24-05-2025
I visited the world's first Orient Express hotel
Rome's luxury hotel boom began in the aftermath of the pandemic, but in 2025 it might just be reaching its crescendo. This Jubilee year is a huge one for the Italian capital generally of course, even more so since the inauguration of the new Pope Leo XIV.
The Eternal City is firmly back on the gilded map decades after its mid-20th-century heyday, so it's little surprise that luxury rail operator Orient Express chose it for the location of its first hotel.
The brand has spent four years renovating the landmark Grand Hotel de La Minerva, set in a 17th-century palazzo steps from the Pantheon. This grand dame in the heart of the city's centro storico had long been a favorite among Romans – despite its rather time-worn air in more recent years – and its conversion from local staple to the flagship property of a company known for high luxury was a delicate one.
Luckily (and maybe surprisingly), the commission for the new Orient Express La Minerva was entrusted to 35-year-old French-Mexican artist and architect Hugo Toro. This was the Paris-based creative's first hotel project.
'La Minerva is an institution that is super close to the heart of the Romans, so I didn't want to destroy it,' he told me as we explored the hotel together just days after it opened. 'I wanted to awaken this sleeping beauty.'
Toro has given the hotel a 21st-century glow-up that sets a visionary example of how to evoke the style and spirit of a heritage brand with sophistication and subtlety. I walked through the doors half expecting choo-choo artwork and railway-themed objets, but instead found a thoughtful homage to the Orient Express legacy that remains firmly anchored in the Eternal City.
Meticulously curated public spaces blend the Art Deco flavour of vintage Orient Express trains with a distinctive personality that is the fruit of Toro's granular attention to detail. He designed and curated every aspect of the décor, from the rugs – inspired by the view of the sky through the Pantheon's oculus – to the travertine friezes lining the lounge bar (which he carved himself).
'This one was at my place, but it was perfect for here,' he murmured, running his hands over a small sculpture as we passed by the concierge desk. It does indeed look as if it was created for this very nook.
Reception has been reworked to accommodate seated check-in, with the area dedicated to the veritable battalion of concierge staff just opposite. Glossy wood and sinuous lines keep the image of a Golden Age train car just in your peripheral vision – what Toro explained to me as 'translating the idea of travelling, even though we are static.'
A glass and iron ceiling topping the once mildly claustrophobic central courtyard lends a winter garden vibe to the lounge and bar, helped along by lush greenery. Later I settled into a Toro-designed armchair here to sip a signature champagne cocktail that sparkled with gold dust under the gaze of a towering marble Minerva statue (one of the few relics salvaged from the previous hotel).
The 93 rooms and suites are each uniquely laid out to fit the Renaissance building and sport the same clever references as public areas. Artisan headboards have been painted to reflect the Roman sky based on the specific orientation of the room, hand-crafted night stands close like miniature travel trunks to hide away messy phone cords, custom marble bathroom sinks are carved like Rome's shell-shaped Baroque fountains.
The luxury isn't limited to bespoke design, of course. Linens are sourced from Rivolta Carmignani, a historic Milanese manufacturer that once provided the silks for the Orient Express trains, and guests will find high-end hairdryers and straighteners, steamers, indulgent bath products and dreamily plush robes.
Each guest is assigned a personal 'conductor' upon check-in, who is available 24 hours a day via a dedicated WhatsApp number. This type of white-glove service is a specialty of Filip Boyden, Head of Hospitality for Orient Express Hotels Italy.
He was happy to report that the newly opened hotel had retained about 30 members of the previous staff, ideal for a smooth transition.
The staff did seem to already have their sea legs just a few days after opening: my text request for tickets to the Edvard Munch exhibition running in Rome was dealt with in minutes and honey for my herbal tea appeared in my room magically after I mentioned a lingering cough.
I dined on what is probably Orient Express La Minerva's most stand-out feature – its 360-degree rooftop terrace, now home to the Gigi Rigolatto Roma restaurant.
Romans have been gathering here for special celebrations and romantic meals overlooking the Pantheon's dome for generations, and its restyling has opened up the view even more.
The menu of shared and small plates highlights seafood – Rome's proximity to the sea is often overlooked – and ingredients are sourced from local and artisan producers.
Each morning, the table-service breakfast features a range of healthy and indulgent international and Italian options while live harp music ushers in the day.
A few of the hotel's features are still being completed. A train carriage-themed speakeasy is in the works, as well as a Turkish hammam-inspired spa.
Saying goodbye to Toro before he returned to his Paris studio the following day, we discussed the plush patterned fabric (inspired, I was told, by the seagulls that roost on the Pantheon's dome each night) covering the new seating in the indoor and outdoor rooftop dining rooms.
'This was the first Orient Express hotel in the world,' he mused, 'so it had to make a statement.'
And the statement is this: with its head-turning style and high-touch service, the Orient Express La Minerva sets a new bar for Rome's luxury revival.
