Holiday Romances

A novel breed of hotel is ruffling the waters in the Eternal City. Here, five avant-garde stays to win the hearts of design lovers.

- Carli Philips

A new crop of anti-establishment hotels in Rome is giving the grandes dames a run for their money, breaking new ground with smaller, independent offerings. Enthusiastic entrepreneurs are challenging the status quo, breathing new life into the historic mansions, palazzos, palaces and villas of the Eternal City. It’s adaptive re-use at its best, with risky looks trumping the traditional paradigm. Smaller operations and out-of-thebox designs championed on boutique websites such as Mr and Mrs Smith or – as all the best things are – circulated by word of mouth.

G-ROUGH

The exasperated “Questa casa non è un albergo!” (this house is not a hotel) is a reprimand echoed by Italian mothers since the dawn of time. Determined to prove this wrong, seventh-generation Roman Gabriele Salini transformed his 17th-century apartment building, tucked away in the city’s sweet Piazza Pasquino, into 10 G-Rough suites.

The first step was a “demolition party” complete with an all-night DJ and open bar on each floor. Philosophically, Gabriele says the event was also “about a state of mind that likes to demolish any preconceived and conventional ideas”. Indeed, G-Rough doesn’t ascribe to the model of a traditional hotel and there’s no apology for the rickety elevator, stripped patina and one-woman breakfast show, proudly served in the salotto. “I was, and still am, confident that Rome is ready for new things,” he says.