Review: Hotel d'Inghilterra

Why book Hotel d'Inghilterra?

For its right-there-in-the-thick-of-it convenience and its particular quality – specific but difficult to pin down – of intimacy, courtesy and conviviality.

Set the scene

Stepping into the marvellously named Via Bocca di Leone is the opposite of stepping into the mouth of a lion. The great seething jungle of high-end commerce is all around you, but here a refreshing calm prevails and you are, momentarily at least, safe. Safe from the crowds that descend like an invading army down the Spanish Steps just around the corner; safe from the temptation to buy something ruinously expensive in one of glittering boutiques that line Via dei Condotti, only moments away.

The backstory

The Inghilterra opened in 1845, initially as the Angleterre – this was a time when hotels all over Europe were giving themselves names referencing England and the English, who were their principal patrons. It was an instant hit and, at some point in the 170 or so years that followed, became a classic.

The hotel was acquired by Starhotels in 2016. By then, it had lost more than a little of its lustre. But the new owners have done well to bring that shine back, without altering the fundamental character of the place. At the time of writing, it was two-thirds of the way through a yearlong renovation. The results so far are marvellous – especially in the rooms on the top three storeys.

The rooms

There are 80 rooms, though something about the hotel makes it feels as if there were fewer. There is a good deal of silky-velvety opulence going on; vintage pieces are offset here and there by hard-edged Art Deco ones; gilt-framed mirrors reflect light cast by Murano chandeliers. The newly renovated Balcony Suites are radiant in amber; the Penthouse Suite a beautifully restrained essay in shades of green – right down (or up) to the stripes on the canvas canopy that shades the outdoor dining table on its huge terrace. Be advised: there are quirks and oddities throughout – inexplicable angles in the ceilings, zany proportions, steps in unexpected places, sometimes entire rooms in unexpected places. File under “charm”.

Food and drink

The Inghilterra has one of the loveliest – and almost certainly smallest – hotel bars in the city, like a phone box decorated in polished brass and tufted leather, wood-panelling and framed prints of hunting scenes. Yet there is nothing stuffy or stifling about it. The irrepressibly cheerful staff are very good at what they do and take great pleasure in applying novel twists to classic cocktails.

The all-day restaurant, Café Romano, sits just across from the bar and delivers local and regional dishes with exceptional panache (as well as, inevitably, a certain amount of comfort food for homesick Americans). Thanks to the restaurant’s location – on the Via Borgognona side of the building – the outdoor tables are always in high demand and great for people-watching. A fine setting in which to feast on fiora di zucca fritti, cacio e pepe, tiramisù and other life-affirming Roman delicacies.

The neighbourhood

The hotel could hardly be more central, and if the neighbourhood feels like a place where people from elsewhere converge, that is because it is, and has been for millennia. The nearby Porta del Popolo was, historically, where foreigners entered the city from the north. This cosmopolitanism is reflected in the names of the surrounding streets and landmarks. Via Borgognona, which runs along one side of the hotel, was named for the community of Burgundian merchants that flourished here in the 15th century. The Piazza di Spagna and Spanish Steps got their names a little later when the Spanish ambassador moved in. The entire area became known as “The English Ghetto” thanks to the influx of Grand Tourists in the 18th century and doomed poets in the 19th. Today, of course, the neighbourhood is a different kind of entrepôt, best known for its concentration of international luxury goods boutiques that seem to appeal equally strongly to visitors from every corner of the globe.

Funnily enough, the views from the upper storeys of the Inghilterra give an entirely different sense of the neighbourhood from the one you get at street level. Something more like ordinary domestic life becomes visible. You have startlingly close-up views of the surrounding apartments, of washing hung out to dry, loose roof tiles in need of attention, families sitting down to dinner. Views that are neither French nor Spanish nor English but distinctly Roman, as of course they should be.

The service

Warm, enthusiastic, attentive. And talkative. The concierge, bar and restaurant staff are clearly passionate about what they do, and happy to tell you all about it (in several languages). The effect is winning. Not only are you likely to learn something about where you are or what you are eating or drinking; you will also quickly come to feel as if you were at home, among friends.

For families

Excellent. There are seven connecting rooms (in various categories); cots and rollaway beds can be provided on request. Babysitting can be arranged through the concierge. There are special amenities for bambini of all ages, including baby-friendly soaps and toddler-sized togas for mini-emperors. There is a Kids’ Corner at breakfast (though the cookies and donuts piled up there appear to be just as popular with parents as their children) and child-friendly dishes on the lunch- and dinnertime menus.

Especially commendable are the efforts made by the hotel, through its partnerships with local tour guides, to engage youngsters in the city’s history. The use of thoughtfully designed interactive tablet-based games, for example, can help turn a visit to the Vatican or the Forum from an obligation into an adventure.

Eco effort

According to the management: “Following Starhotels’ corporate philosophy, Hotel d’Inghilterra adopts and promotes sustainable environmental and social practices.” This includes the championing of seasonal and super-local ingredients in the kitchen; the use of own-brand, eco-friendly amenities; and a project to phase out single-use plastic products and containers (though quite a few remained in evidence at the time of my visit). Heating and cooling systems are being adapted in order to reduce CO2 emissions. The heat generated by the hotel’s air-conditioning units, which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere, is used to produce all the hot water required by the hotel.

Accessibility

Unusually good by the standards of old Roman hotels. With ramps in place, two of the Inghilterra’s street-level entrances are wheelchair-accessible, as are the lifts and, therefore, all floors of the hotel. There is presently just one adapted room, on the first floor.

Anything else to mention?

There is a plaque just inside the front door of the hotel commemorating a meeting that took place on the premises in 1855 between Dom Pedro V of Portugal and Pope Pius IX. Oddly enough, Oscar Wilde also had a meeting with the same pope when he was in town 22 years later – and stayed at the same hotel. Meeting the pope, however, made less of an impression on Wilde than the visit he paid to John Keats’s grave in the Protestant Cemetery, “the holiest place in Rome”.