La Minerva Review: Orient Express’ first ever hotel opens in in a grand palazzo in Rome – steps from the Pantheon

Hugo brings his stylish eccentricity to the fore with an ode to Orient Express’ legendary carriages woven throughout Orient Express La Minerva. This is first seen as you step through the hotel’s grand marble-decked, glass-domed lobby where a statue of the hotel’s namesake goddess (Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom, war and crafts) stands guard over the cocktail bar. “Just don’t stare at her in the eyes if you want a good relationship,” the concierge warns me.

The rest of the hotel is an equal feast for the eyes, from the art deco concierge rooms to the bright all-day rooftop restaurant, Gigi’s, which comes with 360 views of Rome’s domed rooftops and landmarks and what’s set to be a glorious subterranean Turkish hammam and spa modelled on Roman baths which is still under construction. There’s also a Japanese restaurant inspired by 1920s Osaka in the works as well as a speakeasy, wine bar, and patisserie.

The 93 rooms and suites all come with their own unique designs and character – including different ceiling heights on different levels. Each bed comes with a hand-painted Roman sky above it and some of the lower level suites like the Stendhal Suite come with 17th-century ceiling frescoes (it’s also said to have a resident ghost.)

Everything is bespoke, handmade, hand-painted and designed by Hugo and his team (even the corridor fire extinguishers are tucked inside his own invention, a revolving wooden cabinet). When checking into my spacious room on the fifth floor I immediately fell in love with the grand marble shell-shaped sink in the bathroom. The beds are enormous, plush and dressed in Italian Rivolta Carmignani linen (who’s bedding was used on the original Orient Express), flanked by bedside tables which are designed to look like vintage trunks and each room has hand-painted tiles line the windows.

Piazza della Minerva, 69 , Rome, 00186, Italy
+39 06 84 42 90
laminerva.orient-express.com

PATRICK_LOCQUENEUX