There’s something magical about arriving at a hotel late at night when the streets are quiet and the buildings are lit up and at their best.
So, turning the corner into Via San Basilio, the eyes were immediately drawn to the majestic former Casse di Risparmio Bank, bathed in low lighting and with the Italian flag draped on the first floor balcony of the neo classical style building which boasts Doric columns and sculptures representing the Goddess of Abundance.
Welcome to Aleph Rome, one of Rome’s finest hotels where history meets modern at this five-star wonder, a stone’s throw away from the famous Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and Villa Borghese.
Owned by the Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company, since 2015, the hotel, built in the 1930’s as the bank’s headquarters, was transformed into luxury hospitality, with 80 rooms, 5 signature suites and 10 junior suites.
It’s a Roman charm which meets the grandeur of the Eternal City, with modern spirit, high ceilings, marble floors, Italian handcrafted furnishings, precious woods and stunning examples of design and high craftsmanship.
The windows are decorated with neoclassical tympanums, the ground floor ones protected by elegant artistic grilles, whose central decoration features the hotel logo.
After taking in the beauty of the outside, which has a lovely inscription of the bank’s motto and a group of sculptures representing the Goddess of Abundance, it’s time to enter the glass doors, where the smart concierge is ready to open up a completely different world.
The entrance to Aleph Rome is mind blowing, with a white marble staircase decorated by two lion sculptures placed under an arch decorated with bees and piggy banks and which leads into the main halls with high ceilings enriched with large panels of original Cipollino marble.
Stunning is the leitmotif of the ground floor architectural project, the original marbles, recovered and restored with the white of the “Golden Sky” to mark good times, the deep green of the Cipollino marble, yellow Indus gold and pale green of the onyx, all which forms a harmonious and restful colour palette and gives the already large spaces a whole new linearity.
The main bar area currently houses “Dialogues between history and contemporaneity”, a yearlong exhibition cycle curated by art historian and critic Brigida Mascitti and specifically created for the hotel lobby and designed to foster dialogue between hospitality, art and creativity.
Rome professor of sculpture, Alessandra Porfidia is currently showing an exhibition until April, featuring six mixed media works on canvas and exploring landscape, light and shadow.
Close by is the Cognac Lounge for indulging in cigars and spirits and the 1930s restaurant where a hearty breakfast with the tastiest Italian produce is served, along with a masterpiece lunch menu.
Bedrooms also have high ceilings, marble floors and the light colours which dominate the furnishings and upholstery, giving out a brilliant luminosity, enhanced by the size of the windows and providing lovely views across the streets.
With the comfiest of beds, good sized bathrooms, exotic toiletries, refreshment stations and huge televisions, the rooms are perfection.
A swift ride in the lift to the Organics Sky Garden is for people watching on the pleasant terraces and an inviting heated swimming pool, plus a dive into the Sky Blu Restaurant serving light dishes.
The biggest surprise is to be found in the basement of the building which once housed the bank’s deposit of values and is guarded by the original imposing armoured vault door which still works today and is home to the spa providing different experiences in the wet and dry area to encourage relaxation along with a fitness centre.
Out and about and a great way of sightseeing easily and taking in such delights as the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Pantheon and the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, is via the Big Bus Tours hop on, hop off. There’s lots of combinations to suit time and attraction restrictions, with a bonus being the onboard knowledgeable commentary.
If marble is a passion, a visit to the Galleria Borghese is a must. Housing some of the world’s masterpieces from Gian Lorenzo Bernini, including dynamic Baroque works like Apollo and Daphne, The Rape of Proserpine, Davod, Aeneas and Anchises and Goar Amalthea to neoclassical sculptures like Canova’s “Venus Victrix”.
The Helen and Paris Room has a tartan twist to it, with Scottish painter and antiquary, Gavin Hamilton (1723 to 1798) creating the beautiful ceiling inspired by the ancient Greek poem Iliad between 1782 and 1784.
It’s a wonderful way to spend a few hours, admiring the sculptures and art work by such greats as Caravaggio, Raphael, Titian, Correggio, Antonello da Messina and Giovanni Bellini.
The Details
Aleph Rome Hotel – Curio Collection by Hilton, Via di San Basilio, 15, Rome, 00187, Italy.
Tel: + 39 06 422 9001
Website: www.hilton.com
Email: FCOAHFO@hilton.com
Right in the heart of the action in the city centre, the hotel can be reached from the city’s two airports by public transport which takes around 40 minutes to reach Rome Termini Station and then a 15 minute stroll (it takes just as long on public transport due to the traffic, so walking is easier).
Type of Hotel: 5-Star Hotel
Number of Rooms: 80 rooms, 5 signature suites and 10 junior suites
Price Band: Under 18’s stay free when sharing a room with a paying adult on a room only basis, with breakfast and valet parking extra. Pets can be catered for at a fee. Special offers are available via the hotel’s website.
Insider Tip: Rome is served by two airports, Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport, the primary international hub and Ciampino-G.B. Pastine Airport, catering for the low cost airlines, which fly out of all major airports in the UK and APH Parking can help with long stay or hotels with parking.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10/10
Author Bio:
Rebecca Hay is an experienced travel writer and member of The British Guild of Travel Writers. Follow her adventures with her family on Twitter and Instagram @emojiadventurer and on Facebook via EmojiAdventurers2.
Photographs courtesy of Aleph Rome Hotel
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