seats.

The writer was a guest of The Rome Edition.