When in Rome – or better yet before you go – remember the name Shedir. It is Hebrew for Cassiopeia, an ancient Greek mythological queen and a constellation in the northern sky easily recognized by the formation of five bright stars.
Those five “stars” reference the Shedir Collection of five exceptional hotels in the Roman capital, two of which, Vilón and Palazzo Vilón, I wrote about in WAG magazine – our former sister publication – a couple of years back. Since then, another three properties have been added – hotels with such innate, individual style and personal service that the name Shedir has been catapulted to the forefront of Rome’s great hotels.
Hotel Maalot
The former home of opera composer Gaetano Donizetti (“L’Elisir d’Amore,” “La Fille du Régiment,” to name but two), this palazzo, just steps away from the Trevi Fountain, has been carefully restored to pair timeless elegance with more than a dash of contemporary verve. The sumptuous decoration incorporates velvets, silks and brocades, its walls hung with portraits and Dutch still lives. The lighting is atmospheric, guaranteed to flatter, and the strikingly painted walls in the ground-floor public rooms and guest rooms could inspire Benjamin Moore for years to come.
In Maalot’s Don Pasquale restaurant – named for another Donizetti opera – the focaccia is superb, as fresh on the Sunday night I tried it as it would have been at the start of lunch service. At breakfast, homemade pasticceria, mini-cakes and treats both sweet and savory, and an elegantly presented individual fruit plate make an unusual and delicious start to the day. At lunch and throughout the day, the specialties from chef Domenico Boschi, a native Roman, include an original vitello tonnato, glorious ribbons of veal bathing in their rich tuna sauce, and a rich fusilli pasta with duck, dusted with black truffle. Don’t miss either.
Adjoining the restaurant is the boudoir-like bar, hidden away at the back of the hotel, the perfect place for an assignation, illicit or otherwise. It’s where bartender Alessandro mixes a mean Santa Clara – a kind of Mexican eggnog cocktail. Come high season, the bar will also make the perfect hideaway to escape the unforgiving Roman summer sun.
Standard rooms at Maalot are cozy, even a little tight for two, but they are beautifully appointed, decorated in zingy fabrics, ergonomically sound and with everything where you want it to be. My white marble bathroom was almost as big as the bedroom, with top-tier hardware and gleaming chrome. I particularly liked the Maalot-brand products and the notable absence of single-use plastics, plus, a new one for me — the toilet-tissue holder concealed behind a little square chrome door beside the toilet. It really was the cutest thing.
Umiltà 36
Less frivolous, a touch more sophisticated than its glamorous neighbor Maalot, Umiltà 36 is a new, rather grand city hotel, posing as the most intimate of boutique hotels. With its parquet floors, silk rugs, natural wood and leather upholstery, it owes its design aesthetic to upscale Roman apartments of the 1950s. That’s to say, it has flashes of exuberance – rich Moooi wallpapers and thought-provoking contemporary art – against a background of sober, quality craftsmanship. A touch retro, you could say, and you’d be right.
Guest rooms boast gorgeous linens, walk-in closets and great modern artwork, while suites come with well-appointed sitting rooms and kitchenettes complete with induction hob, microwave and a full set of china and cookware – ideal for longer stays. Russet marble bathrooms, too, are superbly kitted out, with double sinks, a free-standing bathtub and generous, high-quality products.
Like Maalot, Umiltà 36 (which takes its names from its street address,) is just steps away from the Trevi Fountain, with all of central Rome on the doorstep. At street level, the sky-lit, all-day Dandy café is something of a palm court, with vast planters of palms and yuccas and vases brimming with purple, pink and white flowers. Breakfast is served on striking duck-egg blue and gold china, with beautiful stem and flatware. Lunching ladies and local businessmen stepping in at lunchtime give the café an altogether different vibe.
And there’s another vibe altogether when the sun starts to set – up on the roof at the Terrazza Flores bar, with its well-crafted cocktails and heart-stopping, 360-degree views of the Eternal City.
Next door to the hotel, the Argentinian restaurant El Porteño acknowledges the well-established, bilateral Italo-Argentine relationship, celebrated by Shedir’s Argentinian owners. Porteño has beautiful tiled floors, old oak cabinets and black-and-white prints of ’50s movie stars – Buenos Aires on the Tiber. This is where the most succulent steaks meet Roman artichokes and South Americans ceviches, offering some of the most exciting food in the Italian capital right now. And do be sure to take a peek at the restaurant’s private, polo-themed dining room, which out-chukkers even Ralph Lauren in its, well, its polo-ness.
Palazzo Roma
Last but absolutely so not least is the new jewel of the Shedir Collection, the 16th-century Palazzo Roma.
I made a hard-hat inspection visit just a few weeks before the hotel – on Rome’s central street, the Corso – was due to open this December and was blown away by its magnificent marble staircase and its original frescoes and vast chandeliers, with whimsical flourishes from top Milan-based designer Giampietro Panepinto. Only the best would do for Panepinto – coffered ceilings, restored parquet floors, Versailles teak and the rarest marble – and that’s just the bathrooms in the 39-room, 19-suite property.
Public rooms, which include a music room and antique watch room, are breathtaking, and the immensely grand dining room, for which the word “restaurant” seems too mundane a term, will have you feeling you’re a latter-day Medici.
With a four-day minimum booking requirement, you’ll also need Medici-sized pockets to stay here, but I guarantee you an experience you will be unlikely to forget. The Renaissance – and renaissances — live on in the Palazzo Roma and the Shedir Collection.
For more, visit shedircollection.com.
Travel Talk’s Jeremy Wayne is a luxury travel adviser with Superior Travel of New York. Contact him at jeremy@superiortravel.com.
