W Hotels has debuted in Italy with the opening of W Rome. The property, housed across two 19th-century palazzos transformed by New York-based firm Meyer Davis, brings together the city’s traditional architecture and cultural heritage with a reinterpretation of Roman glamour.
“The juxtaposition of W Hotels’ dynamism against the 19th-century palazzos that the hotel inhabits makes it a standout, and we’ve threaded that juxtaposition throughout the hotel interiors,” says Meyer Davis co-owner and principal designer Gray Davis. “We love that Rome is a city that expresses so many time periods at once—there is so much history there that you feel just walking around. This hotel is a playful, experiential representation of that unique energy that we think is going to be a fresh addition to hospitality there.”
The open and airy W Lounge heralds the arrival experience, complete with skylights and patterned glass windows that pour light into the space. An eclectic range of colorful leather furniture is featured before stone walls that reinforce the history of the site against a contemporary context. Elegant sculptures are also installed atop black and gray marble floors while a striking handpainted mural by artist Costanza Alvarez de Castro that echoes traditional Roman gardens.
All 147 guestrooms and 15 suites are crafted to mirror an urban apartment. Open living spaces are wrapped with floor-to-ceiling windows accented by red wine-toned velvet curtains and wooden herringbone-patterned floors. Bold graphic prints vibrantly inject interiors with burnt orange, dramatic red, and foliage greens as well. The Extreme WOW suite blurs indoors and outdoors with an expansive terrace that extends from the presidential accommodation where historic Roman architecture is referenced via a range of décor.
The signature Giano Restaurant anchors the hotel’s F&B lineup, while Giardino Clandestino occupies a central open-air courtyard that serves as a versatile social hub as well. A rooftop terrace crowns the W Rome with a plunge pool and the Otto Rooftop Bar that overlook panoramic views of the city.
“What we love about Rome is this layering of past and present that you get when you experience such an old city with so much history. We wanted to create a hotel that gives guests that same energy,” adds fellow co-owner and principal designer Will Meyer.
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