Review: Bulgari Hotel Rome, Italy

Maybe it is just me but I don’t go to Rome to spend time at a hotel. Hotel in Rome is to store my luggage, take a shower and sleep. Nothing else. Why go to Rome to visit the hotel gym, hotel spa, hotel bar, hotel restaurant, hotel cafe, …..? Rome has so many amazing things to explore, so many cafes, restaurants, etc… that even if breakfast was included I would not eat at the hotel at all. Quick check in, drop bags and get out.

Looks good.

You mention Rocco Forte a few times.

I actually think the Rocco Forte Hotel de la Ville is better and with a better location/ view than the de Russie which you mention. Had a phenomenal stay at the de la Ville last year and would return in a heartbeat. Right at the top of the Spanish steps. Amazing experience. Would recommend over the de Russie no question.

I've read before here that you like to travel in casual clothes so do you have clothes that you only pack for hotel stays like this and do you enjoy the dressing up part of it?

@ Nikojas -- Hah, good question. Left to my own devices, I'd always wear athleisure clothes. However, I also travel with a couple of button downs, collared shirts, and khakis. So when we went outside to walk around I'd be in my usual casual clothes, though when visiting the outlets at the hotel, I dressed up just a bit. Frankly it's the same I'd do if I were visiting any semi-fancy restaurant or bar in Europe.

@ Jason -- Great point! I haven't stayed at either, but have heard good things about both. I just added a mention to both Rocco Forte properties to the review.

No offense but the comment about portion sizes.... that half of the pasta looks extremely tiny, almost to parody levels.

I have been to Rome so many times in my life because I have family there and I can't agree more with what you are saying. The thought of going to Rome and not exploring beyond the hotel feels blasphemous. It's one of the few cities in the world where I would skip hotel breakfast, even if it was free, to go to an espresso bar and have a cornetto and cappuccino in proper Italian fashion. There are also tons of places to grab an aperitivo before heading off to dinner at one of the city's many wonderful restaurants. My preference is for the ones in the Trastevere neighbourhood.

We are on the same page here. I stayed at the St Regis last time I was there and even with included breakfast we skipped it every day to eat at local coffee shops in the city. I just can understand spending that much money eating at a hotel restaurant when you have hundreds of amazing options for a fraction of the price around the city.

You must be new here.

No, I am not and I understand the business here is to review hotels but at €1,600/night in Rome I scratch my head on how many readers really care for the review of the hotel restaurant.

It’s good that a hotel realizes that the Roman Empire lasts forever.
Apart from that: yes, very nice hotel, but prices are way too high. I was surprised that, apart from the crazy breakfast prices, the prices in the all day dining restaurant were halfway reasonable.

Whether or not there are too many of these luxury nonpoint hotel reviews is oft-debated here. That being said since the review is being made, it wouldn’t be complete without discussing the restaurants.

I'm less than a month out - a review of the new IC Ambasciatori would have been buenisimo! As far as points hotels go, the Waldorf outside of town looks interesting as well.

That steam room picture made my day

@ Santastico -- Totally fair question! Honestly, we were in town from the afternoon until early morning. We went on a fun three hour stroll around town, and enjoyed that. However, part of what I do for a living is review travel experiences, so a one-night stay is also a great way to thoroughly review a hotel. If I weren't in the business of reviewing hotels, we definitely wouldn't have experienced as many of the hotel's facilities. Then again, if travel weren't my business, I also wouldn't travel so much, so...

Another great POINTS review :0)

This is pretty much true for any city hotels. I'm not there to eat at the hotel or enjoy the hotel amenities. I'm there to sleep, shower, rest, and keep my stuff. Most of the time, I'm out and about.

Resorts is where I feel staying at nicer places is worth the money.

Double that plate would be a typical size for Italy. Pasta is a “primo” or “first dish”. It’s a smaller portion with the idea being you order a “secondo” as well

There is a point to the review.

Staying in a luxurious place, be it home or hotel, can always be seen as frivolous.

Bed, shower, toilet, kitchen (not in a hotel). What else do you need?

I've stayed at very luxury properties around the world, Cheval Blanc, Aman, Belmond etc.

I've stayed at reasonably nice ones too, Ritz-Carltons, Park Hyatts and the like.

