Luxury Travel Advisor - September 2007 - (Page 20) DESTINATIONS VILLA SPALLETTI’s 12 guest rooms are filled with antique furnishings and accents. Roman Holiday The Eternal City’s exclusive small hotels provide the ultimate in Italian R&R. BY SHARRI WHITING DE MASI Rome’s discreet small hotels cater to discriminating travelers seeking both luxury and privacy. They are places to nest, hidden away on narrow streets or far above the cacophony of the sidewalks. Villa Spalletti Trivelli (www.villaspalletti. it), a grand villa built by the Contessa Gabriella Spalletti in 1905, sits on a quiet street near the Quirinale (residence of the Italian president) and the Trevi Fountain. Inside the hotel, which opened at the end of 2006, are public rooms filled with antiques and ancient books. Somehow, Sales Manager Maria Merra (39-64-745-240) and the staff have managed to make a relaxing atmosphere amid the formality. Behind the villa, elegant Italianate gardens are ideal for weddings or very special events. Up the grand staircase (there’s also an elevator), 12 rooms are decorated with more antiques, sumptuous fabrics, wood paneling and linens from Flanders that are embroidered with the family crest of the owners. Suites and rooms are offered individually or in a variety of combinations to make apartments or two presidential suites. For example, one of two Presidential Suites, the Quirinale includes a large Prestige Room called Monti, a living room with a fireplace and a second Prestige Room, Trevi. Either the Trevi or the Monti can be booked separately as a double. Merra can create a combination of Prestige Rooms to make suites and apartments tailored to the needs of guests. Most of the guests at Villa Spalletti Trivelli find themselves eating in. The dining room is beautiful, and the chef, Pasquale D’Auria from Sorrento, is a dream in the kitchen. He can whip up a private dinner for as many as 26 and holds individual cooking classes and tastings. Tip: Ask him for his special Sorrento limoncello recipe, or at least a bottle and a couple of glasses. After that, wander into the wellness center, where Dr. Gisella Stramer will organize an oil massage in the tepidarium. Another new entry into Rome’s luxury boutique hotel market is St. George Roma (www.stgeorgehotel.it) on the prestigious Via Giulia, in a restored palazzo designed by Bramante in 1508. Five hundred years later, architect Lorenzo Bellini used jet-lag-dispelling materials: taupe walls, greens, greys and browns, as well as pickled oak floors in the 64 contemporary rooms and glossy travertine 20 LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | September 2007 http://www.villaspalletti.it http://www.villaspalletti.it http://www.stgeorgehotel.it
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