Baglioni Hotel Regina - Rome

Baglioni Hotel Regina occupies a grand stone palazzo on Via Vittorio Veneto, the curving avenue that defined Roman glamour in the years of la dolce vita. Arrive at dusk and the facade glows under the plane trees, lamps lit on every balcony, which is exactly how the hotel likes to introduce itself on video.

Inside, the mood is unashamedly classic. Salons are dressed in crimson and gold, with crystal chandeliers, painted panels and chequered marble underfoot. Guest rooms lean calmer, in cream and soft grey, and the bathrooms are clad in Italian marble. The larger suites add terraces with views over the rooftops, separate living areas and a butler, and the Roman Penthouse Suite gets a video of its own.

Several guests describe mornings that begin with breakfast to the sound of a harp and evenings that end with live music in the bar. There is a refined Italian restaurant, a gilded café for coffee between sights, and a spa where a Jacuzzi sits beneath tall bamboo-patterned screens, alongside a Turkish bath and a gym.

The real luxury, though, is the address. Villa Borghese is a few minutes on foot, and the Spanish Steps, Via Condotti and the Trevi Fountain are an easy stroll downhill.