02The story

01

Rome is not a restful city, and Villa Agrippina is the reply to that. On Via del Gianicolo, above the Tiber and a short distance from the Vatican, the hotel occupies gardens and warm-toned terraces with a swimming pool at the centre of them, open in season.

It behaves like a resort that happens to have Rome outside the gate. Guest rooms wear their classical murals lightly, and the upper categories add private terraces and outdoor whirlpools. Follie is the serious dinner and Amaro, in a converted church, is where the aperitivo happens. The city is close and entirely unavoidable; the point of this address is having somewhere to come back from it, with the noise left on the other side of the wall.

02

A garden above the Tiber

The Via del Gianicolo address is close to the Vatican and the river, but the hotel does not open onto a street in the usual Roman manner. It opens onto its own grounds: planting, warm-toned terraces and, in season, the outdoor pool. That changes the shape of a day in Rome. The morning can be spent at full intensity in the city and the afternoon spent horizontal, without either half feeling like a compromise.

03

Murals, timber and glass

The rooms set large classical murals against timber floors, glass partitions and modern furniture, so the effect is Italian without being antique. The suites are where the hotel becomes interesting: selected categories come with private terraces or outdoor whirlpools, which in Rome is a genuine luxury rather than a listed amenity. Anyone staying three nights or more will use that outdoor space far more than they expect to.

04

Aperitivo in a church

Amaro Lobby Bar & Lounge occupies a converted church, which gives the first drink of the evening a setting few hotels can match, and the lighter dishes hold their own beside it. Follie handles dinner properly, Italian and formal in the good sense. In the warm months the Gala Pool Bar & Restaurant moves the whole business outside. The sequence is unimprovable: garden, then church, then table, then a very short walk to bed.

03Highlights

What sets it apart.

The signature moment

Seven in the evening, the garden cooling and the pool finally still. In the old church the lamps are lit and the first glasses are going out to the terrace. Somewhere beyond the wall Rome is starting its noise again, and dinner is a short walk across the grounds.

01Gardens near the Vatican
02Seasonal outdoor swimming pool
03Classical murals in the rooms
04Suites with private terraces
05Amaro in a converted church

04Meliá Bravos

Here, as a preferred guest.

01
Breakfast for two, every morning
Breakfast for two each morning, at the hotel’s own table: the first privilege of the day and the one most worth taking slowly.Breakfast at the Spanish hour, with no one minding if that turns out to be late.
02
A hotel credit to spend
A credit held in your name at the hotel, to spend as the stay suggests: a table, a treatment, an evening at the bar.A credit for the rooftop bar, the garden table or the spa, as the day suggests.
03
A room above your booking
An upgrade to the category above, so the room you return to each evening outranks the one on the confirmation.The next category up, with terrace and living space weighed ahead of square metres.
04
An earlier arrival
Check-in before the house’s usual hour: the overnight flight lands, the car draws up and the first day begins in your room.The room ready early, so the first afternoon is spent in the city, not the lobby.
05
A later departure
Check-out after the house’s usual hour, so the last morning is spent as the first was: at the table, by the pool or simply in the room.A last morning kept for the pool or the garden before the drive to the airport.
06
Known before you arrive
VIP recognition as a guest of the house: your preferences and the occasion known to the hotel before the door is opened for you.The house knows the occasion and the tastes of your party before you arrive.
07
Offers for preferred guests
The offers a programme keeps for its own preferred guests, extended to a Dip Needle booking and shown beside the rate for your dates.Bravos offers for the chosen address and dates, shown beside the rate before you decide.