In a world where “luxury” is more marketing than matter and five-star establishments bank on outward projection, J.K. Place Roma is a rare example of a hotel that lets discretion do the talking. The art of hospitality is paramount here, but even on a surface level, this boutique bolthole has serious cultural cachet amongst those in the know – and sex appeal aplenty.
To say it’s an accomplishment to open a hotel around the corner from the top tourist draws of one of the world’s most visited cities without the property becoming an attraction in its own right would be an understatement. But J.K. Place Roma has done exactly that. Most who stroll down the narrow Via di Monte d’Oro, at whose northern end the hotel occupies a 17th-century palazzo that was once the home of Rome’s architectural school, would hardly guess that behind the stately but ultimately unassuming black doors lies one of the chicest places to stay in all the Eternal City. We, too, nearly missed the entrance, if it hadn’t been for a plaque pointing to the hotel’s membership in the Leading Hotels of the World portfolio… a reassuring welcome, if ever there was one.
Its hidden-in-plain-sight status is precisely why 2013-opened J.K. Place Roma is well positioned to cater to a specific type of guest, of course: the type that’s in search of privacy and generous service standards that trade rehearsed hospitality for genuine personalisation. And with doors swinging open as if by magic, and a made-to-our-preferences welcome drink paired with nibbles appearing in front of us as we took a seat on a deep sofa in the lobby (“for a more comfortable check-in”, as the staff was quick to advise), it was easy to appreciate just how elaborate and accommodating of an arrival experience the hotel puts on for its guests. Ab initio, you feel in the best of hands.
We’d argue that its devotees don’t just happen upon the palazzo, but actively seek out a place to stay with a take on interiors that’s outside the box of what’s ‘pretty and practical’ within a hotel, prioritising a sense of homeliness instead. With its private members’ club atmosphere, J.K. Place Roma, which was designed by Florentine Michele Bönan Interiors, proposes an ambience that feels strikingly dissimilar to that of other addresses in town, and one that seems quintessentially Italian: in the light-filled ‘living room’, painting meets photography by Massimo Listri, classical busts rub shoulders with club chairs, and potted Areca palms nod, just perhaps, to days spent on the Amalfi coast. If you didn’t know better, you might expect to find Lucio Fontana, a slashed canvas in one hand, and a Negroni in the other, at the bar.
Up the elevator – elegantly camouflaged as a mirrored door, and featuring an L-shaped couch ideal for putting down those heavy Prada bags – you’ll find the hotel’s 27 rooms and suites. Each has been individually designed, with a unique blend of artworks, textiles and statement furnishings. Our 40 sqm/440 sqft JKDeluxe Balcony Room on the top floor featured a king-size rosewood bed with a pleated canopy, a snug outdoor dining area and the latest Bose-branded tech. Meanwhile, down a wood-panelled hallway that wouldn’t have looked out of place on an Ocean Liner during the Golden Age of Travel, a high-polish Carrara marble bathroom featuring twin vanities and a bathtub with Alma K bath salts made a case for luxurious relaxation. We found our room felt both cosy, with warm lights and soft carpets, as well as generous, thanks to its ceiling height, clean lines and large mirrors that optically enlarged the space.
Beneath the shiny veneer, however, rooms at J.K. Place Roma impress with a range of added perks reflective of the brand’s approach to offering just a little more than what you might hope to find elsewhere. There are the complimentary non-alcoholic beverages in the minibar, for one, and an exclusive newspaper called ’30 Days in Rome’, compiled by Italian journalist Loredana Tartagoia and the hotel’s General Manager Maria Strati (who, with her chic and sharp demeanour, we found to be the perfect J.K. poster child). The gazette introduces Rome’s current affairs and cultural happenings with brio, and enticed us to make some last-minute changes to our plans so we could attend an exhibition opening – others might be more tempted by recommendations on all things personal shopping or face gyms.
| Perfect for | Fly into | Right on time |
| The Sophisticate | FCO | GMT +2 |
| While you’re Out There |
| Looking to stretch your legs? Walk along the Tiber and cross the river at Ponte Principe. From here, make your way up to Janiculum Hill – it’s a bit of a climb, but the panoramic views over the Eternal City are worth it. You could also pay a visit to the nearby Fontana dell’Acqua Paola and the Tempietto del Bramante, which, even by local standards, is extremely pretty. After all that walking, tumble downhill into one of Rome’s most happening neighbourhoods, Trastevere, for a much-deserved aperitivo. |
For your culinary needs, head to the JKCafé on the ground floor, where a crowd of cultural connoisseurs chit-chat over Roman Spritzes. Those without a dietary requirement are likely to have a wonderful time here, though we found that the hotel was surprisingly unprepared to cater to our plant-based diet. With the sole vegan-friendly option (other than a risotto, just about our least favourite thing to eat) on both the breakfast as well as dinner menus being a green salad, we enquired about what else the chef might be able to prepare for us. The answer? A Caesar salad, but “we’ll remove the chicken, the bacon, the parmesan and the dressing”.
We’ll spare you the details, but with our waiter – who, it must be said, tried his hardest to salvage the situation – repeatedly liaising between ourselves and the kitchen, to return with increasingly makeshift menu options (“pasta with vegetables?”), we ended up settling for “anything the chef can make”… not because we fancied “anything”, but because our poor waiter clearly had more tables to service – and because we started to feel embarrassed in front of other diners. Having stayed at many a hotel in Rome, there’s no denying the city isn’t at the vanguard of diet-inclusive dining. But given that J.K. Place Roma claims the kind of globally minded, tailor-made service that you’d expect from an independently-owned hotel of its size as its main differentiator, we’d hoped for a more proactive stance on upholding this level of customisation in how the hotel caters to those who don’t fit the mould.
Indeed, at every opportunity but our meal times, the palazzo deserved full marks on the service front. Guests can count on the team to anticipate any question they might have about their accommodations, with room features being explained intuitively – it’s not the type of hotel that will look at a bald guest and point out the location of a hairdryer in their bathroom. The staff also take the initiative to assist guests in elevating their stay in Rome, offering to make arrangements and sharing personal recommendations at every turn. This certainly added value to our visit, while making our interactions with the team feel warm and natural, and attesting to how J.K. Place sees itself not merely as a hospitality brand, but as a guide to – and the only hotel company of its kind in – the locations it’s in: Rome, Capri, Paris and soon Milan.
J.K. Place Roma is undeniably a ‘sexy’ place to stay, forged of equal parts vision (the brand’s co-founder and CEO Ori Kafri shares his motivations behind J.K. Place beautifully in the 2024-published volume Bellosguardo) and style – that of an art collector’s private home, to be precise. But you’d be wrong in pigeonholing the palazzo as a place that takes itself too seriously. There’s a lightheartedness to the art of hosting here that we found reflected in a recent, ‘just for fun’ collaboration with Snoopy, which somehow blends in perfectly with the classic literature and heavy hardcovers you’ll find in the hotel library. To most guests, the common denominator of all that gives J.K. Place Roma its unique quality isn’t its proficiency in matters of style, but the joy that comes with the pursuit thereof.
Photography courtesy of J.K. Place
