GRAND HOTEL VIA VENETO

With Villa Borghese as a backdrop, this 5-star, 116-room property offers some of the ambience once enjoyed by celebrities of the 1950s such as Audrey Hepburn, Gary Cooper, Liz Taylor, Orson Welles and Ava Gardner.

Opened about ten years ago, renovation of the hotel meant combining two 19th century buildings. Decor here is Italian ‘30s art deco glamorous, reminiscent of Frederico Fellini’s classic movie ‘La Dolce Vita,’ with heavily lacquered mahogany woods in shades of brown, some with black borders, and complex grains vividly highlighted.

‘Time Restaurant Wine Bar’ serves Italian specialties and ‘Magnolia’ restaurant under the guidance of Michelin-star chef Franco Madama entices with more refined options. Leisure facilities are also rewarding at Grand Hotel Via Veneto, the highlight being its impressive, 500 sqm Aqva Spa, composed of glittering polychromous marble. One of the largest spas in the historic city center, it comprises treatment rooms, a sauna, Jacuzzi, hammam and an invigorating salted-water Vitality Pool.