The outrageously glitzy Cavalieri Hilton is set a couple of kilometres away from the centre of Rome behind the Vatican, so that it doesn't contaminate the rest of the city with its entertaining brashness.
Telephone: + 39 (0)6 35 091
Price: from EUR 380
Receive a free Hg2 guide when you book a room online
Redolent of Las Vegas kitsch, the Cavalieri Hilton is possibly the most spectacularly vulgar hotel in all of Rome. Set in 15 acres of land on the unofficial eighth hill of Rome, it is rather removed from the centre (you’ll require a shuttle bus service to reach anything vaguely interesting), but it does have panoramic views over the whole city.
Lacking in contemporary sophistication, this hotel feels like a cruise liner bound for the island of crass. If you like glitzy Euro-trash and want to flash your money in nouveau-riche heaven then you’ll absolutely love it.
Huge plasma screens clash with the gaudy baroque furnishings in the bedrooms while the pool attracts a pantheon of international plutocrats swimming in their own misguided taste.
It’s not without its redeeming features, however, including super-chef Heinz Beck’s Michelin-starred rooftop restaurant La Pergola, and its unparalleled facilities: a top-notch spa with La Prairie products, an excellent gym, two tennis courts and the Olympic-sized pool – the perfect backdrop for quaffing pinacoladas. Just perfetto for a clientele that is executive, opulent and diplomatic. If you want to relive the last, excessive days of the Roman Empire à la Nero, then this is the place to do it.
