The Aleph Rome Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton, occupies a 1930s former bank on a quiet street beside Via Veneto in the heart of Rome. The impressive entrance, with marble lions guarding the door sets the scene for the hotel’s classic elegance. Expect a heated rooftop pool overlooking the city, while the spa and fitness suite is found in the old bank vault. Executive Chef Carmine Buonanno cooks contemporary Italian cuisine at the rooftop Sky Restaurant.
Lazio, Rome, Via Veneto
Aleph Rome Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton
(5 stars)The Arrival
Rome is one of Europe’s most magnificent capitals, a city that hums with history, contemporary urban life and breathtaking beauty. Arriving here carries all the anticipation of a classic Roman holiday, and few places can capture that spirit more than The Aleph Rome Hotel, on Via di San Basilio, a residential street with restricted traffic, so the taxi drops you into chic calm rather than city chaos. You pass the heavy wooden doors of the former Cassa di Risparmio bank and climb the green-carpeted marble steps between two time-worn marble lions that have guarded this entrance since the 1930s, the walls of yellow and green cipollino marble rising on either side.
The lobby keeps its old-school glamour, a coffered ceiling highlighted with gold, marble pilasters and panelled walls and a Murano chandelier. The lobby bar welcomes you with harlequin-patterned armchairs and contemporary art on the walls, part of the hotel’s ‘Dialogues between history and contemporaneity’ series, which changes every quarter.
The Team
The welcome is warm and attentive from the first moment you arrive, and over the stay it becomes clear what this hotel is about. Some Roman hotels trade on a see-and-be-seen scene. The Aleph is about classic hospitality, a guest made to feel at home by a team that is positive and clearly motivated. That comes from General Manager Valeria Fruscio, who came up through revenue management and puts much of her energy into the people side of the business. Her motto is that anything can be fixed except the first five minutes.
You can read The Luxury Editor’s interview with Valeria here.
Guests are an international mix of business and leisure travellers, many from North America, drawn in part by Hilton Honors, which lets members earn and redeem points for nights at the hotel.
The Suite
Our Junior Suite was generous in size, with high ceilings lit from a concealed cove, the marble floor softened by a kilim rug and furnishings in taupe and ivory. The touch of sparkle came from the oversized buttoned velvet backlit headboard. A bottle of sparkling wine on ice was waiting with strawberries, macarons and chocolates, together with the hotel’s signature green tote bag as a gift. The room is well equipped, and the large marble bathroom, while slightly dated, was impeccably maintained and generous with amenities, from the Codage Paris lotions and soap to a full care kit in a canvas pouch. The street below stayed quiet all night, a luxury when staying in a capital city.
The City
Rome, of course, beckons. Every street reveals another layer of imperial history going back two thousand years. The Colosseum, the Vatican Museums, as well as the piazzas and the fountains are on most people’s lists. Barberini metro is a few minutes from the door, which makes exploring the city so easy, without the need for a driver. I always try to include a little slow travel, like a Campari spritz and aperitivo at Ciampini Roma.
If you arrive by car, the area around the hotel is a restricted traffic zone, so send the hotel your registration in advance and they register it with the city. Valet parking is available or alternatively you can self-park in a garage in the neighbouring block.
The Spa
Back at the hotel, book a treatment at Le Caveau by Narducci Hair & Spa on the lower ground floor. The original armoured door of the bank vault, a slab of steel and bronze with bolts the size of your hand, still swings open, and behind it is now the gym. My massage began with a choice of aromatherapy oils, before relaxing on the wide, heated treatment bed. The wellness area also offers a hammam, a sauna, and a small indoor pool for afterwards. The spa can be booked privately for couples or groups.
The Rooftop and Sky Restaurant
In a city with this many remarkable restaurants, you might not think of eating in the hotel. But in my opinion that would be a mistake. Instead, on the night you arrive, tired from travelling, take the lift to the sixth floor for drinks and dining. Here’s you’ll find the Organics Sky Garden terrace with its white parasols and loungers around the heated pool. The bar team presents their signature cocktails on a cube, each drink inspired by a different corner of the city, and bartender Lorenzo Politano and his colleagues have captured each one in their liquid creativity.
On the other side of the rooftop terrace is Sky Restaurant. In the style in a typical Roman trattoria it offers a menu of contemporary, seasonal Italian cooking presented in a way that is evocative of a starred dining room. Executive Chef Carmine Buonanno trained in Alfonso Iaccarino’s two-Michelin-starred Don Alfonso kitchen and was previously Executive Chef at Gran Meliá Villa Agrippina. Here his cuisine is Mediterranean with Roman roots.
Chef Carmine composed a tasting menu for us, an omakase of sorts, drawn from the à la carte menu. Pre-starters arrived on little white porcelain towers, a pastry cup of whipped cream and dark pearls, a fried parcel with pea shoots, two crisp biscuits piped with cream. Then seared scallops on pea purée with a squid ink tuile and an ’nduja crust, and a remarkable plate of courgette with almond sorbet, mint and a stuffed courgette flower. This was entirely vegan and a highlight of the evening for its textures, freshness and flavour.
Tubetto Benedetto Cavalieri came next, the little pasta tubes glossy with scampi, Colonnata lard and thyme, the dish General Manager Valeria suggests every first-timer to order. Linguine alla Nerano followed, the courgette and Provolone del Monaco pasta from the Amalfi coast, and then grilled red tuna belly, sliced pink and sea-salted, with apricot gazpacho, tarragon and a spiced sauce. The accompanying wines were international, with a Seaward Chenin Blanc from Spier in South Africa to start, and also a Villa Russiz Pinot Grigio from the Collio hills of Friuli. This estate was founded in 1868, and it remains a philanthropic endeavour, supporting a foundation for children. Dessert was chocolate five ways, sorbet, gianduia cream, a warm fondant, cocoa crumble and a lace butterfly, with a glass of sweet red alongside. Petit fours arrived on a pair of ceramic ‘straw’ hats. Chapeau to the pastry chef.
Final Thoughts
The Aleph Rome Hotel finds the perfect balance between being part of Hilton’s sought-after, global Curio Collection, and its own distinctive Roman personality.
