Elizabeth Unique Hotel: a real nugget in the old Rome

Second stay in Rome this year. After the Meridien Visconti and since Olivier had already tested the Westin Rome I decided to try the recently opened Elizabeth Unique Hotel, from the Design Hotels chain.

Booking

As usual I use the SPG application to make sure I get the best rate. For the time (June) the 250 euro room is very affordable for Rome (most hotels were full) but I decide to book it with my Starwood points. And at 15,000 points a night the deal is even better.

Arrival at the hotel

The Elizabeth Unique is remarkably well located in Rome, just a few minutes from the Spanish Steps. Arriving from Fiumicino airport, I took the Leonardo express which brought me in 20 minutes to Termini station, from there 3 subway stations separated me from my destination.

The hotel is composed of two buildings facing each other: the main building and an outbuilding. Neither beautiful nor ugly, it looks like the buildings in the neighborhood.

Once you walk through the door, you immediately feel a warm and sophisticated environment. The check-in is done seated, a drink is offered and the staff is remarkably friendly. No mention of an upgrade is made which doesn’t surprise me because Design Hotels does not apply the full benefits of the SPG loyalty program. However a change from my reservation, I am moved from the annex building to the main building where the rooms look a bit bigger. Favour or chance? I will never know.

I was then taken to my room, and on the way, I was given an “artistic” tour of the place. Thanks to a partnership with a gallery, the hotel displays artists’ works in its corridors.

A real crush for the staircase which will make me prefer it to the elevator during my stay.

The initial room at the Elizabeth Unique Hotel

I go to my room. I don’t have any expectations about its size as we know that in Rome hotel rooms are usually rather small.

Pleasant surprise then: without being huge the room is of good size.

It is tastefully furnished and really warm.

A mini bluetooth speaker to listen to music from my computer/iphone.

A free bottle of wine every day!

And every night I’ll find some treats when I get back.

Very nice bathroom too. The hotel has its own brand of bath products.

And the filmed visit!

Excellent comfort, you feel at home.

Good news considering my rather mixed experiences at Design Hotels where it is sometimes difficult to find the Design or the “boutique hotel” side, culminating in the infamous Klaus K Helsinki.

A few minutes after I settled in, the front desk will call to make sure everything is fine.

A very nice terrace bar

I go back to the reception and ask them to show me the bar. The icing on the cake is that the bar will be informed of my arrival and I will be greeted by name.

Located on the first floor, the bar and restaurant are spread over a room and a terrace.

On the cocktail side, there are many nice creations. And the classics will also be well executed.

Very good and always a very efficient and friendly service.

I won’t try the restaurant. The concept is innovative and nice: dishes from different regions of Italy revisited in a “sandwich” style. But I wanted to eat more traditional food so my steps will lead me elsewhere.

Check-out

No mobile check-out so I had to go to the reception to leave. The opportunity to praise once again the human qualities of the staff.

Only small bug linked to the youth of the hotel and its recent integration in the processes of the chain: the points related to my stay were not credited and I had to make a claim a few weeks later.

Bottom line

When you know the Roman hotel industry, the small size of the rooms and the prices, especially at the beginning of the summer, the Elizabeth Unique Hotel is a real surprise. Opened in early 2018 it had not yet found its clientele but no doubt that will come quickly.

There is only one thing missing to make your stay perfect: the hotel has no gym and no spa. A real lack as everything else is perfect and it would fit very well with the philosophy of the hotel.