Hotel Eden

A Dorchester Collection hotel on the Pincian Hill above the Spanish Steps, open since 1889, with 98 rooms and suites, the Michelin-starred La Terrazza and a rooftop Fellini loved.

When Hotel Eden opened in 1889, it was the first hotel in Rome with a lift, electricity, heating and running water. The building had gone up around 1887 as apartments, and the hotelier Francesco Nistelweck turned it into a hotel that his family ran for almost a hundred years. It stands on Via Ludovisi, on the Pincian Hill above the Spanish Steps, with the gardens of Villa Borghese close by.

Dorchester Collection took it on in September 2013 and reopened it in April 2017 after a complete restoration. There are 68 rooms and 30 suites, and classic rooms measure 28 to 35 sq m. Ingrid Bergman once lived in the Aurora Terrace Suite: 86 sq m inside, and a 120 sq m terrace that seats ten for dinner. The sixth-floor Bellavista Penthouse runs to 202 sq m, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a private lift.

The rooftop, a favourite of Federico Fellini, was once the laundry-drying area. The bar moved up there in the 1960s, and a restaurant followed in the 1970s. Today La Terrazza is a Michelin-starred restaurant under executive chef Salvatore Bianco, serving dinner from Tuesday to Saturday. Il Giardino Ristorante and Il Giardino Bar share the panoramic roof garden, where a vertical wall of handmade metal leaves faces a view from St Peter’s to the Borghese gardens. Above the lobby, La Libreria hides a secret bar behind mirrored doors.

The Eden Spa has two private spa suites with Valmont and HöbePergh treatments, and the fitness room is open 24 hours. Breakfast is charged separately: €45 for the Eden Breakfast, €35 for the Continental.