Bulbous armchairs, a Verde Alpi green marble bar and curved steelwork overhung with ferns: what sounds like the Californian headquarters of goop is the lobby of 2023-opened Six Senses Rome, a departure for the biophilic resort brand known for remote locations. With the company being at a pivotal stage and about to expand into further cities, its first urban outpost is a terracotta teaser of what’s to come – and it’s a really good one, at that.
We were barely out of our cab when the hotel’s porters sped towards us to help us with our luggage. For a second, we felt reminded of Six Senses’ many off-the-beaten-track properties, where waving staff would welcome you with coconuts as you approach by means altogether more glamorous than a Roman taxi (think speedboats, seaplanes or even paragliders, as is famously the case at the brand’s Omani resort). Inside the stately building – reimagined in collaboration with architect-of-the-hour Patricia Urquiola – the resort-like experience continued with the team handing us a scented towel, a welcome drink and cantucci biscuits, alongside a small herbal sachet with a message that would come to define our stay: “inhale… hold… exhale”.
It’s clear that Six Senses Rome positions itself as a holistic sanctuary among the city’s new generation of five-star hotels, with near-ethereal lighting diffused within its common areas, and a haptic vision built upon natural materials like Cocciopesto plaster, Italian travertine and even rope, which has been upcycled and elevated to line the walls of the hotel’s spa (nota bene, to strikingly beautiful effect). Decor and furnishings like lampshades in the hallways, which we found somehow reminiscent of bamboo canes, or six bells near the entrance – one for each human sense, plus the brand’s signature sixth sense, intuition – each introduce a laidback retreat flavour to the 18th-century Palazzo Salviati Cesi Mellini, which the property calls its home.
Guests looking for a vestige of antiquity between contemporary fabric artworks and more shades of beige SKIMS could fit into a shapewear collection will be relieved that this part of the building’s identity continues to be honoured. For one, the structure itself is UNESCO-listed and protected by the Roman municipality, with features like its facade and historical staircase having been lavishly restored. There’s also a glass floor near the hotel’s Earth Lab, offering a view of a subterranean Baptist pool, once part of the neighbouring San Marcello al Corso Church (whose facade’s restoration the hotel generously supported as part of its first community project). The team was quick to let us in on the pool’s significance, explaining that ancient Romans were asked to wade through it as a means of purification before entering the titular church. If you’re looking to get your feet wet, too, you’re in luck: guided visits can be arranged.
There’s nothing ancient about the 96 rooms and suites you’ll find at Six Senses Rome. Our 35 sqm/377 sqft Deluxe Room would have been a little compact for longer stays, yet benefited from a generous ceiling height and an overall minimalist aesthetic that was sufficiently calm to create the perfect conditions for ‘head space’ despite the smaller square-footage, while offering enough in the way of textures and patterns not to feel vacuous. Though our welcome amenity included a bottle of Franciacorta and an array of small bites, we felt inspired to embrace a healthier stay, opting instead for one of the freshly made detox estrattos from the minibar. Bar alcoholic beverages, this is free of charge and stocked with gourmet snacks like nuts, antioxidant-rich chocolate bars, and canned water by WAMI (Water with A Mission), a charitable brand donating water to communities in need around the globe.
For Six Senses disciples, this will all feel remarkably consistent with what they know from the company’s far-flung resorts, and things like yoga mats in rooms help to translate the brand’s modern approach to hospitality – one that celebrates well-being, community and connectedness over materialistic excess – throughout. Nevertheless, in its quest for simplicity, the hotel relies perhaps a little heavily on formulaic room design, and entry-level accommodations could do with some additional spark, or even just an unexpected and fun detail (toga dressing gowns, anyone?). Many a guest won’t mind their room being on the safer side of things, of course, but if you’re in hopes of experiencing the maximum wealth of ideas Six Senses was able to shake out of the palazzo’s storied walls, opt for accommodations like the Salviati Suite, or the Two-Bedroom Mellini Suite, which are more fancifully appointed with quirky sculptures, light fixtures and books, while featuring perks like private libraries or outdoor terraces.
