Hotels
The best hotels in Rome, and the stories behind their walls
A cardinal's palace with Roman baths, a rooftop where Fellini gave interviews and a garden where Picasso picked oranges from his window. These are the Rome hotels we would book.
Picolo Editorial
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In short about the best hotels in Rome
Rome's finest hotels cluster around the Spanish Steps, Piazza del Popolo and Via Veneto, with the Colosseum close behind. Of the 12 hotels below, Hotel de Russie is our first choice for its terraced garden and walkable location. Hassler Roma and Hotel de la Ville have the best views.
Our first choice: Hotel de Russie, a Rocco Forte hotel. Check availability and prices
Stand at the top of the Spanish Steps just after eight in the morning and Rome still belongs to you. The 135 steps are almost empty, and below, the shutters on Via Condotti are still down. Turn around and you are outside the Hassler, which has looked down on this view since 1893.
Many of the buildings on this list were already old when Italy was unified in 1861. We have chosen hotels where the walls carry a story, from an annex of Palazzo Borghese to the site of an empress's villa. They are grouped by what you want from your stay. Not sure which part of the city suits you? Our guide to where to stay in Rome goes neighbourhood by neighbourhood.
Our top picks
Best for couples: Hotel de Russie, for the garden and Stravinskij Bar
Best for the view: Hassler Roma, at the top of the Spanish Steps
Best for history: The St. Regis Rome, opened by César Ritz in 1894
Best for privacy: Hotel Vilòn, with 18 rooms beside Palazzo Borghese
Best for families: Rome Cavalieri, with four pools in a park
Best for a pool: Villa Agrippina Gran Meliá, with gardens by the Vatican
Best for dinner with a view: Hotel Eden, with La Terrazza on the roof
Best for the Colosseum: Palazzo Manfredi, right across the road
Palazzo hotels: sleeping inside Rome's history
A Roman palazzo was built to impress visitors and to keep the summer heat out. Thick walls, high ceilings and inner courtyards still do both jobs.
Six Senses Rome
Six Senses opened in 2023 inside Palazzo Salviati Cesi Mellini, a 15th-century palace rebuilt in the 18th century for Cardinal Mario Mellini. The hotel paid for the restoration of the facade of its neighbour, the church of San Marcello al Corso.
The reason to book is the spa on the first floor, laid out as a Roman bathing circuit of warm, hot and cold rooms. The Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon are a few minutes away on foot. Ask for a room over the courtyard if you sleep lightly, as Via del Corso is one of the busiest streets in the centre.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Six Senses Rome
Hotel Vilòn
This 16th-century house was built as an annex to Palazzo Borghese, and for much of the 20th century it was home to nuns. Today it holds just 18 rooms, several of them looking down into the private gardens of the palazzo, which are otherwise closed to the public.
The restaurant, Adelaide, is named after a Borghese princess, and in summer the terrace is the place for a negroni. There is no spa or gym, so this is for couples who want privacy and a quiet street a block from the Tiber.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Hotel Vilòn
J.K. Place Roma
J.K. Place opened in 2013 in a 19th-century building that once housed the architecture school of the University of Rome. The Florentine designer Michele Bönan turned the old classrooms into 30 large rooms with rosewood four-poster beds and marble bathrooms.
It feels like the townhouse of a friend with very good taste, and J.K. Café downstairs is busy with Romans at lunch. Via Condotti and the Spanish Steps are a few minutes away, though you will have to walk to a spa elsewhere.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at J.K. Place Roma
Six Senses Rome
The marble staircase survived five centuries of cardinals, nobles and friars before the hotel restored it. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group)
At the top of the Spanish Steps
Piazza della Trinità dei Monti and Via Sistina sit above the crowds and level with the domes. Hotels up here sell the view, and the best of them deliver it.
Hassler Roma
Swiss hotelier Albert Hassler opened his hotel beside the Trinità dei Monti church in 1893, and the Wirth family has now run it for six generations. Imàgo, the Michelin-starred restaurant on the sixth floor, looks straight out across the rooftops of the old town.
The hotel reopened in spring 2026 after a renovation, with a new Palm Court garden by the French designer Jacques Garcia. Book a room facing the steps if the view matters most, and read our full review of Hassler Roma.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Hassler Roma
Hotel de la Ville
A few doors along Via Sistina, Rocco Forte's second hotel in Rome was once a monastery and became a hotel in the 1920s. The 2019 makeover borrowed from the Grand Tour, when young aristocrats travelled to Rome to collect art, so expect marble busts and Piranesi prints in bold colours.
Cielo, the rooftop bar on the sixth and seventh floors, is one of the best places in the city for an aperitivo at sunset. It feels livelier and younger than its sister hotel, Hotel de Russie, ten minutes' walk away.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Hotel de la Ville
Portrait Roma
The Ferragamo family opened Portrait Roma in 2006, above their own shop and a short walk from the foot of the steps. There are just 14 suites, hung with photographs of 1950s Rome and sketches of Ferragamo shoes.
The roof terrace, with a fireplace and a view towards the Spanish Steps, is in use from breakfast to the last drink of the night. Facilities are few, so this is for travellers who want a suite that feels like a Roman apartment and staff who know their name.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Portrait Roma
Hassler Roma
From the top of the Spanish Steps, the domes of the old town line up like a model city. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group)
The Belle Époque grand hotels
In the 1880s and 1890s, Rome was a new capital with new money, and two hotels from those years still set the standard.
Hotel Eden
Hotelier Francesco Nistelweck opened Hotel Eden on Via Ludovisi in 1889, in a mansion between the Spanish Steps and Via Veneto. Federico Fellini liked to give his interviews on the roof, at La Terrazza, which today holds a Michelin star.
