In the Eternal City, you don't walk. You stroll. You get lost amid the labyrinthine streets, curiosity sparked by an old-fashioned shopfront, a colourful façade, or the scent of coffee wafting through the air. At the historic heart of the city, just behind the Pantheon, this instinctive wandering often leads travellers to the Piazza della Minerva — a jewel that counts among its treasures a magnificent 8th-century basilica, the Senate library, and, since last spring, L'Orient Express La Minerva.
The world's first Orient Express hotel, it is set within a 17th-century palace — a hedonistic setting that can boast of having served as the Roman retreat for the most illustrious figures, from Stendhal to Herman Melville. From the very entrance, lanterns of metal and Murano glass set the tone of the renovation conceived by architect Hugo Toro, entrusted with reviving the spirit of the place without distorting it. The goal: to bring this iconic Renaissance palace into the modern age.
Placed beneath the statue of Minerva, the bespoke glass ceiling seems to have always crowned the leafy lounge bar, which one can easily imagine adorned with Rome's ever-changing light. Here already, a certain idea of travel unfolds across 12,000 square metres of lavish décor. The Dolce Vita lounge beckons with the charm of an Italian aperitivo — a gentle transition, the beginning of a journey, before boarding the Dolce Vita Orient Express, the first luxury train designed entirely in Italy.
Orient Express — A Touch of Dream
L'Orient Express La Minerva, Rome
On land and soon on water, Orient Express extends to its guests the most elegant of invitations to travel. An immersive experience through history and craftsmanship, proof — if proof were needed — that luxury is, above all, an emotion.
By La Rédaction
