Rome and Milan couldn’t be more different, yet each seduces with juxtaposing splendour, grace and style. This is the story of two hotels in these two cities, the opulence of Hotel Eden in the heart of Rome, connected by a scenic, soul-stilling train ride north to Milan’s majestic Hotel Principe di Savoia.
ROME: ETERNAL
Hotel Eden rises just above the Spanish Steps like a sun-kissed private palazzo, radiating with over 130 years of Roman grandeur. First opened in 1889, the hotel embodies the spirit of a city that invented glamour and never relinquished it. Beneath the gentle morning light that drapes its marble halls, one wanders in the footsteps of legends, Jane Fonda, Nelson Mandela and Fred Astaire, to name a few.
Its 98 rooms and suites are refined, dignified, and glowing with the poise of an elegant Roman residence and frame the city like art. Tall windows flood the rooms with golden light, casting sweeping views over terracotta rooftops, church domes, and cypress trees that tangle through Trastevere.
Every detail is touched by quiet opulence: hand-finished fabrics, hushed palettes, and marble bathrooms that seem sculpted from cloudlight. When dusk falls, the city hums below, fountains, vespas, the distant hush of violins and the room becomes a sanctuary above the soundtrack to the city.
Art is not confined to the canvas at Hotel Eden; it breathes through every corridor. A recent project, Collector’s Home, transforms the Dolce Vita Suite and La Libreria into an immersive gallery, curated in collaboration with MOD Creative Group and esteemed Roman galleries ADA and Matèria. The result is a salon-like space alive with Italian expression, paintings, photography, sculptural objects, and design books. Andrea Ferolla’s custom lampshades add a whisper of fashion illustration whimsy, while works by Marta Mancini and Karen Knorr offer dynamic juxtapositions to Rome’s classical heart.
At Il Giardino Ristorante, Executive Chef Salvatore Bianco has unveiled incredible new menus that feature dishes that are deeply inspired by Roman tradition, from roasted artichoke with anchovy mayonnaise and mint to Burratina with preserved San Marzano tomato and oregano and Mediterranean-style fish ceviche with fior di latte and caponatina.
The dishes are served with an enchanting view over the rooftops of Rome. Floor-to-ceiling windows bathe diners in a golden haze, while the eternal city stretches to the horizon. Above it all, La Terrazza, a Michelin-starred culinary jewel, offers a dining experience that borders on transcendence.
Beneath the hotel, The Eden Spa beckons like a secret sanctuary. Vaulted ceilings cradle a world of calm, where therapies by Valmont and HöbePergh evoke alpine purity and cellular renewal. In this haven of soft cotton, steam, and silence, the body is restored and the mind untethered.
Departing Rome is never easy. Yet the train to Milan offers a kind of gentle transition, an unspooling fresco of Italy’s interior beauty. Olive groves unfurl across Umbria, golden fields drift past in Tuscany, medieval towers appear then vanish between tunnels. The journey becomes a meditation, each scene a verse in Italy’s living poetry.
MILAN: MODERN GRANDEUR
Milan greets its visitors with precision and poise. Here, elegance is architectural and effortless. At its centre stands Hotel Principe di Savoia, a grand dame of Italian hospitality where heritage and contemporary refinement entwine in perfect measure. With its iconic façade and sweeping presence over Piazza della Repubblica, Hotel Principe di Savoia is an icon of the city, a true declaration of exquisite Milanese style.
At the heart of the hotel is Il Salotto, recently reimagined by Studio di Design Architetture&Interni Milano. The beautifully updated space evokes the warmth of a Milanese apartment: orange velvets, dove-grey leathers, mirrored glass, and wood detailing inspired by the Lombardy mountain skyline. It is both a decadent lounge and living room, a place where international travellers and Milanese tastemakers gather over Iced Rose and Jasmine Tea and the signature Pizza Savoia which is loaded with mozzarella cheese, Parma ham and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
Il Salotto is also an evolving exhibition space, hosting rotating displays of contemporary art since 2023. Portraiture by Vincent Peters once adorned the walls; now, it may be Guido Stazzoni’s architectural reveries or the quiet luminosity of Lucas Possiede’s photography. The atmosphere is not gallery-like, but immersive art as companion, not exhibit.
The guest rooms and suites at Principe di Savoia are sumptuously proportioned and finely detailed, many with oversized writing desks, velvet headboards, crystal chandeliers, and Carrara marble bathrooms. Perched majestically atop the Hotel Principe di Savoia, is the 5,400ft² Presidential Suite, which boasts three lavish bedrooms and marble bathrooms, and living areas adorned with hand-selected Italian silks, rare artworks, and custom-crafted furnishings. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame the sweeping Milanese skyline, from the bustling boulevards to the distant spires of the Duomo.
A private terrace runs the full length of the 10th floor, offering a panorama that is both exhilarating and serene. Within this sanctuary lies your own Pompeii style private swimming pool, alongside a sauna and Turkish bath, all set within an opulent lounge of hand-painted mosaics. The suite is rumoured to have welcomed Madonna, George Clooney, David and Brad Pitt, and Lady Gaga to name a few.
Hotel Principe di Savoia is home to many gastronomic delights but the jewel in the hotels crown is Acanto with its spectacular tasting menu, featuring pink prawn tartare with marinated strawberries, basil gazpacho and Timut pepper powder and sea bass with roasted tomatoes pesto, buttered potatoes and mussel cream.
Rome and Milan: one ancient and golden, the other tailored and chrome. At Hotel Eden, travellers are wrapped in the splendour and surrounded by stories whispered through marble and light. At Hotel Principe di Savoia, they experience the cool, composed elegance of contemporary Milan.
What connects these two glorious grand dames is not merely the Dorchester Collection’s impeccable standard of luxury, nor their shared devotion to the most fascinating art and gastronomy. It is their understanding that true elegance lies in the celebration of beauty, from antiquity to modernity, this is la dolce vita.
Hotel Eden
Via Ludovisi, 49, 00187 Roma RM, Italy
Hotel Principe di Savoia
Piazza della Repubblica, 17, 20124 Milano MI, Italy
@dorchestercollection
