Crossing Condotti, Rooms In Rome
We arrived at viadei Condotti, the heart of the swanky shopping district in Rome, on a hot, buzzy Saturday night.
Completely enthralled by the sights and scenery during our taxi ride from the airport and with only a long weekend to cover it all, we couldn’t wait to start exploring this historical city. The problem was, we hadn’t researched enough on ‘things to do’ and started to worry about where we would be dining that evening.
But first, we had to drop off our luggage and check-in to our hotel. We walked down one of the main black-stone cobbled cross-ways and arrived at a big green door. As we pressed the buzzer, our utterly charming host Francesco Bevacqua, warmly greeted us in and swiftly grabbed our bags to help us up to reach this hidden gem, Crossing Condotti.
An elegant, private and recently restored townhouse residence, Crossing Condotti has a distinctively boutique feel. Discrete and cosy, it has just six exclusive guest rooms to choose from. Each classic contemporary room features parquet flooring and is refined with antique furnishings combined with modern amenities including ipod dock, WiFi and access to Sky TV on a flat screen. Artwork and prints from the owners’ private collection are opulently displayed in the rooms. We were given the romantic deluxe queen room, called ‘Spagna’ – with a beautiful canopy drape hanging over our bed.
We enquired on the best restaurants and places to visit over the next three days and without further delay, Francesco eagerly pulled out a sizeable map, inscribing the very best the Eternal City has to offer with carefully marked ‘x’s. He detailed authentic pizzerias and Roman trattorias (we took his recommendation to taste cuisine at Le Mani In Pasta in the trendy Trasvetere area and boy, were we impressed!) noted some cool bars and of course, key landmarks including the Trevi Fountains, Pantheon, Piazza Navona and slightly further afield, The Colosseum and Vatican Museums. Francesco gave us the best advice to book in advance to see the latter two. He extended his first rate hospitality by helping us to pay for tickets online and print them out. What a huge relief for ill-prepared us.
We also quickly discovered that Crossing Condotti resides in what is called the ‘golden triangle’, making it the perfect location to walk around most of the key wonders Rome has to offer. Not only is it just a few steps away from Piazza di Spagna (The Spanish Steps), it’s a fantastic destination for travellers when time is very limited and traffic a total nightmare.
Well equipped with our Roman map of marked treasures, we set off on our night walk through the bustling piazzas and then on to dinner.