Dorchester Collection reopened the hotel in 2017 after a two-year renovation, and it has kept its reputation for discreet, polished service. Even if you stay elsewhere, book a table on the roof for sunset. If you stay here, ask for a room with a city view.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Hotel Eden
The St. Regis Rome
César Ritz opened this hotel as Le Grand Hotel on 11 January 1894, on a day when snow fell on Rome. Auguste Escoffier cooked a 16-course dinner for 100 guests. Its Ritz Ballroom was the first public ballroom in the city, and its frescoed ceiling by Mario Spinetti is protected.
The hotel stands near Piazza della Repubblica and the Quirinal, a little further from the Spanish Steps than the others in this guide. In return you get grand public rooms, Belle Époque detail and afternoon tea in the Lumen bar.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at The St. Regis Rome
Hotel Eden
Fellini chose this rooftop for his interviews, and the view has not changed much since. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group)
Grand hotels with a garden or a pool
Rome in July is hot, and few central hotels have room for a garden or a swimming pool. These three do.
Hotel de Russie
Giuseppe Valadier, the architect of Piazza del Popolo, designed this building in the early 1800s, along with the terraced Secret Garden that climbs towards the Pincio. In February 1917 Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau stayed in adjoining rooms here, and leaned out of their windows to pick oranges from the trees.
Meals at Le Jardin de Russie are served facing the garden, and Stravinskij Bar fills with Romans at aperitivo time. With 120 rooms it is a large hotel, so ask for a room over the garden rather than the street. Read our full review of Hotel de Russie.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Hotel de Russie
Villa Agrippina Gran Meliá
This hotel stands on the slope below the Janiculum, on the site where Agrippina, the mother of Emperor Nero, had her villa. The land later became a convent, and finds from the first century turned up during the building work.
The large outdoor pool and the Mediterranean gardens are the reason to book, along with views towards St Peter's from some of the 110 rooms. The Vatican is a short walk away and Trastevere is close, but the Spanish Steps are a taxi ride.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Villa Agrippina Gran Meliá
Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel
Rome Cavalieri stands in a 15-acre park on Monte Mario, the highest hill in the city, with views across Rome to the Vatican. It has one indoor and three outdoor pools, and La Pergola, the only restaurant in Rome with three Michelin stars.
The art collection runs to more than 1,000 pieces, with a Tiepolo triptych from 1725 in the lobby. This is a resort rather than a city-centre hotel, and the old town is a taxi ride away. That suits families with children better than couples on a short break.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Rome Cavalieri
Hotel de Russie
Valadier's Secret Garden rises in terraces towards the Pincio, a rare patch of green in the centre. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group)
The Colosseum outside your window
Palazzo Manfredi
Palazzo Manfredi is a 17th-century building on Via Labicana, directly across the road from the Colosseum, with the ruins of the Ludus Magnus, where gladiators trained, beneath its windows. Many of the rooms and suites look straight at the amphitheatre.
Aroma, the restaurant on the roof, holds a Michelin star, and hotel guests eat breakfast there with the same view. Come back up in the evening when the Colosseum is lit. The streets around it empty at night, so this is a base for ancient Rome rather than for late dinners in Trastevere.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Palazzo Manfredi
When should you book a luxury hotel in Rome?
Spring and autumn are the busiest seasons for Rome's best hotels, and Easter and October fill first. Book three to six months ahead for those periods, especially if you want a room with a view. In July and August, a garden or a pool is worth paying extra for. Rome also charges a city tax per person per night, usually paid at the hotel.
A day at Hotel de Russie
Hotel de Russie
Start with breakfast on the terrace while the Secret Garden is still cool, then walk five minutes to Piazza del Popolo before the tour groups arrive. Spend the hot hours in the spa, and come back down at seven, when Stravinskij Bar fills with Romans in linen. Rooms on the garden side are the ones to ask for: you wake to birdsong in the middle of a capital.
Frequently asked questions about hotels in Rome
What is the best hotel in Rome?
Hotel de Russie is our pick for the best all-round luxury hotel in Rome. It sits between Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps, has a terraced garden designed by Giuseppe Valadier and a spa, and you can walk to most sights. For the view, choose Hassler Roma at the top of the Spanish Steps; for the Colosseum, Palazzo Manfredi.
Which hotels in Rome have a view of the Colosseum?
Palazzo Manfredi has the closest view of the Colosseum of any luxury hotel in Rome, from many of its rooms and from Aroma, its rooftop restaurant. The hotel stands directly across Via Labicana from the amphitheatre. Ask for a room with a Colosseum view when you book, as some rooms face the Ludus Magnus ruins instead.
Which luxury hotels in Rome have a swimming pool?
Rome Cavalieri has the most pools, with three outdoor and one indoor in a park on Monte Mario. Closer to the centre, Villa Agrippina Gran Meliá near the Vatican has a large outdoor pool in its gardens. Six Senses Rome has a Roman bathing circuit rather than a pool. Pools are rare in central Rome, so book early for summer.
Where did famous people stay in Rome?
Hotel de Russie and Hotel Eden have two of the best stories. Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau stayed at Hotel de Russie in 1917, and one of its suites is now named after Picasso. Federico Fellini gave his interviews on the roof of Hotel Eden. The St. Regis Rome opened in 1894 with a dinner cooked by Auguste Escoffier.
Is it worth staying in a palazzo hotel in Rome?
Yes, if you want the building to be part of the trip. Palazzo hotels have frescoes, high ceilings and thick walls that keep rooms cool and quiet. The trade-off is that room sizes and layouts vary more than in a modern hotel, so check the room category carefully. Hotel Vilòn and Six Senses Rome are good places to start.