Rome Hotels|Rome, Italy

Orient Express La Minerva

Name: Orient Express La Minerva
Telephone: 39-06-99-74-81-80

The train brand’s first hotel stays on a luxurious track

VERIFIED LUXURY

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Tucked just behind the Pantheon on Piazza della Minerva, Orient Express La Minerva slips into Rome with effortless confidence — an elegant new opening that offers a knowing wink to the lost art of the Grand Tour.

Opened in April 2025, the luxury address marks the legendary brand’s debut in the hotel sector, recasting a 17th-century palazzo and historic hotel as a modern love letter to travel, and the quiet luxury of lingering. Steps from ancient attractions, it celebrates not the race to see everything, but the pleasure of arriving at your destination.

French-Mexican architect Hugo Toro reimagines the hotel as a restrained homage to the golden age of travel, never losing sight of the palazzo’s own gravitas — its original vaulted ceilings, marble columns and sculptures bearing two centuries of Roman presence. All 93 rooms and suites unfold like first-class compartments, wrapped in warm woods, richly veined marbles and impeccably tailored custom furnishings. Many frame views of the Pantheon, whether its profile or capturing its soaring dome, while others slide open onto private terraces.

The mood is immersive but never theatrical. Corridor sconces flirt with sleeper-car glamour. Custom fabrics quietly trace historic routes. Bespoke trunks moonlight as nightstands — practical, playful and indulgent.

La Minerva sits in the heart of the Eternal City, but it feels like a world of its own — quietly glamorous, culturally rich and unapologetically romantic.

Our Inspector's Highlights

Each room varies in scale and mood but shares the house signatures: Rosso Verona marble bathrooms, custom wood furniture and beautiful design. The in-room experience leans unapologetically luxe, with Guerlain bath products, Dyson hair dryers, GHD styling tools and embroidered, silk-lined turban shower caps. But the 36 unique suites are the headliners. Keep your eyes on the Signature Suites: 102 Stendhal, 401 Obelisco, 601 La Minerva and 501 Orient Express. All command headline views of the Pantheon and Piazza Santa Maria sopra Minerva, each with a personality of its own, from the 957-square-foot Stendhal with its mezzanine to the 2,045-square-foot Orient Express showstopper.
One of Rome’s largest and most cinematic rooftop terrace crowns Orient Express La Minerva with the city’s ultimate view of the Pantheon, close enough to feel conspiratorial. Aperitivo hour unfolds at the Bellini Bar, where guests sip eye to eye with the 2,000-year-old dome.
Hugo Toro’s timeless design in the Rome hotel plays a clever long game, layering contemporary classicism with 1920s elegance (see: frescoes and parquet floors, warm woods, martelé metalwork and custom furnishings that quietly echo vintage train travel.)
GiGi Rigolatto brings easygoing glamour and share-style plates. Call it the Roman cousin to a St-Tropez favorite. One of the other prized tables is downstairs at La Minerva Bar. Set beneath a grand glass roof in the lobby, it’s an elegant and calm pocket amid Rome’s constant hum.
Hidden at ground level with two private entrances, one street side and the other need-to-know entry inside, you’ll find a jewel-box speakeasy with 30 seats. Drenched in rich reds and art deco cues, it’s helmed by mixologist extraordinaire Matteo Fatica, whose cocktails are inspired by Orient Express’s historic destinations.

Things to Know

Toro’s design has a lovely flow, but remember, no two rooms are identical — whether it’s the view, a terrace, frescoed ceilings or split-level layouts. Ask for a room overlooking the Elefantino statue; it won’t disappoint.
The luxury hotel’s concierge team can a arrange private, after-hours tour of the Pantheon just for you.
Orient Express train guests go door-to-door with exclusive access to the Orient Express La Dolce Vita lounge at Roma Ostiense station, which is a time piece of 1930s Italian Rationalist architecture.
When the spa opens in 2026, you’ll be pampered at a subterranean sanctuary with hammam, Turkish baths and spa treatments, featuring products by made-in-Italy skincare brand Furtuna Skin.
If you need a little pasta pick-me-up, the 24/7 gym is outfitted with state-of-the-art Technogym equipment and on-demand personal trainers, catering easily to jet-lagged early risers as night owls. A separate room ups the ante with Technogym’s Kinesis wall — a futuristic, cable-cross system that allows for an almost infinite range of fluid exercises.

Amenities