Accademia
Piazza Accademia di San Luca 75. Phone: 6992 2607. Fax: 678 5897. Price: L.210000 ($133) with breakfast. All major cards. 58 rooms. (C2).
Centrally located, af few steps from the Trevi fountain. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)
Campo de’Fiori
Via del Biscione 6. Phone: 687 4886 & 654 0865. Price: L.150000 ($95) with breakfast. All major cards. 27 rooms. (B3).
Small and cosy hotel in the old center. It is on an alley leading off the market square of Campo de’Fiori, 10 meters from the square.
There is no lift, but a nice roof garden with views to all directions. Breakfast is served in a mirrored room in the cellar, a romantic mock-up of an ancient temple.
Room no. 106 is rather large, with a high ceiling, strangely romantically furnished with exposed brickwork and roofstones over the bathroom and corridor. A brick arch frames the bed. The bathroom is small, nicely tiled and well outfitted, with a shower closet. There is neither a TV set nor a direct phone line to the outside.
Cardinal
Via Giulia 62. Phone: 654 2710. Price: L.240000 ($152) with breakfast. All major cards. 73 rooms. (B3).
Old palace from 1400 built around a court on the well known pedestrian Via Giulia near Tevere river, loaded with antiques. Once it was a city courthouse.
The public rooms are obtrusively wallpapered in mysterious and cardinal red alternating with exposed brick and stone from Forum Romanum, especially behind the original bar.
Room no. 216 had become rather tired, with flaky wallpaper. It is big, with antique and respectable furniture. A private writing room is in front of the bedroom.
Carriage
Via delle Carrozze 36. Phone: 679 4106 & 679 3152. Fax: 678 8279. Price: L.230000 ($145) with breakfast. All major cards. 27 rooms. (C2).
Endearing small hotel, well situated near the beginning of The Spanish Steps in a street running parallel to Via Condotti. It is not easily recognised from the outside, in spite of being only 100 meters from the Steps.
It is a human hotel with lots of antiques. Among them is a hotel bar converted from a 17th Century church altar. The staff was exemplary.
Room no. 102 is well endowed with epoch furniture, including a triangular wardrobe, a beautiful writing cabinet, and an antique telephone. The bathroom is fully tiled and was in good working condition.
Cesàri
Via di Pietra 89a. Phone: 679 2386 & 684 0632. Fax: 679 0882. Price: L.145000 ($92) with breakfast. All major cards. 50 rooms. (C3).
Historic hotel near the parliament and Piazza Colonna, 10 meters from the Corso traffic artery. It has been continuously a hotel for almost three centuries and sports a special licence from the pope, dated in 1787.
Garibaldi and Mazzini, heroes of the independence movement, stayed here, also well known writers. At that time it was one of the best places in town. Now it is one of the cheapest of those who got through the needle’s eye of this database.
Room no. 20 is simple, with linoleum on the floor and old furniture, somewhat skewed. Everything is clean though and in working condition, except for the air condition and the spring bed. A tiny bathroom is adequate.
Colosseum
Via Sforza 10. Phone: 482 7228 & 482 7312. Fax: 482 7285. Price: L.175000 ($110) with breakfast. All major cards. 49 rooms. (D3).
A relatively modern building 200 meters from the Santa Maria Maggiore church and near the central railway station.
A fine sitting room adjoins the lobby. The view from the upper floors includes the famous Colosseum.
Room no. 74 is very small, but has the addition of a balcony with chairs, a table and a good view. The quality furniture includes a secretary desk. There is no TV set.
Columbus
Via della Conzialiazione 33. Phone: 686 5435. Fax: 686 4874. Price: L.230000 ($145) with breakfast. All major cards. 115 rooms. (B2).
Cardinal’s palace, Palazzo dei Penitenzieri, and temporarily a monastery, now a hotel, stern and aloof on the outside. It is very well situated for those who are mainly interested in St Peter’s (San Pietro) and the Vatican. It is on the main street leading up to the Piazza San Pietro, just 150 meters from the piazza.
The 15th century palace was built for cardinal Domenico della Rovera, who later became Pope Julian II. It has much of the original furnishings and wall paintings in the drawing rooms behind the lobby. Breakfast was as ancient as the sour waiter. The front desk staff was efficient.
Room no. 446 is ample with choice furnishings in antique style, with leaded window panes, an exquisite carpet and soft wallpaper. The bathroom is completely tiled, with old equipment in perfect condition.
Condotti
Via Mario de’Fiori 37. Phone: 679 4661 & 679 0484. Fax: 679 0457. Price: L.225000 ($142) with breakfast. All major cards. 19 rooms. (C2).
A preferred hotel of ours, a very small and an unobtrusive hotel in a pedestrian street in the fashion shops district below The Spanish Steps, 200 meters from them.
