Singer Palace Hotel Roma

For Catholics, the heart of Rome may be Vatican City; for sightseers, the Spanish Steps or the Trevi Fountain. For shoppers, however, the heart of the Eternal City is the Via del Corso, with its boutiques and luxury-brand flagships. This was also the heart of Rome for the Singer sewing-machine company, which built the Singer Palace here at the height of its powers nearly a century ago. Those days are gone, but this Art Deco palazzo remains, transformed by a local architect and a Milanese interior designer into a small luxury hotel in the contemporary Roman style.

This means a mixture of period architecture, contemporary art and decoration, and modern design furniture, along with luxe touches like parquet floors in the bedrooms and marble in the bathrooms. Double and Superior rooms are of a typically Roman size, while the Deluxes and the various suites are surprisingly spacious, especially given the Singer Palace’s prime location. In this town, a rooftop is a welcome addition, and a restaurant can by no means be taken for granted — that the Singer Palace combines both, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner (as well as drinks) on the roof terrace is nothing short of delightful.