LUX February 2017

LUX - February 2017 19 Sampling Italy’s Historical Delights With a night in one of NH’s hotels allowing a range of experiences that fall anywhere between comfortably plush and exuberantly luxurious, the NH Hotel Group’s presence can felt not only in every corner of Europe, but across the world. As if 53,000 rooms in 380 hotels across 29 countries was not enough, brand new hotels in Haikou and Sanya make China the recent 30th hosting country. Thus, this chain of exquisite European hotels is starting to extend its tendrils into contact with the East, just as in days of Antiquity the Romans had once done. It is fitting, then, that the NH Group should maintain a robust network in what is arguably the cradle of Western civilisation. The modern City of Rome – with its sights, smells and tastes – yields itself to the NH Hotel Group. The historic – even mythical – City of the Seven Hills still bears many untouched secrets for hungry-eyed visitors. The Coliseum, the Arsenale, and the Pantheon, a project started by Augustus and completed by Hadrian, dominate the city’s architecture, imposing forebears of the centuries of development that have built up around these structures, hemming them in against an ever-evolving cityscape that is a favourite for tourists the world over. It is within this timeless place that the NH Hotel Group make such a determined presence as to consider Rome something a second home. Taking advantage of the limitless opportunities for tourism, cuisine and quality relaxation time, there are five NH Hotel properties dotted around the city, each of which bears its own unique signature, laying their own patrician claims to an area of the city. Such exposure to the city offers guests unparalleled access to Rome’s eclipsing history, and its enduring modern charm. The hotels themselves take inspiration from this motif, taking root in unassuming locations and bearing fruit through dreamy interiors and luxurious amenities. While the five NH hotels in Rome bear their own streaks of individuality, there is no mistaking the NH Group’s penchant for sleek, polished demeanours, with spacious lounges, floor-to-ceiling windows to maximise the view, and wooden fittings that gleam in the sun of the central Mediterranean. Perhaps the most well-connected of these is the brand-new NH Collection Roma Palazzo Cinquecento. Mere metres away from the Porta Pinciana, the gate leading through the old Aurelian Walls, this newest addition to the NH Roman quintet is perched on the edge of what was considered, in Antiquity, to be the enclosing space around the seven hills of the city. Passing through the Porta Pinciana leads guests into the enclosed 3,500-acre space that is the historic city centre of Rome. Immediately beyond this section of the wall, however, is the Villa Borghese, a public landscape garden comprising a wide expanse of naturalistic, English-styled populated by museums and other attractions, such as the Piazza di Siena, a popular hippodrome that hosted equestrian events for the 1960 Olympics. All of these sights and more are visible from one of the 177 rooms in the Palazzo Cinquecento hotel. From within the hotel’s walls, history takes a convenient sidestep in place of warm, contemporary fashions, with classic Italian flourishes on top of hardwood floors, and ground-floorterraces overlooking the garden beyond. Each hotel features a combination of modern amenities and elements of traditional design to offer an authentic experience with all of the contemporary comforts. Ultimately, in this modern age of global travel, all roads still seem to lead, almost inexorably, effortlessly, back to Rome. To find out more or book your stay please visit http://www.nh-hotels.com/hotels/rome The NH Hotel Group represents a conglomeration of hotels centred in Rome, the cultural hub of Europe. Sampling Italy’s Historical Delights