Fodor's Expert Review Grand Hotel de la Minerve

Piazza della Minerva 69, Rome, Latium, 00186, Italy

Editor's Note: This property is currently undergoing renovations.

Once one of Rome's landmark fixtures, this 17th-century palazzo used to be a favorite address for everyone from Stendhal to Sartre, along with a bevy of the crowned (and the uncrowned—Carlotta, the deposed empress of Mexico, resided here for a while). However, many wouldn't recognize the former grand hotel following its zillion-dollar renovation two decades ago: results were mixed, from the gaudy (that glass lobby ceiling) to the great (the rooftop restaurant, which allows you to almost touch the dome of the Pantheon). Happily, it retains its prime position in a lovely piazza that is home to Bernini's elephant obelisk, just around the corner from Hadrian's mighty temple. Though many of the rooms have had a face-lift in recent years, several guest rooms lack the luster of a five-star luxury hotel and are in need of a makeover.

PROS

  • right by the Pantheon yet set on quiet Piazza della Minerva
  • some rooms have terraces
  • rooftop restaurant with amazing views

CONS

  • some rooms need updating and lack common five-star-hotel amenities
  • Internet can be spotty
  • plumbing problems in some of the rooms

QUICK FACTS

Hotel
Sophisticated
Central
$$$$

HOTEL INFO

Phones: 06-695201

HOTEL DETAILS

135 rooms
Rate Includes: No Meals

What’s Nearby