Hotel Scenario

Tucked down an unassuming side street in the heart of Rome, practically right around the corner from the Pantheon, is a hidden gem: Hotel Scenario stands behind the façade of a well-worn 17th-century palazzo, but its interiors are pure 21st-century design-hotel chic. That is, 21st-century Roman-style — designers Studio MORQ have installed contemporary-luxe fixtures and furnishings, and reorganized the hotel into clean-lined, modernist spaces, but they’ve left intact plenty of antique elements, like frescoes, columns, timbered ceilings, and weathered stone staircases.

The result is a glamorous jumble of the old and the new, just like the city itself. Acqua di Parma bath products and a full complement of high-tech amenities place these rooms in luxury-boutique territory. Though mostly monochrome, its interiors feature dramatic contrasts between light and dark; the spa is a particularly transformative space, which suits its purpose well. The residential atmosphere is underscored by the fact that there’s no hotel restaurant — but not only are you quite literally surrounded by the best that Rome has to offer, you’re a ten-minute walk from Hotel dei Barbieri, the Scenario’s sister, which features a small and stylish restaurant of its own.