Hassler

Hassler review Rate it

Looking down imperiously from the top of the Spanish Steps, the Hassler remains the grande dame of the city's deluxe hotels. With acres of polished marble and abundant chandeliers, the relentless luxury may make your head spin, but it's the attentiveness of the staff that really distinguishes this place from the impersonal service often to be found at Rome's top chain hotels. A few steps away, Il Palazzetto is under the same ownership.

The seventh-floor Penthouse Suite at the Hassler is decked out with paintings from the schools of Tintoretto and Caravaggio, hand-cut crystal chandeliers, antique Venetian mirrors and Louis XV chairs, and opens onto a 160sq m (1,700sq ft) terrace. The rather busy wallpaper and ruched curtains obviously appealed to Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, who checked in here for some pre-wedding pampering.