Il Palazzetto, International Wine Academy of Rome, Rome, Italy

Plush but intimate, Il Palazzetto feels more like a private residence or a smart members’ club than a Rome boutique hotel. With only four, spacious rooms, it oozes exclusivity and its prime location right by Rome’s legendary Spanish Steps makes it the perfect pied-a-terre for a romantic, Roman Holiday-style trip to the Eternal City. In fact, Il Palazzetto's palatial proportions and magnificent setting was used as the set for The Siege starring Halle Berry.

The facilities

Built in the 16th-century by an aristocratic Roman family, Il Palazzetto’s grand interiors had fallen into ruin by the 1980s when it was salvaged by Roberto E. Wirth, owner of The Hassler, one of Rome’s most famous luxury hotels. An accomplished wine connoisseur, Wirth turned the ground floor into the International Wine Academy of Rome where acclaimed wine journalist Ian D’Agata lectures aspiring sommeliers and wine-buffs on the vast range of excellent vintages produced in Lazio and Umbria.

Up the magnificent spiral staircase a cosy restaurant with a library lined with books on wine and a roaring fire in the winter months serves up excellent, gourmet Italian fare. In the summer guests dine on the verdant private patio of Il Giardino in the shadow of the Spanish Steps, peruse the 400 wines on the impressive wine-list and sip cocktails on the fifth-floor terrace of the boutique hotel.

The rooms

The four rooms display the distinctive, contemporary classic style of Astrid Wirth who created the look for The Hassler’s most recently re-designed rooms and suites. Spacious and luxurious without being frilly or frou-frou, they are all furnished with enormous plasma TVs, a mini-bar packed with (you guessed it) fine wines, and cavernous marble bathrooms with generous showers that can comfortably fit two. Room service may be limited (guests have breakfast at the Hassler next door), but this is not boutique hotel to linger in - the incredible views over the Spanish Steps will inspire you to go out and explore the magic of the Eternal City.