World's Best

Travel + Leisure Readers’ 5 Favorite Hotels in Rome of 2023

Stylish hotels within walking distance of iconic sights took Rome’s top five spots in our annual "World’s Best Awards" survey for 2023.

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Be A Travel Writer, an online course for aspiring travel journalists. A New Yorker based in Los Angeles, she has a special interest in beach destinations, outdoor adventures, unique hotels, pet-friendly travel with her golden retriever, @travelswithcali, and all things Italy.

" tabindex="0" data-inline-tooltip="true"> Nina Ruggiero

Published on July 11, 2023

They say you should romanticize your life, and in Rome, it’s impossible not to. Wake up in an elegant hotel room, walk those cobbled streets, enter a local coffee shop and throw back a caffè standing right at the bar, and all of a sudden you’re the star of your own Fellini film before 10 a.m. Of course, the first part of that equation — where you wake up on a morning in Roma — is an integral part of the experience. T+L readers know this is key to living la dolce vita, and in this year’s World’s Best Awards survey, they chose hotels in Italy’s capital city that serve history, hospitality, and style.

How Voting Works

Every year for our World's Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Nearly 165,000 T+L readers completed the 2023 survey, an increase of nearly 25 percent over pre-pandemic voting levels. A total of more than 685,000 votes were cast across over 8,500 unique properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.).

Hotels were classified as either resort hotel, city hotel, or safari lodge based on their location and amenities, and they were specifically rated on the criteria below:

Rooms/facilities
Location
Service
Food
Value

For each characteristic, respondents could choose a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor. The final scores are averages of these responses.

Canova Suite Terrace overlooking city at sunset at Hotel de la Ville, a Rocco Forte Hotel — Courtesy of Hotel de la Ville, a Rocco Forte Hotel

What Readers Loved

When it comes to Rome’s top “World’s Best Awards” spot, Rocco Forte’s Hotel de Russie and Hotel de la Ville continue their friendly family feud — the sibling hotels have been tossing the crown back and forth since 2021. This year, Hotel de Russie was voted back into No. 1, with readers touting its excellence across categories. Hotel de la Ville may have dropped to No. 3, but guests continued to rave about its service, design, and culinary offerings. “Beautiful Hotel, great staff, very professional and prompt,” one reader wrote. “Excellent views of Rome from the terraces, awesome food and drinks! The design of the rooms is stunning.”

Wedged between the Rocco Forte properties on this year’s list is The St. Regis Rome (voted No. 2), where a reader said staffers “do their best to make you feel at home and attend to your needs” — pointing to daily in-room coffee and a thoughtful cake and Champagne surprise that arrived to celebrate a birthday. And the bubbly review didn’t stop there: “Great bar and their Champagne sabering can't be missed.”

Readers said Hotel Eden (No. 4) made the list due to its location — in the heart of the city, overlooking the famous gardens of Villa Borghese — plus its “modern yet classic, beautifully appointed rooms” and “fantastic service.” And Hassler Roma stole the No. 5 spot with its seventh-floor terrace, which one reader called “an excellent spot for a cocktail looking over the Rome skyline,” noting the space is exclusively reserved for hotel guests.

Read on for more on why Hotel de Russie was named the top hotel in Rome by T+L readers this year.

The Winner

Hotel de Russie, a Rocco Forte Hotel

With terraces overlooking Piazza del Popolo — one of the most impressive squares (well, ellipticals) in Italy — Hotel de Russie, a Rocco Forte Hotel, is a classic Roman favorite with an unexpected secret. That secret is its tiered-garden courtyard, a true hidden oasis that gives it a resort feel, right in the center of the city. Here, food is served all day beneath the palms, and aperitivi are enjoyed under the stars. Immediately upon arrival, guests will understand why one T+L reader said the 122-room hotel has been a consistent winner in their book for more than 20 years. “Outstanding leadership produces an award-winning hotel with excellence in all categories,” the de Russie fan said. Add a trip to the Sicilian-inspired spa to your itinerary and you may completely forget you’re not on a private island … at least until you venture back outside for a short walk to the Spanish Steps.