Rome Italy Hotel Review - Hotel Hassler Villa Medici, Rome

Hassler Hotel, Rome Hassler Rooftop Restaurant

The Hotel Hassler is held in particular esteem by Americans, who got to know it at the end of World War 2 when for three years it was taken over as headquarters for the American Air Transport Command. General Dwight D. Eisenhower had a private suite here. In the 1950s, American ex-servicemen began bringing their families to the hotel, and the tradition has continued, two generations on.

Fear not, however - the hotel is run according to the best European traditions of professionalism and discretion in service. No waiter in the garden terrace bar or the rooftop restaurant will ever approach your table with: "Hi. My name's Greg and I'm your server for this evening," though you can count on hotel staff to be fluent in English.

The current list of celebrity guests is of course a closely guarded secret. Well, not so closely-guarded: while chatting with the publicity manager we learn that Kevin Costner and Pierce Brosnan prefer the bright and airy penthouse suite while George Bush and Gerhard Schroeder ask for the more formal, rosewood-paneled Saint Peter's suite on the floor below.

Paul and Linda McCartney and writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez also crop up in our conversation. Luminaries of the past who've been guests include Charlie Chaplin, Marlene Dietrich, Pablo Picasso, Somerset Maugham, John Steinbeck, A.J. Cronin, Audrey Hepburn, Princess Diana and a raft of other crowned heads of Europe and the Middle East.

For ordinary mortals on ordinary too-brief vacations, visiting Rome can be an exhausting experience. It's the combined effect of the mobs of fellow tourists, the street noise, the searing heat in summer, the traffic bedlam all year round, not to mention the incredible wealth of must-see treasures, all begging for your attention and scolding if they're overlooked.

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