Piazza del Popolo / Tridente

Hotel de Russie, a Rocco Forte Hotel

★★★★★

The Hotel de Russie is the Roman hotel where film stars, fashion designers and well-travelled families go to disappear, and the reason is its garden. Behind the cream facade on Via del Babuino, the building wraps around a Secret Garden of terraces, palms, roses and fountains that climbs toward the Pincio hill — a green, birdsong-filled refuge in the heart of the city that Jean Cocteau is said to have called paradise on earth. The building itself was designed in the early nineteenth century by Giuseppe Valadier, the architect who laid out Piazza del Popolo, which the hotel overlooks, and it has long been a favourite of artists and travellers. Today it is run by Rocco Forte Hotels, with 64 bedrooms, 26 junior suites and 27 suites decorated in a light, contemporary Italian style, many looking onto the garden or across to the domes and rooftops. Le Jardin, the restaurant, serves seasonal Italian menus by the celebrated chef Fulvio Pierangelini, moving out into the Secret Garden in warmer months, and the Stravinskij Bar, with its own garden terrace, is one of the city's great places for an aperitivo or a late cocktail. The Irene Forte Spa offers treatment rooms, a saltwater hydropool, sauna, steam room and a 24-hour gym. The location is excellent: Piazza del Popolo is on the doorstep, the Spanish Steps are a few minutes along Via del Babuino, and the Pincio and Villa Borghese rise behind.

The garden defines the experience. In spring and summer you breakfast and dine among the terraces, and in the evening the Stravinskij Bar fills with locals as well as guests; in the cooler months, the garden is still beautiful from the rooms and the indoor spaces take over. Garden-view rooms are the ones to request, and suites with terraces are among the most coveted in Rome. Family travellers appreciate the space and the green; couples love the privacy and the sense of a city retreat.

Living in it: interiors are bright, calm and contemporary rather than gilded, with Italian design touches and marble bathrooms. Service is polished and discreet. The spa is a genuine asset after long days on Roman cobbles, and the 24-hour gym is a rarity in the historic centre. Le Jardin's seasonal Italian cooking draws Roman diners, so book tables ahead, especially in summer when the garden tables are in demand.

Base math: Piazza del Popolo, the Spanish Steps, Via del Corso shopping and the Pincio terrace are all within a few minutes on foot; Villa Borghese and the Borghese Gallery are a pleasant uphill walk through the park. The Flaminio and Spagna Metro stops connect to the Vatican side and Termini. Rates sit at the top of the market. The value case is the rare combination of garden calm and central address — choose it when you want Rome's buzz outside and an oasis within. Booking tips: request a garden-facing room or a suite with a terrace, book spa treatments and garden dinner tables ahead in the warmer months, and remember that the Borghese Gallery, with its mandatory two-hour slots, is one of the easiest headline sights to reach from here, so reserve it before you travel.