ROMEO Roma
Rome’s boldest new hotel—where Renaissance grandeur collides with Zaha Hadid’s futuristic vision in a masterpiece decades in the making.
Why DNA Hotels Loves It
● One of the final hospitality projects touched by Zaha Hadid, blending avant-garde architecture with a 16th-century Roman palazzo.
● A rare hotel where ancient ruins, Renaissance frescoes, Alain Ducasse dining, and futuristic design coexist under one roof.
● Unapologetically ambitious, proving that Rome can honor its past while embracing the future.
Where Empire Meets Edge
Rome is a city built on layers. Ancient temples sit beneath churches. Renaissance palazzi conceal Roman foundations. At ROMEO Roma, that layering becomes the entire design narrative.
Occupying Palazzo Capponi, a 16th-century residence on Via di Ripetta near Piazza del Popolo, the hotel took more than a decade to complete. What began as a restoration evolved into something far more ambitious when archaeological excavations uncovered ancient Roman remains beneath the building. Rather than treat these discoveries as obstacles, the project embraced them, transforming the hotel into a dialogue between centuries.
The result feels unlike anything else in Rome. Renaissance architecture remains intact, but flowing forms, sculptural surfaces, and futuristic interventions introduce an entirely new visual language. It is neither preservation nor reinvention. It is both.
Zaha Hadid’s Roman Legacy
ROMEO Roma stands as one of the final projects associated with the late Zaha Hadid and her team.
Her signature language appears throughout the hotel: fluid vaults, stretched geometries, sculptural walls, and organic forms that seem to flow from one space into another. Carrara marble meets Nero Marquina marble. Brass details shimmer against dark stone. Makassar ebony and walnut paneling create warmth while maintaining a distinctly futuristic atmosphere.
The lobby immediately establishes the tone. Black and white marble creates dramatic contrast beneath vaulted ceilings, while sculptural interventions challenge the historic framework of the building. Ancient busts and contemporary design coexist effortlessly, reinforcing the idea that Rome itself is a city where time periods continuously overlap.
Rather than competing with the palazzo’s history, Hadid’s vision amplifies it through contrast.
Suites Between Past and Future
The 74 rooms and suites are among the most distinctive luxury accommodations in Rome.
Entry-level rooms already showcase Hadid’s design vocabulary through flowing surfaces, integrated furniture, hidden technology, and rich wood paneling that creates an almost yacht-like atmosphere. Walls, ceilings, and floors appear to merge into one continuous sculptural gesture.
The most remarkable accommodations occupy the piano nobile, where the hotel’s original Renaissance architecture takes center stage. Here, restored frescoes, painted ceilings, and historic detailing coexist with Hadid’s contemporary forms. One moment guests are looking at 17th-century artwork; the next they are immersed in futuristic curves and custom-designed furniture.
The Fresco Suites capture this contrast perfectly. Ornate ceilings float above highly contemporary interiors, creating spaces that feel both centuries old and entirely futuristic.
Dining by Alain Ducasse
Food is central to the ROMEO experience.
At Il Ristorante Alain Ducasse Roma, the legendary chef oversees his first restaurant in Italy, bringing his signature precision to local ingredients and Roman traditions. Menus balance simplicity and innovation, allowing exceptional produce to take center stage while introducing subtle contemporary techniques.
Breakfast receives the same attention. There are no buffets here. Instead, guests order from an entirely à la carte menu curated by Ducasse himself, including pastries from his celebrated Paris chocolate and pastry ateliers.
Elsewhere, Il Cortile serves as the social heart of the hotel, blurring the boundaries between restaurant, lounge, and garden. Undulating ebony structures frame dining spaces while the courtyard introduces a welcome sense of calm in the center of the city.
Above it all, La Terrazza Krug offers Champagne, cocktails, and rooftop views stretching across Rome’s sea of domes, churches, and terracotta rooftops.
Luxury Above Ancient Ruins
Perhaps nowhere is the hotel’s concept more dramatically expressed than in the Sisley Paris Spa.
Spanning more than 1,000 square meters, the wellness complex unfolds among archaeological remains discovered during construction. The centerpiece is an indoor-outdoor swimming pool featuring a transparent floor that reveals Roman ruins beneath the water.
Guests move between sauna, hammam, treatment rooms, relaxation areas, and thermal experiences while surrounded by fragments of the city’s ancient past. It is one of the most extraordinary spa environments in Europe—a place where wellness and archaeology unexpectedly converge.
The effect is uniquely Roman. Every layer of history remains visible.
The New Face of Roman Luxury
ROMEO Roma arrives at a moment when Rome’s luxury hotel scene has never been stronger. Yet while many new openings celebrate heritage through restoration, ROMEO pursues something far more daring.
This is not a nostalgic vision of Rome. It is a contemporary one.
Ancient ruins sit beneath glass floors. Renaissance frescoes hover above futuristic suites. Alain Ducasse reinvents Italian dining. Zaha Hadid’s flowing forms challenge centuries of architectural convention.
And somehow, it all works.
A New Layer of Rome
ROMEO Roma is not a hotel for traditionalists. It is a hotel for travelers who believe luxury should surprise, provoke, and inspire.
The combination of Renaissance grandeur, archaeological discoveries, Zaha Hadid’s final design legacy, Alain Ducasse’s culinary vision, and one of the city’s most ambitious adaptive-reuse projects creates something genuinely unique. Rome has always evolved through layers. ROMEO Roma simply adds one of the most exciting new layers in decades.
