Hotel review: Inside the exquisite Anantara Rome, built on history

Bernadette Chua soaks up the sight of the magnificent Anantara Palazzo Naiadi Rome on a whirlwind trip to the Eternal City.

As I throw open the cathedral windows at sunset, overlooking the dazzling views of the Piazza della Repubblica, I feel like I am in a Fellini film.

Water is spurting from the Fountain of the Naiads as cars and mopeds zip around on a bustling Friday night. 

There are teenagers sitting on the steps, drinking bottles of beer while people pour out from the metro station. It’s the perfect Roman summer evening.

This is where the stunning Anantara Palazzo Naiadi Rome Hotel is located – just a stone’s throw away from Rome’s main Termini rail station and a 20-minute walk to the Spanish Steps.

The Anantara Palazzo Naiadi is the first Italian property from the luxury Thai group, which is known for its beautiful resorts across Asia. And the group has worked hard to not only make the hotel a sumptuous place to stay but an experience in itself. 

The site was originally two porticoed semi-circular private palaces built in 1887 by the famous Italian architect Gaetano Koch. About 20 years ago, the palaces were combined into the Naiadi Palace, a luxury hotel run by the Boscolo group. After changing hands several times, Anantara’s parent, Minor Hotel Group, renovated and relaunched the property in 2021. 

Serving as one of the locations in Lady Gaga’s hit movie, House of Gucci (2021), this grand dame hotel has turned into a cool and funky home-away-from-home for chic European and American travellers, but also for the Roman glitterati.

It’s the portico and the entrance to the hotel which take your breath away. Gilded with huge bouquets of flowers and hanging wisteria, guests are guided by the staff up the red carpet to the hotel which then opens to a magnificent marbled lobby. 

Here on the ground floor, there is a coffee bar for breakfast pastries and espresso nestled in the corner, as well as an opulent round bar area decorated with velvet banquettes and adorned with a huge ancient chandelier. 

The original hotel had good bones, built with classic Italian marble and fine woodwork everywhere. Anantara has taken the structure and made the interiors modern and funky. 

Downstairs, just off the Lobby Bar, is the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, INEO, which has just 28 seats. The executive chef Heros de Agostinis was born just a few hundred metres away, and he has incorporated memories of his life, including shopping with his grandmother in the Esquilino Market in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. Today, he visits the same market to source vegetables and spices.

His experience working at Michelin-starred restaurants, luxury hotels and under the tutelage of big names like Joel Robuchon can be seen in the refinement of his cooking. In the evening, there is a seven-course tasting menu that draws inspiration from the places Agostinis has worked at, both in Italy and overseas. His dish, Between the Amalfi Coast and the Middle East Passing Through Rome, is a charcoal-grilled Amalfi lemon filled with veal sweetbreads, courgettes and black lime sauce. It is a true melding of flavours from different worlds. 

Another highlight, From Rome to India, A Stop-Over in Greece, is a saddle of lamb tikka masala, Greek fave meze, buttermilk and mint is a reflection of his time working at some of the top hotels in South Asia. 

Upstairs, Anantara has opened up one of the largest rooftop bars in Rome and has sweeping views across the city. The indoor/outdoor setting stretches to a pool area which turns into a nightclub by 10pm on a Friday and Saturday night – you’ll see women clicking down the hall in their Tom Ford heels and Versace dresses. But the food is exceptional at the rooftop. Seen by Olivier is a fusion restaurant that combines Italian, Brazilian and Japanese flavours. It’s a fun juxtaposition of crowds, with the young hustling at the bar for cocktails while cool middle-aged Roman couples with their oversized Celine glasses and Chanel tote bags enjoy a late-night meal.  

The room and suites are large for a Roman hotel and there is an interesting mix from a 22-square-metre room that overlooks the central courtyard to the 186-square-metre Presidential Suite. There are also two-level loft duplexes, which overlook the Palazzo Naiadi and have a separate sitting area downstairs while a delicious king-sized bed sits on the mezzanine. 

In true Italian fashion, the décor is rich and heavy with light-coloured chesterfields and marble coffee tables. The bathroom, though, is something to be marvelled at. There are twin sinks, again, with typical Italian marble, as well as a whirlpool bathtub and large walk-in shower. Guests are provided with an array of Acqua di Parma amenities and thoughtful extras like a shaving kit, hairbrush and dental kits. 

The rooms too have automatic blackout shades and light settings, so you don’t have to stumble down from your mezzanine bedroom in the dark. There is also a mini bar and, of course, a Nespresso machine. 

Some of the other suites and rooms have balconies and terraces, where the butlers will serve cocktails for aperitivo hour or even room service.

Like most sites in Rome – as my taxi driver tells me, “You dig, and then you find an ancient rock” – the hotel is suspended over ruins of the Baths of Diocletian and today, guests can see the excavated foundations, mosaics and pools. This is where Rome’s rich and powerful would come and sit for a gasbag while taking in the healing waters of the bath. 

Anantara is known for its spa and wellness rituals, and the team in Italy has created a menu that uses the ancient rituals of the Romans. I am scheduled in for a two-hour Diocletian Spa & Bath Ritual which costs €240 (about AU$400). They use ingredients the Romans used to regenerate and rebalance – things like sage, lavender, laurel, St John’s wort, olive oil and honey. 

I’m scrubbed and rubbed and wrapped in mud – all before a steam and a final flourish of a full body massage. Without a doubt, the feeling is heavenly, and I come out looking like a young Sophia Loren (or so I would like to think).

Aside from personal shopping and butler service, Anantara Palazzo Naiadi also offers unique experiences organised by the concierge. Guests can explore Rome by Vespa or Cinquecento and zip through the cobbled alley like Gregory Peck. The three-hour tour in a double sidecar takes in sites like the Trevi Fountain, Villa Borghese and the Orange Garden. For the colder months, they’ll whip out a vintage Fiat 500 and finish the day with sunset over the city with a glass of prosecco in hand at the Belvedere del Gianicolo. They also offer Roman cooking classes. The chefs will take guests to the neighbourhood market to source fresh ingredients to make pasta, pizza and gelato. 

On the Eat, Pray, Love excursion, guests are taken around the narrow streets of Monti, Travestere, Testaccio and Trevi to see the imperial ruins and centuries-old churches, as well as family-run trattorias and bohemian co-ops. Tours are guided, with the option of transportation by golf cart or limousine.

There is a swarm of beautiful, luxurious five-star hotels in Rome, but there is something truly special and unique about the Anantara Palazzo Naiadi. It’s the perfect embodiment of modern-day Rome – warm, sophisticated and chic, but a little bit gritty, incorporating history into its present and future. 

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Need to know

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Location:

The Anantara Palazzo Naiadi sits just outside Rome’s historic district, but it’s nicely within walking distance. The Spanish Steps is just a 20-minute walk away, and if you take the metro from right outside the hotel, it’s just a few stops to the Vatican.

Hot tip:

Go for sunset drinks at the hotel’s Seen by Olivier Rooftop Bar where the music is chill and the vibe is calm. If you are staying over the weekend, the music starts pumping after sundown and it’s hard to find a seat.

Price:

A Deluxe Room on a weeknight starts from about $655 per night. With breakfast, the price rises to $753 per night. Duplex Suite Piazza Views, which can sleep four people, start from $2077.

Find out more information click here.

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