Hotel Art, Rome, Italy
Hotel Art 4 Stars
"Old meets new as a converted school and chapel are converted into a cutting-edge design hotel in Rome."
Hotel Overview
Review of Hotel Art, by Jeroen Bergmans
The Hotel Art is a boutique establishment located on Via Margutta, a legendary artistic enclave of Rome that Fellini once called home. The design hotel's excellent location just metres from the best shops and the Spanish Steps and its clever mix of cutting-edge design and 19th-century architecture have made it a hit with fashionistas, design aficionados and the Japanese.
An ethereal, white passageway leads to the boutique hotel's vaulted, frescoed lobby which is presided over by two futuristic pods housing the Hotel Art's reception and concierge desks. Stained-glass windows hint at the building's past life as a college with a private chapel.
The facilities
The chapel's marble altar has been transformed into a small lobby bar which serves cocktails and light, bistro dishes to a cluster of sleek designer tables until midnight. Guests can also enjoy aperitivi in the design hotel's tiny courtyard which is furnished with brightly-coloured, ergonomic Ron Arad Little Albert chairs.
Down a corridor lined with pieces from the boutique hotel's private art collection, there's also a small gym, a sauna, wet room and steam room.
The rooms
The Hotel Art's 46 rooms are spread out over four colour-coded floors that literally light up as you step out of the lift. Perspex corridors in psychedelic hues of orange, green, yellow and blue are lined with back-lit verses of poetry.
All the boutique hotel's rooms have heavenly beds with hand-stitched leather headboards and linen sheets. Canvases depicting details of famous Roman masterpieces continue the artistic theme.
The Hotel Art's Junior Suites are a step up from the other rooms, thanks to Jacuzzi bathtubs, a pillow menu, a separate toilet and living room and double sinks in the bathroom.
Facilities
Rooms
46Who stays here?
The location near to the main sites and all the best shops combined with the clean lines of the interior have made this a hit with Asian visitors, especially the Japanese.Come for...
- Slick, contemporary-designed rooms
- Great location on a pretty side street near the Spanish Steps, the galleries of Via Margutta and all the poshest boutiques
Not Suitable for...
- Traditionalists
Children
Extra beds and baby cots can be added to the rooms for children, and the interconnecting rooms are ideal for families. The hotel can also arrange babysitting services.Eating in
Although this hotel does not have an on site restaurant, it is in walking distance of a number of great places to eat.The Press Say
"Hotel Art is hidden away near the northern edge of the historic city centre, well placed for browsing the art galleries and shops in nearby Via Balbuino. Many ancient and architectural treasures are also within easy walking distance such as the Trevi fountain, Pantheon, Roman forum and the Spanish steps." The Independent 05Reviews
Review of Hotel Art, by Joanna Monkhouse
Hotel Art is one of those design hotels that invokes a strong emotion: you either love it or you hate it. Distinctly modern, it is housed in a converted religious school. A river of silver clouds and fairy lights draws you in to the hotel. How the fashionistas manage their stiletto heels on the white pebble path is anyone's guess, just remember not to bring yours.
One of the highpoints of Hotel Art is its location on Via Margutta, the art quarter brimming with galleries and antique shops. You can still spot the odd artist's studio too though not many can afford this sought-after area now considering its proximity to Via Babuino (which runs parallel) and the Spanish Steps.
The facilities
Reception at the design hotel is reminiscent of 'Mork and Mindy' with it's white egg pods and black-clad staff. The lobby serves breakfast during the day and drinks in the evening - the buffet and bar are located in the altar for a twisted touch. A red and black resin floor outlines the floorplan of the Pantheon to remind guests that despite the modernity, Hotel Art is still in the Eternal City. A modern take on a witch's cauldron languishes in the corner, bubbling smoke. The internal courtyard's moulded plastic chairs prove tempting for an evening drink under the silver cloud trees. The basement houses a small fitness room together with a sauna and Turkish bath.
The rooms
The corridor on each of the four floors of this design hotel has only one colour bombarding you from the moment you step out of the lift: walls, floor, ceiling, floor level lighting, doors: all in either blue/green/orange/yellow. You almost need sunglasses. The rooms themselves come as a welcome surprise after the monochromatic assault. Neutral shades and natural materials predominate, though the floor's chromatic theme is picked up in the bathroom tiles and the curved wall hugging the bath that extends into the bedroom.
With small rooms (but it's Rome remember) and reports of shoddy service, a desire to sleep somewhere innovative and stylish will be a bonus if you plan to stay here. But for those who appreciate the audacity, Hotel Art has much to offer.
Review of Hotel Art, by Jamie Dunford Wood
This former chapel cum seminary has now been converted into a super trendy design hotel, self styled as 'superior 4 star'. A pebble and steel candy floss entrance way leads the way in. 'Superior' evidently refers to the veneer of space age design and the occasional twin sink arrangement, because square-meterage and separate showers, a mark of the superior elsewhere, are lacking. Reception consists of two starship enterprise pods with the requisite black clad staff. Only the deluxes and the superiors are of a decent size, though not particularly spacious. Elegant dark woo-block floors and leather headboards thankfully keep the hard-edge space theme locked out in the corridors, each of which glows in a different colour - you don't get out at the 4th floor, but the blue floor, with room numbers illuminated beneath your feet like a runway.
There's a small Turkish bath and spa in the basement. The original altar of the chapel is carefully preserved behind glass - behind the bar, a sacreligious touch.
The Hotel Art is a member of the SLH - Small Luxury Hotels of the World - final proof that this marketing chain has little consistency about membership beyond the narrowest definition of small and luxury. However, the position of the Hotel Art cannot be faulted, in a quiet and attractive side street close to the Spanish Steps, and it may be exciting to stay here at least once.