Hotel Raphaël – Relais & Châteaux 

Hotel Raphael is a wonderful hotel in an excellent location, but what really distinguishes it is the service. It is genuinely impeccable—Ritz-Carlton-level service, but delivered in a very personal and intimate way. The staff quickly remember your name, and no request seems too small. A perfect example was the hotel’s tiny bar, with only about four stools inside and perhaps fifteen seats outside. I ordered my regular cocktail, and although I didn’t say anything, the bartender could tell it wasn’t quite the way I liked it. He simply said, “Here, you show me.” I did—and every drink after that was perfect. They also brought out a complimentary plate of small bites from the kitchen. It was that kind of thoughtful hospitality throughout our stay. The hotel itself is luxurious but wonderfully distinctive, with an eclectic, slightly surreal 1970s Italian design sensibility. There’s almost a touch of A Clockwork Orange to it—in the best possible way. It certainly doesn’t look like every other luxury hotel. Our room was extremely clean, modern and quite large by European standards. The bathroom was particularly spacious, with a separate shower and bathtub and two sinks. This is definitely a full-service luxury hotel, not a B&B, yet there is something unusually intimate about it. When you return after being out in Rome, it feels less like walking back into a hotel and more like coming home to a luxurious Roman townhouse. We would absolutely return. Given the location, accommodations and extraordinary level of service, we also thought it represented excellent value for the money.