I've stayed at comfortable luxury type places, Intercontinental, Hyatt Regency, Westin and such.

I've even stayed at 'budget' accommodations either due to crazy prices owing to a conference/event in town, or lack of better options in the city (Innsbruck one example). Hotels I'd put in this category would be AC Hotels, Holiday Inn's, Best Westerns, and the like.

Put it this way, staying at Cheval Blanc, I feel pampered and surrounded by the best of everything in terms of consumable items. Cuisine is too high end to eat all the time, but great as a one off fine dining meal.

At Amans I feel at peace with the earth and its beauty, a design language that speaks of the beauty of simplicity and working with the world's natural form. Cuisine is annoying, boring but quality Italian and Japanese. Not creative.

At Belmond hotels, I feel a sense of place and history. Cuisine is understated luxury, with just the right balance of creativity, flavour and being formal but not too formal.

At Four Seasons hotels, I know I will get a good bed and shower, and attentive service. The design 9/10 times will be bang up to date (some FS hotels are not), and the decor will be a little boring. Dining will range from excellent (FS George V Paris, FS Dubai, FS Hong Kong, to diabolical - FS Milan).

Ritz Carlton, Park Hyatt, these options do seem a little pointless to me. The rooms are often nice but not as comfortable and practical as Four Seasons. Sense of place is either non existent (RC) or exaggerated and a falsely pretentious interpretation (Park Hyatt) The F&B at Ritz Carltons can be interesting, but not always. Park Hyatt have nice options but always feel too much like Hotel restaurants. I don't think other brands suffer so much of this syndrome.

To me save your money and go for a standard Hyatt, or Intercon.

Whilst there is nothing wrong with an AC Hotel, and I did still enjoy the cities when I stayed in such hotels, it's often a terrible shower, less comfortable bed and strange quirks, like AC Hotel would not send water up to the room even if I was willing to pay.

Parched off a flight, with a less than ideal bathing and sleeping experience, sure I will survive but its not something I would elect for.

I've stayed at Bulgari Milan, Dubai and visited the one in Tokyo. All were very comfortable and I did not experience such issues.

Is €1600 too much for this - well that depends on your wealth... its not really a matter of whether anyone cares for it!

This building is a great example of the Rationalist style that developed in Italy in the 1920s & 30s. It's unfortunate but true that the ideas behind Rationalism - that our built environment can be understood through science and ordered appropriately - flow from the same ideology as Italian Fascism. That association and the fact that lots of the grand Rationalist projects in Rome were built by the Mussolini government has tarnished these (imo) gorgeous buildings. There's a recent resurgence in popularity, and in another fashion connection, the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, a Rationalist masterpiece, was restored and is now the headquarters of Fendi.

I agree with Luis. I took this approach to a recent trip to Portugal, paying a premium for two great resorts before returning to a nice, well-located hotel in Lisbon to end the trip. Couldn't have been more pleased with my choices.

I'm sure it was very comfortable, but the bathroom looks poorly lit, which is one of my pet hates in hotels.

I know Marriott manages Bulgari hotels but I don't understand why they are available for booking through Marriott's booking channels if stays don't earn points and points can't be used for stays. How many people are actually booking Bulgari directly through Marriott?

dang...this review reads like someone "licked the plate clean right up till the last crumb"

This is one of the most unfortunate buildings in that part of Rome, having said that, what a transformation from what it was in the past. Do you know if the Spa sells the The Vert Bulgari scented products? I cannot find them anywhere these days. I'll be in Rome in a few months and will schlep down that way for coffee (cafe peru!) and if it is possible to purchase from the hotel, I'll happily check my bag home.

How can someone spend so much money in decoration for such a depressing result : tiny lobby, lobby lounge and rooms with old 50's something furniture,
sinister hallways ...
Except the terrazza of the bar, everything is sad and the atmosphere does not reflect the feeling it should in a place like Rome.
Look how decorators such as Peter Marino or P.Y. Rochon can literrally can transform places, a pitty for a brand like Bulgari.

keep in mind his literal JOB is to review hotels and its facilities lol....did u forget what you were reading..?

its his literal JOB to review hotels and its facilities lol....did u forget what you wwere reading??

"How many people are actually booking Bulgari directly through Marriott?"

perhaps that's the whole reason they don't participate?