| Perfect for | Fly into | Right on time |
| The Culturalist | FCO | GMT +2 |
| While you’re Out There |
| Among the hotel’s impressive green credentials including LEED Gold certification for sustainable design and construction, as well as the highest level of accreditation awarded by The Global Sustainable Tourism Council, you’ll also find a partnership with Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo (“I’m not Afraid of the Wolf”), a charity working to educate people about the peaceful coexistence of humans and wolves. Stop by the property’s Earth Lab to pick up Aurelia, its she-wolf mascot, to help make a difference: profits from the sale of the soft toy are donated to the organisation. |
Speaking of terraces, the hotel’s NOTOS Rooftop bar and restaurant, where live music and DJ sets amidst countless potted plans and herbs scenting the warm breeze constitute a viby backdrop to 360-degree views of the Eternal City (the nearby Vittoriano appears particularly imposing from here), has become a magnet for Rome’s zeitgeist-making culturati. We loved the white peach Bellini with a dash of mezcal here, and liked the vegetable millefeuille, chard rolls with couscous and basil sorbet on fruit salad. All in all, our meals at Six Senses Rome, including at the downstairs BIVIUM, with its open kitchen, wood-fired pizzas and Josper-grilled dishes, were certainly tasty. The hotel’s steadfast commitment to healthy cuisine, paired with our plant-based diet, however, meant that our culinary experience was a little light on the mouth-watering and satisfying dishes that make Italian cuisine so utterly divine.
Gorgeous salads and gently simmered vegetables with hummus dips are delicious, sure, but we’d argue that when in Rome, do as the Romans do, and indulge in pasta bowls dripping with tomato sauce that was slow-cooked and made with amore (chef’s kiss emoji!) by a flock of nonne that fell out of a Bertolli commercial. Upon asking whether pizzas could be made using cashew cheese, we were reminded that the hotel serves only ‘natural’ ingredients, and wondered how milk produced by a bovine species to help its calf double in weight within two months of birth, and then served to fully-grown human adults, classifies as ‘natural’, but a nut with yeast, water and a bit of salt, blended into creamy deliciousness, does not. In fairness, however, Six Senses Rome is better equipped than most hotels in town to cater to diverse dietary requirements: we enjoyed the original sourdough toast with mushrooms, basil, pickles and hazelnut butter at breakfast, and delighted in equally innovative smoothies like the Bocca della Verità, a pumpkin-based concoction with tangerine, ginger and cinnamon.
While according to the famous medieval proverb, all roads lead to Rome, at Six Senses’ first Italian outpost, all roads lead to the spa, and no ‘road’ is perhaps more rewarding than the stairs, where a stunningly preserved stained glass window catches the eye (it’s worth skipping the elevator for). The Roman baths-themed wellness space is show-stopping, marrying ancient bathing culture – caldarium, tepidarium and frigidarium pools invite guests on a fully-fledged thermal journey – with biohacking gadgets fit for a billionaire’s mitochondrial rejuvenation goals. We could’ve spent an entire day between the sauna and the hammam, the herbal tea lounge and the meditation room and, of course, the treatment rooms, where a sublime massage melted away our worries. Its spa is unsurprisingly the most resort-like part of the property, having been developed not merely for its purpose as a retreat from the outside world, as is often the case with urban hotels, but as an environment where connection and storytelling form an essential part of the experience. Nods to the natural and mythological worlds include mosaics of Greek nymph Daphne, transformed into a laurel tree by her father, as well as a selection of natural ingredients at the Alchemy Bar, where guests are invited to make their own lotions and more.
If you’re looking for a more active way to unwind, aerial yoga and an outdoor workout deck are both available, while sacred cacao ceremonies and sound healing sessions offer a spiritual take on well-being just steps from Rome’s busiest street, the Via del Corso. It’s one thing to be cocooned from the outside world, but it’s another to feel transported to an environment that’s a destination in its own right, and which would ‘work’ regardless of its immediate surroundings. This is something all our favourite resorts have in common – it’s never just about their being secluded. Whether you call it an intention, a sense of place, or even just an energy (no one here would bat an eyelid at you for doing so), it’s a quality Six Senses Rome arguably embodies like nowhere else to stay in town. Inhale… hold… exhale, indeed.
Photography courtesy of Six Senses Hotels, Resorts and Spas
