hotel
G-Rough
Start your stay at this five-story palazzina in the dinky downstairs Gallery Bar - a vision of sleek gold tiles and stylised seating. Five G-Rough spritzes down, head upstairs to explore the compact design hotel, which is a brilliant pastiche of Roman living. Don't be distracted by the 17th-century baroque exterior crafted to mimic classical tastes, however. Despite the Latin inscription on the facade reading "Satis ampla quae securitate rideat", or "large enough to feel secure", what it lacks in stature, G-Rough makes up for in design kudos, packing a kaleidoscope of 20th-century accents between unfinished stucco walls and flashes of the building's 17th-century undergarments (in the form of richly painted ceilings and ornate cornices). Geometric Gio Ponti tiles lie beneath Ico Parisi chairs; vases by Seguso vie for attention with wall graffiti (a souvenir from the pre-restoration party). It's a suave, swish experience, all meticulously curated by owner Gabriele Salini. There's no restaurant, but with an open kitchen downstairs available for guests' use and an endless selection of Roman restaurants available beyond the front door, you won't mind.