The historic centre of Rome is compact enough to easily explore on foot, and most of the major monuments rub shoulders – but if you want to get granular about it and be fussy about which particular landmark you’re staying next to, we’ve got the big hitters, from the Pantheon to Piazza Navona, all mapped out.
All roads lead to Rome, but some addresses are better than others. So if you’re wondering where to stay, these are the hotels with the best locations in the Eternal City – read on for postcode perfection in the Italian capital…
A HOTEL NEAR THE TREVI FOUNTAIN
Casacau
First up, the Trevi Fountain (or, Fontana di Trevi if you want to sound fancy), which was refurbished by beloved local brand Fendi in 2016, with a dramatic fashion-show finale marking the completion of its restoration works. It is one of the most enduringly popular tourist attractions in Rome, with the coins at the bottom to prove it. In fact, €1.4 million worth of coins were tossed in by visitors in 2022, all sensibly hoping to ensure a return to Rome.
In this fountain-adjacent setting, you’ll find Casacau, a set of apartments inside a 17th-century building. The headboards behind the beds are more like artworks: some resemble frescoes, others are formed from hanging tapestries, and one is a fully fledged art installation. There’s no restaurant at the hotel, but nearby bakeries and restaurants are ready to come to the rescue with deliveries direct to your kitchenette. Each suite has its charms, from a petite sauna to a secret passageway.
A HOTEL NEAR THE COLOSSEUM
Palazzo Manfredi
So close to the Colosseum, you could basically reach out and touch it, Palazzo Manfredi has without a doubt one of the finest hotel locations in Rome. The antiquity-framing vantage point is best enjoyed up on the roof, where there’s a Michelin-starred restaurant making your evening even better (though let’s face it, you’d be happy with cold pizza and pesto pasta with a view that good). Instead, you can feast on shrimp and razor-clam raviolo, tagliolini with candied lemon and wild garlic, and grilled turbot with snow peas, all with a side order of one of the best panoramas in Rome. The cellar at Aroma is equally well-equipped, with 600 labels to choose from.
Some of the bedrooms enjoy a similar outlook, with picture windows helpfully on hand to frame the mighty local landmark. The decor is certainly fit for a Roman emperor, with marble floors, murals, drapes and the odd column. Alas, the only gladiators knocking around will be street performers in skirts and sandals, but the palazzo serves its guests front-row seats to Ancient Rome all the same.
A HOTEL NEAR THE FORUM
Palm Suite
Also offering proximity to antiquity is Palm Suite, an all-suite hotel near the Colosseum and the rest of the Roman Forum. These ruins in the centre of Rome, between the Palatine and Capitoline hills, once hosted courts of law, shops, markets, public meetings and, of course, gladiatorial fights, with mighty temples and monuments still standing (in some cases, just) – such as the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the senate house and the Arch of Titus. Pelmets, pleats and gladiator sandals are optional, but you should probably leave them to the mimes outside.
Palm Suite is the sister stay of Palazzo Manfredi and so has gleaned from its sibling all of the good tips on how best to frame those eye-popping views of casually millennia-old relics outside the windows. It’s home to the sort of lavish interiors that Italians do best, with vintage trunks, statues of leopards, striped armchairs and lacquered side tables all adding to the glamour. Original beams and alcoves, herringbone floors and cloudy grey or exposed brick walls only improve on the dreamy design. As an added bonus, some of the suites throw a glimpse of the Vittoriano or ‘Wedding Cake’ in for good measure.
A HOTEL NEAR THE SPANISH STEPS
Piazza di Spagna 9
Once a gathering spot for weary tourists to rest their feet, the Spanish Steps are now closed to the backsides of the public. Following a restoration by Bulgari to mark the brand’s 130th anniversary a decade ago, the staircase was officially deemed too posh for such mainstream usage. Ever since 2019, you can be fined €400 for plopping your derrière down – though the no-go zone didn’t stop the driver of a Maserati wheeling his vehicle down the steps a couple of years ago (he was arrested, of course). You used to have to visit at dawn to be in with a chance of a sedentary-tourist-free snap, so it’s a good thing from a photography perspective at least.
The Baroque beauty, built in the 1720s, is possibly the world’s most glamorous set of stairs – 135 steps, to be precise, leading up to the 16th-century Trinità dei Monti church at the top, with the expansive Park Borghese behind it.
The helpfully named (for any lost international arrivals) Piazza di Spagna 9 is a series of suites overlooking the iconic staircase, with an art gallery attached. There’s a communal lounge for guests to enjoy, along with a hammam and Jacuzzi. And yes, plenty of places to sit down.
A HOTEL NEAR THE PANTHEON
Palazzo Roma
There are many masterpiece monuments in Rome – they don’t call it an outdoor museum for nothing – but is there one more mesmerising than the Pantheon? It has stood on this site for nearly two millennia, since 128AD for anyone who struggles to grasp the passing of decades, let alone centuries, initially serving as a Roman temple before becoming a Catholic church. Making its history even headier, before all that it was a temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa under the reign of August, the first Roman Emperor. And also adding to its stature is its use as a burial ground – it is the final resting place of the painter Raphael and the composer Arcangelo Corelli, among others. If you find yourself in the city in time for Rome’s birthday on 21 April, be at the Pantheon at the stroke of noon to see the beam of sunlight streaming through the 27-foot-wide oculus. Goosebumps guaranteed.
Effortlessly combining old and new is a Roman staple, and with a stay at Palazzo Roma on the city’s main drag Via del Corso you’ll be around the corner from the Pantheon and within easy reach of the famous shopping street. The setting is about as central as hotel locations in Rome get. Inside this 16th-century palazzo, you’ll find frescoes, tapestries, precious marbles, wooden panels, parquet flooring and high ceilings aplenty, along with – slightly more importantly – plates of creamy Roman staple cacio e pepe at the restaurant.
A HOTEL NEAR VIA CONDOTTI
Crossing Condotti
Shopaholics, rejoice: you can shop and drop (your bags) at Crossing Condotti, which, as the name suggests, is right next to the glamorous boutique-lined thoroughfare. Rome can’t lay claim to as many fashion powerhouses as Milan, but there are lots of homegrown heroes, from Fendi and Valentino to Bulgari, headquartered here, with the flagship stores to match. And if your budget doesn’t quite extend to couture, simply divert to high-street haven Via del Corso instead. Also within runway-strutting distance of this especially chic stay are the Spanish Steps and the Piazza del Popolo.
Crossing Condotti is pared back enough to please a discerning fashion editor, with just nine rooms in the townhouse and minimalist facilities, but the especially well-connected concierge is on hand to guide you to the best restaurants, squares of pizza and everything else in the city.
A HOTEL NEAR PIAZZA NAVONA
DOM Hotel
You’re never far from a scenic square in Rome and in the part of the city where Campo de’ Fiori extends just off Piazza Navona, you get two piazzas for the price of one. But only one (the larger of the two, Navona) holds a Bernini sculpture – the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) to be exact. Slightly more foreboding is the hooded equivalent on Campo de’ Fiori, depicting a 16th-century friar and philosopher burned at the stake for his slightly too early thoughts. Lightening the mood most mornings are the square’s assorted fruit, flower and vegetable stalls, open for business between Monday and Saturday – it’s one of the oldest markets in Rome.
Within walking distance of both squares in the Regola quarter, DOM Hotel is yet another converted palazzo for modern-day guests with delusions of grandeur. The DOM part stands for ‘deo optimo maximo’, which Latin readers will already know means ‘to God, the best and greatest’. We’re pretty sure Jupiter would be honoured.
For more ways to live la dolce vita, browse the rest of our supremely stylish Roman retreats.