Fit for an emperor: Bulgari Hotel Roma

By News Room On Oct 16, 2023

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This article is part of a guide to Rome from FT Globetrotter

As I entered central Rome by taxi, my driver started muttering to himself animatedly. A visit from a German politician had led to a traffic snarl-up, police were waving their arms at drivers and drivers were waving their arms back in return, mine included. Swaths of tourists were inching their way down cobbled streets, hugging narrow strips of midday shade, while others had retreated under awnings, glassy-eyed, nursing large glasses of amber Spritz. Midsummer in the Città Eterna has an exhilaratingly febrile feel, but this year it seemed to reach a new peak in one of the city’s storied central squares, Piazza Augustus Imperatore, with the opening of the most heralded hotel in the city in decades: Bulgari Hotel Roma.

The luxury jewellery brand was founded in Rome in 1884 by Sotiro Bulgari and has been synonymous with the city ever since. Known for its wildly expensive, exquisitely crafted pieces — in particular, the glitteringly sinuous serpent motif — it has never pretended to be an expert in the hospitality business too. Still, it is having a good stab at it: since its first hotel, in Milan in 2004, Bulgari has opened another eight, from Paris to Tokyo. Rome, its ninth, is indisputably its most important to date — a long-awaited homecoming for the brand.

The search for the perfect symbolic spot for the hotel began over 20 years ago — but it was not until 2019 when Bulgari signed a lease for the monumental 1930s government building in Piazza Augusto Imperatore, 500 metres away from the company’s headquarters, that the project began to take shape. ACPV Architects (Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel), the Italian practice that has designed the other hotels, took on the renovations. Certain features were kept — such as the entrance and two stunning staircases — but the rest was, as Viel puts it “a blank page” for the brand to “show and declare its interaction with the city”. The significance of overlooking a square dedicated to the memory of the first emperor of Rome, who famously took a city built from bricks and turned it into marble imported from the wider empire, was not lost on the brand. From the strikingly contemporary black and white Grande Antico used throughout the ground floor, to the four colour schemes in the bathrooms, marble is the hotel’s leitmotif — a statement of authority and luxury.

Entering the sleek lobby, I felt glad that I had worn decent shoes and hidden my Birkenstocks in my bag: everyone, from the smiling staff to the guests seemed dressed to impress, with men in suits and women in elegant flowing attire, heels and, of course, plenty of serious jewellery. Marble corridors on the ground floor showcase Bulgari creations, past and present, with jewel-encrusted necklaces on busts inset into the walls behind glass. Many guests are loyal Bulgari customers and will prioritise a trip to the Bulgari store on their visit, so these displays are something of a shop window, albeit in keeping with the grandeur of the place.

Restaurants and bar

The hotel’s elegant all-day dining outlet, Il Caffè, flanking one side of the hotel on the ground floor, opens out on to the piazza with a street-side terrace full of inviting cane sofas and giant palms. Despite its glitzy feel, prices are decent, as this is intended to be an egalitarian and inviting space for locals and tourists to pop into for a (very good) coffee or a cocktail, or even a family meal. I began my solo lunch with a small bowl of Parmesan chunks from the “Sfizi” (little fancies) menu, accompanied by a glass of white Nicoleo from the Bulgari family’s Tuscan vineyard, a crisp mix of Chardonnay and Grechetto grapes. This was followed by a generous (and well priced at €16) Caprese salad with unctuous burrata and the sweetest cherry tomatoes I’ve ever tasted, and a basket of head chef Niko Romito’s toothsome sourdough to mop up a slick of herby olive oil. Finishing with an excellent tiramisu with enough dusted cocoa to make me sneeze several times, and a rousingly strong macchiato, it was the perfect Roman lunch.

For a reserve-in-advance, dress-up dinner, the hotel’s signature Il Restaurante–Niko Romito is found on the fifth floor, via a separate ground-floor entrance. With its curved burnt-orange sofas, lacquered mahogany walls and large plants, it feels like the type of place one might spot an ageing 1960s film star. Romito, head chef of all the Bulgari hotels, has created a robust menu which, in his words, reflects “the kind of cuisine I’d like to eat when I’m away from home”, ranging from suckling pig to lobster salad. An adjacent room with a splendid central bar is ideal for a pre-dinner sharpener on the terrace, with terrific views over the piazza. A further huge terrace and bar on the sixth floor will leave you giddy at the stupendous 360-degree views over the centro storico.

Rooms

Finding my room turned out to be a bit of a challenge: a maze of saffron-carpeted corridors and wide polished teak doors took me round and round the third floor — even the newly trained staff who rushed to assist me looked a little lost.

Once installed in my double room, I was delighted to have a view not across the piazza but over a perfect jumble of Roman rooftop terraces — terracotta pots precariously perched, climbing plants rampaging up patio trellises and a café on the street down below where locals watched intently as polished black cars purred up to the hotel entrance. A small balcony — with a hefty marble ashtray as a central feature — made me feel for a second as if I was in my own little Roman apartment, albeit one I could never afford, equipped with luxurious extras such as a jar filled with freshly baked amaretti biscuits and a minibar filled with freshly pressed apricot and peach juice, as well as a half-bottle of Ruinart.

While my room was bright and crisp, with all the accoutrements you’d expect from a €1,500-plus per night accommodation, the bathroom was the real showstopper. Mine had a huge, deep marble sink in a creamy green colour, a freestanding bath and shower and enough delicious Bulgari unguents to make me want to spend at least three hours pampering myself.

Spa and pool

The subterranean 1,500 sq m spa is the jewel in the crown. The architects’ decision to leave the foundational pillars in place, clad them in striated black and white marble and build the mosaic-lined 20m pool around it gives it a suitably decadent feel. I’m sure Augustus, whose mausoleum is near the hotel, would have approved of spending a good half day lounging around here, perhaps incorporating an Augustinus Bader facial treatment, after a sweaty day of empire-building.

At a glance

Good for: Dusting down your heels; people-watching; blowing the bonus on the most glamorous stay you can have in Rome
Not so good for: Shy wallets or scruffy tourists
FYI: Don’t miss the heavenly on-site Bulgari Dolci for edible jewel-like chocolates and pastries that won’t break the bank
Rooms and suites: 114 rooms, including 48 suites
Spa: Yes
Gym: Yes
Double: From €1,900
Address: Piazza Augusto Imperatore 10, 00186 Rome
Website; Directions

Rebecca Rose was a guest of Six Senses Rome

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