It has recently been completely renovated and has moved up our ratings list. The staff was friendly and knew the answers to our questions.
Room no. 102 is big and cosy, with modern decor in blue cloth, pink plastic and bright pine, divided by a wardrobe into a sleeping part and a sitting part with a deep sofa. Everything in the room and bathroom was in mint condition and very clean.
De la Ville
Via Sistina 69. Phone: 67 331. Fax: 678 4213. Price: L.500000 ($316) with breakfast. All major cards. 192 rooms. (C2).
One of the best known luxury hotels in Rome, conveniently located above the Spanish Steps. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)
Duca d’Alba
Via Leonina 14. Phone: 484 471 & 484 712. Fax: 464 840. Price: L.190000 ($120) with rather good breakfast. All major cards. 25 rooms. (D3).
Small and cosy hotel with a modern look in an old building on a small square in the district Suburra, the ancient slum adjoining the Fori Imperiali, 500 meters from the ruins. This central district resembles a village.
Room no. 201 is beautifully designed in green shades, with quality furniture and soft wallpaper, sparkling of freshness. The air condition is unusually efficient and the bathroom very good.
Fontana
Piazza di Trevi 96. Phone: 678 6113 & 679 1056. Price: L.200000 ($126) without breakfast. All major cards. 28 rooms. (C3).
A 13th C. monastery opposite the Trevi fountain. It does not advertise its existence as the tiny entrance is unobtrusively marked with the letters HF.
Many rooms have a nice view to the fountain and the tourist horde. They are rather noisy for a prolonged stay. There is a roof garden. Front service is excellent.
Room no. 207 is small but clean, with greenish blue flower wallpaper and steel furniture. The small bathroom is well equipped. The view to the fountain is breathtaking. The din from it echoed in the ceiling when the window was open. The phone does not have a direct line to the outside.
Forum
Via Tor de’Conti 25. Phone: 679 2446. Fax: 678 6479. Price: L.330000 ($208) with breakfast. All major cards. 81 rooms. (D3).
Dignified hotel just above Fori Imperiali with a view over the ancient Forum Romanum up to the imperial Capitolum hill.
It is a Renaissance palace built of stones from the Forum. Downstairs there are some beautiful saloons in British Edwardian style. The top floor has a breakfast room with views. Service is good.
Room no. 205 is big and nice, with a real writing table, an easy chair, parquet floor, fine small rugs, bright walls with antique paintings. The bathroom is well fitted out.
Gregoriana
Via Gregoriana 18. Phone: 679 4269. Fax: 678 4258. Price: L.240000 ($152) with breakfast. No cards accepted. 19 rooms. (C2).
One of our favorities, a stylish and tasteful hotelet in an old convent in a side street leading off the top of The Spanish Steps, 200 meters from the Steps. It is so popular that booking far in advance is recommended.
It is the home of discerning fashion models when shows are in season. The hotel itself sparkles with cleanliness and comfort. The rooms are marked with letters, not with numbers.
Room F is very relaxing, light and airy, with a balcony overlooking the quiet private garden. Furnishings are matching in pale red. There are bamboo chairs, a writing cabinet, a rocking chair and a thick carpet. The bathroom is big, with soft and flowery wallpapers, even over the bathtub.
Hassler – Villa Medici
Piazza Trinità de’Monti. Phone: 678 2651. Fax: 678 9991. Price: L.590000 ($372) without breakfast. All major cards. 100 rooms. (C2).
One of the top hotels in the world, proudly standing at the top of The Spanish Steps, beside the Trinità de’Monti church, one of the landmarks of Rome. The hotel of spacious rooms is of medium size.
It is decorated with immaculate taste, quiet as a country mansion in the center of a world city. It is almost too relaxed as it took a lot of time to deliver the baggage to the room. Breakfast is served in a top floor restaurant with breathtaking views.
Room no. 523 is one of the finest lodgings we have tested, almost an apartment. It has an anteroom, a giant bathroom and a big bedroom, all in bright colors. Former times are reflected in beams and pillars and in murals above the beds and in the bathroom. Mirrors are everywhere, the carpets are thick, as are the towels and the bathrobes.
Inghilterra
Via Bocca di Leone 14. Phone: 672 166. Fax: 684 0828. Price: L.340000 ($215) without breakfast. All major cards. 105 rooms. (C2).
Traditional hotel of writers and the intelligenzia since 1850 just below The Spanish Steps on a small square in a pedestrian part of the fashion district. H. C. Andersen, Anatole France, Earnest Hemingway, Henry James, Alec Guinness and many others stayed here.
It has been carefully renovated and its many antiques have been preserved.
