7 of the ten hotels in our Rome edit qualify. They are in our order of preference for this, not a ranking of the hotels overall.
What we looked for: Interiors where design is the reason to book, not an afterthought.
The special one1 / 7
Twenty-four apartments that Jean Nouvel left half unrestored, kitchens and bathrooms sealed into stainless steel boxes, stacked above a free art gallery beside the Arch of Janus.
Design-ledBeach & pool optionalWellness minimalIntimate
€€€€From about €430 a night
The design one2 / 7
A listed 16th-century palazzo relined by Zaha Hadid Architects, with a pool that runs out into the garden on a glass floor above a Roman workshop.
Design-ledSplurgeCentral & walkableContemporary
€€€€From about €1,465 a night
The grand one3 / 7
Bvlgari's name on a 1930s rationalist block facing the Mausoleum of Augustus, managed by Marriott and built around a 20 metre mosaic pool under eight marble columns.
SplurgeCentral & walkablePolishedDesign-led
€€€€From about €2,000 a night
The icon4 / 7
Orient Express's first hotel anywhere, in a 1620 palazzo behind the Pantheon, with a seventh-floor terrace that frames the dome about a hundred metres off and a hammam under the lobby.
Central & walkableSplurgeBeach & pool optionalPolished
€€€€From about €1,105 a night
The spa one5 / 7
A restored 18th-century palazzo on Piazza di San Marcello with Patricia Urquiola interiors and a travertine-lined bathhouse that was built for the hotel rather than dug out of the ground.
Central & walkableSplurgeWellness focusDesign-led
€€€€From about €1,300 a night
The smart money6 / 7
A family-run villa on a quiet Aventine square where every room is decorated differently and a double books from about EUR 95 a night in January on the hotel's own site.
QuietBeach & pool optionalStrong sense of placeLocal & connected
€From about €95 a night
The view7 / 7
A 24-key palazzo on Via Labicana with the Colosseum about 190 metres west across the Ludus Magnus, in the window of one room category, in that room's shower, and from the roof terrace.
Strong sense of placeCentral & walkableBeach & pool optionalIntimate
€€€€From about €493 a night
Questions people ask
Rhinoceros Roma. Twenty-four apartments that Jean Nouvel left half unrestored, kitchens and bathrooms sealed into stainless steel boxes, stacked above a free art gallery beside the Arch of Janus.
Independently, through extensive research, trusted sources and increasingly first-hand visits. Hotels cannot pay to be included, and every one of the ten has to exist for a different reason.