Babuino 181

Just off the Piazza del Popolo is the Via del Babuino, named for a statue of Silenus that somehow found itself informally christened “the baboon.” This was an artists’ quarter which has since gentrified — a common setting for a stylish little boutique hotel, no less so for the fact that the gentrification took place a century ago. Today it’s home to Babuino 181, a stylish little pied-à-terre–style boutique hotel divided between two historical buildings, yards from the Spanish Steps and surrounded by some of the best upscale shopping that Rome has to offer.

Historic Italy outside, contemporary Italy inside — this is the contrast that drives Babuino 181, and to look out over this ancient city from within a suite that’s furnished in the latest in modern Italian design. The suites are cozy, given the period floor plan, but here that’s made into a virtue: the accommodations feel more like swanky little city apartments than like typical rectangular hotel rooms.

As for services, they’re minimal — there’s probably a euphemism, something like Parisian-plan, for a hotel without a restaurant or a proper public bar. For a breath of fresh air there’s a newly opened roof terrace, the ideal spot for an al fresco breakfast or a sunset cocktail. After that, take a cue from the throngs of pedestrians on the streets outside, and get out and stretch your legs — Rome isn’t a place to lock yourself in your suite anyway.