Rome - A Holiday to Remember

Why do the concepts of a design hotel, Rome, and an absolutely memorable holiday all go together so well? Here are just a few reasons why this holds true for those who indulge.

The concept

As you may know, the basic concept behind the design hotel (Rome or elsewhere) is an attempt to impress with individuality and uniqueness. If you’ve spent a lot of time in holiday or business hotels you’ll know how tedious they can become. The same décor, similar levels of international cuisine and a blandness that is hard to forgive even if the service is excellent are often in play. By contrast, a design hotel has set its own standards for individuality in all respects, including the levels of facilities and dining.

The Eternal City

Rome has always been a different and desirable destination. From the days when it was a republic and city-state to the days of empire then fall and subsequent re-emergence as a spiritual centre, people have always seen it as so. That’s because people have always worked hard to make it that way. The imperial Romans wanted to make their city the envy of the world – and they succeeded. Many of ancient Rome’s buildings that survive (examples include the Coliseum and Pantheon) were designed to impress – not just by their scale and architecture but also by their uniqueness. There was quite simply nothing else like them in the world.

Nor did that stop after the classical period of empire. Few people today can visit St Peter’s or the Spanish Steps without being over-awed by their surroundings. The feeling you get today wandering the streets of the city is no accident – it was built over the millennia to have exactly that effect.

The designer city

From the above, it follows that the idea of a design hotel, Rome and a sense of uniqueness, are all perfectly compatible. When you examine the city’s culture, from its earliest beginnings in pre-history right through to the present day, everything about it has always been unique. It is perhaps, in one sense, a designer city in its own right and is all the more special for being so.

So how does a break here compare with other cities in Europe? That’s a very difficult question but here’s one controversial view. When you look at many of Europe’s great cities, they were founded by the Romans and were, on a small scale, a copy of all that was seen to be best in Roman life and in the Italian capital itself. Both Paris and London, certainly, were Roman in foundation and worked hard early in their existence to aspire to the Roman life.

The so-called "Eternal City" has a very strong appeal in terms of its original inspirational uniqueness, and that’s something that’s hard for many other cities to try and capture even today. A design hotel, Rome and a unique holiday experience are therefore all ideas that are very much in harmony with each other.

Looking for a great hotel in Rome? Roberta Stuart is the Travel Manager for Worldhotels, a company offering top class accommodation in a design hotel, Rome, as well as a selection of unique four and five star hotels around the world.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.