La Residenza Napoleone III is arguably Rome's best luxury boutique hotel. It could be best described as a palatial pied-a-terre, worthy of Jude Law's millionaire pals in The Talented Mr Ripley and Audrey Hepburn's sprightly Princess Anna in Roman Holiday. Spanning two floors of the powerful Ruspoli family's 16th-century palazzo at the end of Via Condotti, La Residenza's aristocratic pedigree becomes evident the minute you enter through the impressive eight-foot original wooden doors. The steps of the massive marble staircase leading to the Residenza are hewn from ancient Roman columns and are studied by art historians as one of the 'meraviglie di Roma' (wonders of Rome). The floors are tiled with the Ruspoli family crest featuring five pillars of salt that you can spot above the gateway to the Piazza del Popolo, one of the most famous squares in Rome, and the corridors and stairwells are lined with the imposing marble busts of emperors and statesmen.

The facilities

Even this dramatic entrance cannot prepare you for the jaw-dropping opulence of the Residenza Napoleone III itself. The charming owner Princess Letizia Ruspoli has tastefully restored the apartment's 18th-century grandeur and discreetly added all the gadgetry and amenities demanded by the modern traveler with a taste for five-star luxury hotels. Solid silver antique candelabras and museum-quality oil paintings from the Caprici School (contemporaries of Canaletto) bedeck the dining room where the maid serves breakfast. In the salon an imposing portrait opens to reveal a flat-screen TV and an antique walnut desk is kitted out with fax and internet connection.

The rooms

The master bedroom is undoubtedly the most decadent suite in Rome with an enormous bed worthy of the Residenza's most famous guest, Emperor Napoleon III, who lived here from 1827-1830. Concealed in the top of the bed's canopy, a state-of-the-art projector shows films on a screen that drops down from the ancient, painted ceiling and sections of silk-lined wall open to reveal a bijou pink marble bathroom and a kitchenette. Bulgari toiletries, monogrammed linen sheets, scented candles, fresh posies of cyclamen and jasmine, Mont Blanc pens and a mobile phone to use when out and about make the Residenza the perfect luxury pad in Rome.

Up a discreet staircase behind the salon a second bedroom is ideal for children and on the top floor of the palazzo the Terrace Suite (which can also be booked separately) is perhaps the most romantic garret in Rome. Equestrian paintings and statuary and stacks of books on every surface give it a high society bohemian vibe but the delightful roof terrace with views over the Eternal City is the main attraction.

Fans of La Residenza Napoleone III should consider booking the Princessa's second property Dar Seven in Marrakech where she has turned her fantastic designer's eye to creating a fabulous, monochrome retreat under the African sun.

The entrance is dramatic: guests enter two massive eight-metre wooden doors leading them into the fortress-like palazzo, revealing an illuminated ochre-washed courtyard of monuments and marble, into a long and elegant arcade of Doric columns, up a grand marble staircase lined with antique marble busts of Roman Emperors, to the doors of the apartment where Napoleon III once resided. The less dramatic side is that there is a small old fashioned lift which slowly brings you to the doors of this exclusive bed & breakfast.

La Residenza Napoleone III is one of Rome’s best-kept secrets and one of the most luxurious and unique places to stay in the city. Situated in the 16 century Palazzo Ruspoli, on Rome’s legendary via Condotti, La Residenza was recently renovated by the Ruspoli family who continue to reside within the Palazzo walls. Princess Letizia Ruspoli, the owner and hostess of La Residenza, managed in three years to restore the apartment to its original splendour and offers guests all the grandeur of a classic roman Palazzo with every modern convenience.

The rooms
If Princess Ruspoli is not in Rome, the family’s butler greets guests at the door, leading them into the apartment - three palatial rooms (about 300sq.m in total), each room more impressive than the next. You feel that you have entered a palace museum and the only thing missing are the red braided cords forbidding people to touch anything. Although the rooms are grand (and you can touch everything) the details such as the fireplace, dark green curtains, wooden ceilings, antique furnishings, gold stencilled walls, comfortable couches and reading nooks make the entire apartment warm and cosy.

What is most impressive is how Princess Ruspoli managed to discreetly hide modern conveniences, such as a fax/Internet connection inside a German walnut desk and a large plasma screen which can be revealed by sliding a painting. Ever been tempted to actually touch a massive oil painting and its gold gilded frame? Well, if you need a toilet, you have no choice than to literally pull the entire painting towards you and be amazed to find an elegant bathroom decorated in yellow and green marble from Siena, stocked with several Bulgari toiletries and anything else that you may be missing.

After an evening stroll, the concierge at the entrance welcomes you back with a smile and a ‘buona sera.’ Having re-entered the suite, a discreet scent of perfumed candles leads guests through the dimly lit reception rooms and into the imperial bedroom illuminated with flickering candles from the chandeliers above and the night tables. Fresh cut roses are laid on the bed and the monogrammed linen sheets are immaculately folded out ready to cover guests up for a luxurious night’s sleep.