Don’t let the name mislead you.
Umiltà does mean humility in Italian, but it also refers to the street where this Shedir Collection hotel is located. The full extent of just how distant the property is from "humility" is immediately apparent in the lobby lounge, where the contemporary art, dark jungle-themed wallpaper from Mooi and muted lighting craft a sleek and sophisticated setting.
Umiltà 36 (+39-06-878-080) is a Preferred Hotels & Resorts affiliate, and is the largest of the five Shedir luxury boutique hotels in Rome. A short stroll from both the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, it is just around the corner from a hidden gem, the Galleria Sciarra, a former 19th-century shopping arcade with light flooding in from an iron canopy glass roof onto stunning, floor-to-ceiling Art Nouveau frescoes.
The hotel, which for over 40 years was a political party headquarters, is more spacious than it first appears, with its 47 guestrooms overly generous in size for downtown Rome. The 17 Superior and 10 Prestige rooms (these also come with twin beds) are on the second and third floors and measure 300 and 366 square feet respectively. The third-floor Terrace Suite, measuring 484 square feet, can connect with a Prestige Room and has a separate living room. The outdoor area is a charming and secluded corner with a fish-themed fountain, a dining table with chairs for six and views of Rome’s rooftops. A Superior and a Prestige Room on the second floor can also connect for those looking for a little more elbow room.
Artistic flourishes make this hotel a show-stopper, but what really sets Umiltà 36 apart as a boutique city hotel are the 19 apartments.
Located on the fourth and fifth floors, these home-away-from-home enclaves are ideal for longer stays, come in five different categories and have cleverly hidden kitchenettes (When not in use they blend into the minibar and coffee corner, but when needed they reveal induction hobs, a sink, cook, table and glassware, cutlery, and a microwave).
The smallest apartments are the 409-square-foot Superior, while the largest are the two 700-square-foot Prestige Apartments that have street views, a double bed and a sofa or roll-away bed. A two-floor, 624-square-foot Terrace Apartment can connect with a Deluxe Apartment and has a living room and a service bathroom on the lower level, with the master bedroom and large marble bathroom upstairs. The terrace, with a table, chairs and a sun umbrella, has views of the courtyard, the massive white Altare della Patria monument in Piazza Venezia Square and the ambling rooftops of the Eternal City.
All guestrooms have walk-in closets, marble bathrooms with rain showers and minibars with complimentary soft beverages that are replaced daily. Instead of irons and ironing boards, there are hand-held steamers and a bottle of distilled water—a discreet endorsement of the safety considerations associated with old buildings. For workouts, the fitness room has a variety of cardio equipment, and guests with cars can utilize valet parking.
General Manager Sabrina Camillini ([email protected]; +39-06-878-080) is available for any special enquiries and recommends booking at least three months ahead for the high season. Hotel Manager Emilia Bangrazi ([email protected]; +39-06-878-080) told us guests receive a pre-arrival note from the front desk team offering to help preplan their stay and suggesting activities in and around the city.
Everything from helicopter tours to cooking classes in Castel Gandolfo can be arranged for guests, Bangrazi said.
“What our guests will remember is the way we made their entire stay extraordinary, not just two or three hours,” she added.
Marius Lupu ([email protected] and [email protected]; +39-06-878-080) is the person to contact for transfers and to prebook tours, guides, dining experiences and spa treatments in nearby facilities. Lupu can also engage a personal shopper to accompany guests to the small artisan shops that still produce handcrafted shirts, suits, shoes, gloves and leatherwear in the old center of Rome.
Dining is a sheer delight here, both for fish lovers and carnivores. The recently opened Aquamarina Restaurant is a long room with aquatic artefacts, colorful banquettes and a soaring skylight that embraces Rome’s bright skies. The all-fish menu created by chef Fabrizio Liggiero ([email protected]) hits all the right notes. Our Risotto with Crema di Scampi was silky and luscious, and the Fritto di Paranza catch of the day had such light and crispy batter it just begged to be polished off—which it was.
Behind the Aquamarina’s wall, in a specular room with another soaring skylight, is the El Porteño Argentine steakhouse. This is an A-list venue thanks to the quality of its meat, authentic traditional dishes like empanadas and excellent Argentine wines. Breakfasts and all-day snacks and cocktails are served in the Dandy Bar, and the Terrazza Flores terrace is a sky-high rendezvous where Romans and visitors relax with tapas, aperitivos and after-dinner drinks.
For guests who have already thoroughly explored the culinary delights in Aquamarina and El Porteño and who want to adventure out on the town, Bangrazi says the concierge team knows how to pick just the right spot and will reserve tables.
Some favorites within walking distance from the hotel and popular with guests, are Poldo and Gianna for traditional seasonal Roman cuisine (think deep-fried melt-in-the-mouth artichokes in the winter months), Bangrazi told us. Nearby Il Falchetto serves large platters of charcuterie as well as gluten-free pasta. Il Marchese, which we love for its Parisian cum Buenos Aires vibe and the undeniably delicious Roman food, has over 500 different types of bitters in the Amaro Bar, which the owners, Lorenzo Renzi and Davide Solari, claim is the “best stocked in the world.”
Umiltà might mean humility in Italian, but the Eternal City has never felt so decadent.
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