Sep 24

Sep 24 Hotel Palazzo Manfredi - Rome, Italy

Whenever your cruise embarks/disembarks in Civitavecchia, you simply have to plan on spending a few extra days in Rome[end]. This is one of the greatest cities in the world, so to simply fly into Rome and go directly to your ship would be a tourism crime. As a great tourist destination, Rome has no shortage of excellent hotels. We recently had the opportunity to spend an evening in one of the very best: the Palazzo Manfredi.

As you can see from the photo above, Palazzo Manfredi is located within clear view of the Colosseum. We arrived at our hotel at around 11am, a little early for the 2:00pm check-in time. The receptionist, Helen, offered to store our luggage for us until 2:00pm so we could go out to do some discovering on our own. Palazzo Manfredi is a Relais & Chateuax property with only has 14 rooms. The AROMA restaurant on the roof/terrace of the hotel has received 1 Michelin star. We are anxious to see our room, but will have to wait until after we do some "Roming" around (see what I did there?). The hotel is less than a five-minute walk to the Colosseum, and The Forum is only a few more minutes from there.

After doing a bit of exploring, we returned to the hotel at 2:00pm to find our room ready for us. Helen escorted us up the tiny elevator to our 3rd floor room (42). We were completely blown away by the room. At 269 sq. ft., the room is impeccably appointed and has the best view of any hotel room in which we have ever stayed, and we have stayed in quite a few. This corner room has one window facing a park and another facing the Colosseum. A site below our window is in the process of being excavated for ancient ruins.

The room has a comfortable bed, top-quality linens, and nice furnishings. The wood floors are beautiful. The eclectic decor bridges a gap between contemporary and Italian traditional, and it does so quite elegantly. A large, flat-screen HD TV is situated across from the bed and sits atop one of the most unusual tables you will see anywhere. The non-functioning fireplace is backlit for ambiance. A small table with two chairs makes a perfect spot to enjoy a bottle of chilled Prosecco. There is a stocked mini-bar for your use (charges apply). Closet space is ample and contains drawers and an electronic safe.

The bathroom is roomy with a nice-sized walk-in shower and the coolest sink I have ever seen. The large vanity offers plenty of room for us to put our "stuff". One wall of the shower has two tall, narrow windows offering a view of the Colosseum while you are showering! The large rain shower head is a joy and water pressure was excellent. Large, thick towels are plush and absorbent and can be warmed prior to use by turning on the heated towel rack. Bathroom amenities are also top-quality and consist of soap, shampoo, hair conditioner, bath foam and body lotion. Bath robes and really comfy slippers are found in the closet. A hair dryer is furnished.

*I want a sink like this in my bathroom at home!*

The Palazzo Manfredi has it all: beautiful rooms, a great location, excellent service and a 1-Michelin star restaurant! Our only regret is that we had but one night to spend here before returning to the USA. For more information about Palazzo Manfedi, visit their website click here.

Originally posted on: 9/2/2015