Radisson SAS Hotel Rome by Joanna Monkhouse

Rome’s most modern hotel opened in 2001 near the Termini station. Not the most salubrious of neighbourhoods but the hotel is utterly different from everything else Rome has to offer. A milk factory was razed and the 7-storey half hotel/half car-park rose in its place as part of the area’s regeneration project. From the vast lobby of stylish white benches and circular reception, a glass wall onto the courtyard shows the two wings of the hotel rising on opposite sides, connected by the open balconies of the suites. At night the rooms are illuminated with a multi-coloured electric glow.

The corridors on the room floors are so dark with the black walls, pebble effect carpet and slit windows that out of the brightness of the lift you can barely see which way to go. Room numbers are located near the foot of the doors, white on white. The rooms themselves are ultra modern – grey squidgy plastic floors, an inflatable lamp, dvd/cd, flat-screen tv and a multifunctional control unit that needs a diagram to decode it. Light switches are just a silver touch disc on the wall. Translucent curtains retain your modesty from the guests across the courtyard, blackout blinds whirr down thanks to the multifunctional unit.

There is no division between bath and bed – in some rooms that is literal (in fact the bed can even fold on top of the bath to create a meeting table), in others the shower is enclosed in a frosted glass cabinet to keep the sheets dry.

The real wow factor of the es.hotel is the 7th floor bar, restaurant and outdoor pool. With nothing but glass to obstruct the view of Rome’s rooftops and antennas, it is the place to be to watch the sun go down and to discover the es.hotel’s nights of neon lights.

Under the hotel is a large state of the art conference centre, this coupled with the easy access location next to Rome's main station, gives the es.hotel wide appeal among business travellers. The antithesis of this are the Roman ruins discovered during construction, on display through a glass wall in the lobby: an interesting mix of Rome's ancient past and developing future.

In October 2004, the management switched to the Radisson group and the hotel changed its name from es.hotel to Radisson SAS Hotel Rome. For such an imaginative and innovate hotel it seems rather a shame.