Inside a New Luxurious Oasis in the Heart of Rome

The Eternal City is now eternally crowded. Any memory of jostle-free sidewalks or last-minute Borghese tickets has long since faded as tourists have flocked to Rome, with many in the industry expecting this year to surpass numbers from 2019. Despite Rome’s many churches, a sense of peace may be hard to come by. That is, unless you’ve chosen your hotel with the idea of it being a refuge, a place of calm, in this magical but manic metropolis.

Last month I visited one of Rome’s newest luxury hotels whose very purpose seems to be providing such an oasis for its guests—Six Senses Rome. The latest outpost of the luxury hotel group, it’s also the latest selection for The Daily Beast’s series on exciting new properties, Room Key.

The hotel is in the heart of Rome a couple of doors down from the oft-overlooked Galleria Doria Pamphilj and a few blocks in either direction to the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. It is housed inside what was once a cardinal’s palace, the 18th-century Palazzo Salviati Cesi Mellinia. It’s a building that has lived many lives, housing everything from a cinema to a bank, and now a high-end hotel. Its history has made it the perfect canvas to combine the old with new as Six Senses has done.

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The initial impression you receive when encountering this building is still that of walking-in a Roman palace thanks to the large centuries-old columns and the travertine-covered walls. But after passing through an arch set between columns of swirling gray and white marble one is introduced to a completely different atmosphere. Covered in luscious green plants hanging from hefty steel beams and a ceiling made of glass panels, this open space feels like you are now in a contemporary structure. Ensconced here in modernity, a welcome refreshment is brought to you while you finish up check-in before you head once more back into history. The elevator is located next to the palace’s original marble staircase, a dramatic reminder of Renaissance Rome.

Rome is all too often a checklist city, leaving you racing around trying to gobble up as much of 2,000 years of history that you can. Most are loath to be the “spending downtime in the hotel” types of visitors. But the new Six Senses seems designed to remind you that it’s OK to slow down, to have a space to succumb and lounge.

Part of that comes from when you enter one of the 96 rooms and suites. Decorated in a more contemporary aesthetic, you could think for a second you are in a luxury room anywhere in the world with the oak accent walls and closet, suspended plants, and soft colors. If you care to look closer, though, the Roman elements start to appear. The floors of travertine, the traditional cocciopesto plastered walls (a technique used in ancient Rome utilizing recycled pottery and bricks), and local artwork. The plastered walls are not the only sustainable materials inside the room, as most of the space has been carefully curated to be environmentally responsible as part of the Six Senses brand commitment to sustainability.

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BIVIUM Restaurant-Café-Bar is the hotel’s signature restaurant and the fresh and uncomplicated cuisine inspired by Ancient Rome is served in a dramatic room topped by a half-closed oculus of, you guessed it, travertine. Drinks and little bites can also be found on the hotel’s roof with its views of “the typewriter” as the Altare della Patria is cheekily referred to. One can also see the neighboring San Marcello al Corso which had its facade restored by the hotel as its first community project.

The star space in the whole property might be the spa, which makes sense since Six Senses is synonymous with health and wellness. The space is a modern take on the Roman bath, with three plunge pools, a sauna, Hammam, and multiple treatment rooms. One of those was unique, at least for me as I’d never tried sound therapy. Meant to help with the jet lag, a bit of gong work takes place during your treatment. Now, I can’t claim that it was the sole source alleviating my jet lag, but I did sleep like a baby that night.

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