Rome wasn’t built in a day but you can certainly enjoy a lot of it on a weekend break. Earlier this month I took my partner there to enjoy the romance, see the sights and soak up La Dolce Vita. One of the most important decisions was where to stay and we eventually settled on the excellent five-star Hotel Lord Byron, a hotel that will live long in our memories.Known as the “White House” and carefully tucked away in the chic Parioli quarter of Rome, the Hotel Lord Byron aims to provide its guests with the best of both worlds. When you’ve spent a day wandering the busy and noisy streets of Rome in a 35 degree heat, it is a joy to cross the relative tranquillity of the park at Villa Borghese to the doors of the hotel. Once you are there the heat and the hectic-ness quickly melt away and you can re-charge your batteries in the unique art-deco surroundings.

There are thirty-two guestrooms and suites at Hotel Lord Byron and we stayed in a very pleasant ground floor deluxe double. I spent some time talking to the hotel’s reservations manager, Melita Mavrak and I took up her offer to view a couple of the other rooms. As we looked around Melita explained that alongside a recent hotel-wide restoration project the Lord Byron has a unique policy of constant renewal and renovation. All the rooms currently combine the luxurious styling of the 1930’s with full amenities including Wi-Fi and satellite television but throughout the year the hotel is also striving to improve on these existing high standards. The result is that rooms always feel fresh and unsullied.

  One of the most pleasant features of the rooms is the Carrera marble bathroom that helped to complete the unwinding process. The marble bathrooms are available at each level of accomodation as well as walk-in closets and luxury bathrobes.

The staff at the hotel were also fantastic. They were helpful and multi-llingual. They helped us to plan our days sightseeing and provided maps and directions as required. It’s worth noting for those who might tire of walking that the hotel also provides a courtesy shuttle service to the city centre throughout the day.

We had a truly wonderful weekend in Rome and the hotel did everything they could to help. On arrival we had a gourgeous light lunch at “SAPORI del Lord Byron”, the hotel’s world-reputed gourmet restaurant. Famous for its haute cuisine and delicious
Italian specialties, it is a romantic place ideal for a visit, even if you’re not staying at the hotel. The daily breakfast was also fantastic. On departure the hotel arranged our transport to the airport as they looked forward to welcoming us to Rome again. We’ll be back at Hotel Lord Byron and I can recommend its peaceful luxury to anyone spending a weekend in the Eternal City.

Report: Alex Lewis
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