Room no. 138 is rather small, well equipped, with soft wallpapers, dissimilar and relaxing furniture. The bathroom is marbled and well appointed, including a bathrobe.
Madrid
Via Mario de’Fiori 95. Phone: 699 1511. Fax: 679 1653. Price: L.210000 ($133) with breakfast. All major cards. 19 rooms. (C2).
A tiny hotel a few steps from the Spanish Steps. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)
Majestic
Via Vittorio Veneto 50. Phone: 48 6841. Fax: 488 0984. Price: L.500000 ($316) with breakfast. All major cards. 88 rooms. (D2).
Probably the best hotel on the famous fashion street. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)
Margutta
Via Laurina 34. Phone: 322 3674. Price: L.134000 ($85) with breakfast. All major cards. 21 rooms. (C2).
Between Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)
Piccolo
Via dei Chiaviari 32. Phone: 654 2560. Price: L.85000 ($54) without breakfast. All major cards. 15 rooms. (C3).
Quaint and tiny hotel in the old center, midway between the squares Campo dei Fiori and Largo di Argentina.
There is no elevator and no breakfast. But it is the cheapest hotel in the city of those included in this database.
Room no. 8 is big, with an extra bed and a desk, tiled floor and rosy bedspreads. There is neither a TV set nor a direct phone line to the outside. The bathroom is fully tiled and quite well endowed.
Portoghesi
Via dei Portoghesi 1. Phone: 686 4231. Fax: 687 6976. Price: L.130000 ($82) with breakfast. All major cards. 27 rooms. (C2).
Well known hotel in the part of the old center, where the alleys are most narrow and twisted. It is 200 meters from Piazza Navona and beside the church of Sant’Antonio.
This is Renaissance Rome. One of the old towers of noblemen, Torre dei Frangipane, is opposite the hotel. To get to the breakfast room you have to exit the elevator at the top and continue up stairs on the outside of the house.
Room no. 83 is small, with weary furnishings, flowery wallpaper and a carpet on the floor. The price is the second lowest of the included hotels.
Raphaël
Largo Febo 2. Phone: 650 881. Fax: 687 8993. Price: L.390000 ($246) with breakfast. All major cards. 85 rooms. (B3).
A fine hotel patronised by members of the Italian parliament. It is situated just off the northern end of Piazza Navona, under police protection night and day. Many fallen angels lived there in the Dolce Vita years before the clean-up of Italian politics.
The quiet abode is hidden behind a cover of luxuriant foliage, a real oasis in a tiny square with trees. It has atmosphere and style. It is full of antiques and modern paintings, even in the corridors. The roof-garden gives good views. The staff was exceptionally helpful.
Room no. 104 is very well furnished, with a parquet floor, abstract paintings, a giant cupboard and big windows overlooking the square. The bathroom was immaculate down to the bathrobes.
Santa Chiara
Via Santa Chiara 21. Phone: 687 2979. Fax: 687 3144. Price: L.250000 ($158) with breakfast. All major cards. 93 rooms. (C3).
Centrally located a few steps from Pantheon. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)
Scalinata di Spagna
Piazza Trinità de’Monti 17. Phone: 679 3006. Fax: 684 0896. Price: L.225000 ($142) with breakfast. All major cards. 14 rooms. (C2).
One of the smallest hotels we know of in the central city. It is just above the Spanish Steps opposite the famous Hassler Villa Medici hotel.
It is homely and beautifully furnished with antiques, resembling an old country inn.
Room no. 3 is small and amusingly skewed, endowed with antique and comfortable furniture, including a secretary desk. An old chandelier hangs from the ceiling which is painted with flowers. The plumbing is visible. The bathroom is small and includes a shower closet.
Senato
Piazza della Rotonda 73. Phone: 679 3231. Fax: 6994 0297. Price: L.190000 ($120) with breakfast. All major cards. 51 rooms. (C3).
Directly in front of the Pantheon. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)
Sole al Pantheon
Piazza della Rotonda 63. Phone: 678 0441. Fax: 684 0689. Price: L.250000 ($158) with breakfast. All major cards. 29 rooms. (C3).
A small hotel directly on the square in front of the Pantheon. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)
Teatro di Pompeo
Largo del Pallaro 8. Phone: 6830 0170. Fax: 6880 5531. Price: L.210000 ($133) with breakfast. All major cards. 12 rooms. (C3).
A tiny hotel a few steps from the corner of Corso Vittorio Emanuele og Corso del Rinascimento. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)
Torre Argentina
Corso Vittorio Emanuele 102. Phone: 683 3886. Fax: 6880 1641. Price: L.210000 ($133) with breakfast. All major cards. 52 rooms. (C3).
On the main throughfare in the old city. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)
1996
© Jónas Kristjánsson
