Check Into The Legendary Hotel Atop Rome’s Spanish Steps
The five-star Hassler Roma has hosted George Clooney, Leo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Daniel Craig, among other celebrity guests.
For over a century the Hassler Roma, at the top of the famed Italian city’s Spanish Steps, has been recognized as one of Europe’s legendary independently-owned five-star luxury hotels, synonymous with the highest quality of service, attention to detail and discretion. As the five-star, 87-room palazzo celebrates its 130th anniversary, it is poised to evolve into even more of an icon of high-end hospitality.
The titular anchor of Rome’s City Centre, the Hassler Roma is owned by the sixth generation of the Swiss hotelier dynasty that opened it in 1893. Its location alone would be reason enough to enter the doors into the grand Salone Eva lobby space, where it’s tea time or cocktail bar time, or just people-watching all the swells coming and going.
Not to mention its Palm Court garden, it’s bookshelf-lined bistro, and sixth-floor, Michelin-rated Imago restaurant, the latter of which boasts panoramic views of the 16th-century Trinità dei Monti church, Via Condotti, Via Veneto, the gardens of Villa Borghese. The hotel is also within minutes of landmarks such as the Pantheon, the Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Trevi Fountain.
One wonders if the staff, nearly all of them, have gone to cartography class. Ask where a boutique or restaurant or church is and they will hand-draw you a map—a keepsake if ever—to their whereabouts. Upon return to the Hassler Roma, staff will often seek you out, assuring you found your destination, and making further expert recommendations as needed.
Celebrities and diplomats over the years certainly have found their way to the Hassler. From Prince Rainier of Monaco and Grace Kelly on their honeymoon to Frank Sinatra, JFK, President Eisenhower, Princess Diana, Bill Gates, Roger Moore, Martin Scorcese, Cate Blanchett, Kiera Knightley, George Clooney, Leo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Daniel Craig all have stayed there. Over the decades films have showcased its visual glory, most memorably Roman Holiday starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. In more recent years, a Tom Cruise-driven Mission: Impossible placed a car chase on those immortalized steps. As it is forbidden to sit or shoot on them, the filmmakers replicated the Spanish Steps on a Hollywood back lot.
The design scheme of the luxurious rooms and lavish suites follow the entire palazzo’s, in rich ochres and reds. Comfort meets opulence, old-school style. Much of the upholstery is silk. All suites are decorated with European antiques with art masterpieces, both obscure and well known, on the walls. The hotel refurbishes ten rooms each year, keeping them up to speed with social media and modern needs, ensuring the legacy lives on and thrives. The suites all have separate living rooms with astounding views.
Swimming pools are rare in Rome, deemed almost gauche. Yet the Amorvero Spa, on the third floor, provides a state-of-the-art gym, as well as massages and facials. Besides simply being there in a slice of Roman history and privilege, the Imago restaurant is one of the finest in the city. After a 2017 renovation, it retains its subtly ambient elegance, and is further showcasing its 1,500- label wine cellar that holds one of the finest in Europe. Chef Andrea Antonini is a true master and one of the premiere chefs of Italy.
In 2017, after working at top European kitchens, he was asked to helm the Imago kitchen, and a year later earned the culinary gem its Michelin star. In 2023 he won the Best Young Chef Award from the Guida de L’Espresso. His menus are split between spring-summer and autumn-winter. Italy driven, seasonal ingredients, aesthetic presentations, and most importantly, flavor is all for him. He has said that he writes down his new ingredients in a dish as if it was a screenplay, culminating in dramatically prototypical dishes that are “beautiful, intriguing, playful.”
Start, or finish, with the cheese platter, which is inspired by the Italian peninsula. Refreshing summer-menu openers include wood-sorrel wild strawberries, peas and caviar, citrus and pollen sea bass, cucumber green-sauce lamb, porchetta-style beef sirloin, and apricots and mustard flowers with watermelon, almonds, and olive. Exemplary entrees include honey and butter gnocci with meat ragu sauce, Milanese-style squid, blackspot bream, and Cacciatora-style lamb.
Room service has its own menu, along with fine dining staples. The focaccia with spinach and ricotta and the parma-ham pizzas are just the ticket for simply looking out the windows in bed. And the Hassler Bar, annexed to the Salone Eva, is a cozy, hidden cocktail nook ideal for an aperitif or an after-dinner-drink. Surrounded by dark wood, red leather upholstery and gilded mirrors, it is like stepping back in time into a glamorous 1940s set, where one could imagine Humphrey Bogart or Audrey Hepburn walking in at any time.
Princess Diana once confessed to GM and owner Roberto Wirth that she had enjoyed the world’s best Bellini here, although she could not resist sampling the Hassler’s signature “Veruschka,” an invigorating mix of pomegranate juice and sparkling Italian wine, as well. Ands last but not least be sure to book a table on the epic rooftop terrace, and watch the sun drop over the Eternal City. This was in fact Hepburn’s favorite perch when filming in Rome, and it’s easy to see why. Saluti!
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