Four Seasons Rome Palazzo Marini

Two Four Seasons Rome hotels are being planned. The first is Four Seasons Rome Palazzo Marini, a short walk from the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps, and the other, if it comes to fruition, would be by the Vatican. The Four Seasons Rome hotels would likely be the fifth and sixth Four Seasons in Italy after Four Seasons Florence, Four Seasons Milan, Sicily's Four Seasons Taormina San Domenico Palace, and the recently opened Danieli, a Four Seasons Hotel, Venice. Another Four Seasons in Italy, the Four Seasons Puglia, has been announced but doesn't yet have an opening date.

The Four Seasons at Palazzo Marini reached an important milestone in July 2026 when DeA Capital Real Estate (whose principal investor is Fort Partners, whose other luxury hotels and projects include The Four Seasons at the Surf Club, Four Seasons Telluride, Four Seasons Palm Beach, and Four Seasons Yacht, among others) closed on a EUR 280 million loan to finance the project. The deal funds the renovation of the historic palazzo, as well as the redesign of the piazza in front of it.

A Four Seasons in Vatican City is also possible, although not as far along as Palazzo Marini, as Four Seasons negotiates with the Catholic Church over a property close to St. Peter's Basilica. The potential deal is controversial, and the deal may not happen.

Four Seasons Rome Locations and Buildings

The Four Seasons Rome Palazzo Marini will be in a historic 17th-century complex, positioned by Piazza San Silvestro. Guests will be within easy walking distance of many sights within the Eternal City: Trevi Fountain (5 min.), the Spanish Steps (7 min.), Roman Forum (20 min.), and the Colosseum (28 min.)

The Four Seasons Rome Palazzo della Rovere would be a restoration and renovation of the Palazzo della Rovere, located at Via della Conciliazione, which is a mere four minute walk from St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. It's a prime location, with no other 5-star hotels in the immediate vicinity; the closest are the Portrait Roma and J.K. Place Roma, across the Tiber River.

The building, which dates from the Renaissance and previously was owned by Jesuits, is now owned by the Catholic Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and serves as the Order's global headquarters. The order's mandate is to “support the Christian presence in the Holy Land” and its sovereign is the pope. Building features include a turret, large courtyard, and ancient frescoes by Italian artist Pinturicchio. Until the pandemic, much of the building was run as a family hotel, which has since closed; only the Order's offices remain open.

Four Seasons Rome Proposed Rooms and Amenities

The Four Seasons Rome Palazzo Marini will include 127 rooms and suites. The interiors will be designed by French architect Joseph Dirand (forthcoming Four Seasons Gstaad, Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, The Chancery Rosewood in London, Hotel Apogée in Courchevel, among others) with the monumental symmetry, restrained ornamentation, and quintessentially Roman materials of Augustan classicism. Amenities will also include restaurants, a gym, spa, and swimming pool.

Guest Room, Four Seasons Rome Palazzo Marini

Guest Room Bathroom, Four Seasons Rome Palazzo Marini

Swimming Pool, Four Seasons Rome Palazzo Marini

The Four Seasons Rome Palazzo della Rovere in Vatican City would have 77 rooms, including 11 Executive Suites and two specialty suites. The hotel would have restaurants, a gym, and spa, although no swimming pool given the constraints of the historical building.

Restaurant, Four Seasons Rome Palazzo della Rovere

Suite, Four Seasons Rome Palazzo della Rovere

Four Seasons Preferred Partner Benefits

TravelSort Clients enjoy Four Seasons Preferred Partner benefits. FSPP is the best way to reserve Four Seasons hotels and resorts worldwide, because Four Seasons prioritizes upgrades for guests booked with FSPP benefits, ahead of reservations reserved through AMEX Fine Hotels & Resorts, reservations booked directly, or through any other channel.

Daily full American breakfast for up to two guests per bedroom, served through in-room dining or in the hotel restaurant, including buffets
Upgrade of one category, based on availability at time of check-in (excluding signature suites and villas). Note that sometimes there are exclusive Four Seasons Preferred Partner guaranteed upgrade offers, check with TravelSort
Resort credit of $100 per stay for guest rooms, $200 per stay for suites, $200 per bedroom per stay for multi-bedroom Four Seasons Private Residences
Early check-in and late check-out based on availability

The Controversy

According to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, at the end of 2020, the Order's Grand Master, Italian Cardinal Fernando Filoni agreed to a tender for the property, with the stipulation that it was for hotels rated four stars or fewer. Within weeks after the tender opened, sixty offers were made, with finalists reduced to ten companies. In Summer 2021, the Order reduced the final list to three candidates, eliminating major companies such as Marriott and Hilton. If the Four Seasons offer is successful, it would be for a 27-year contract entail with an annual rent of just over $1 million, and additional millions would be spent on the property's reconstruction and the restoration of the frescoes. While we have no knowledge of these particular negotiations, we wouldn't be surprised if Four Seasons is being strongly considered due to its experience with meticulous historical restorations, for example San Domenico Palace, Taormina; where Four Seasons was charged with restoring all the works of art, paintings, frescos and statues, as well as the period features of the Hotel, such as its columns, arcades and vaulted ceilings, everything under the supervision of the local council, which is highly protective of Sicily’s artistic heritage. Other restorations of historic buildings include the Four Seasons London at Ten Trinity Square; and the Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace in St. Petersburg.

But some of the companies that lost the bid, such as Radisson, considered lodging a formal complaint with the Vatican and threatened a class action suit, noting Four Seasons entered the tender late and is a five-star chain that shouldn't qualify given the tender's stipulation of properties of four-stars or fewer.

The Order of the Holy Sepulcher defended their decision-making process in a May 18 statement: “Like a faithful and prudent administrator…has a duty to take care of everything that has been entrusted to it and that it manages with transparency.”

The Order said an important consideration is a company that can do the necessary restoration work in keeping with the city of Rome's regulations.

Other critics of the decision point out that having such a luxurious hotel on property owned by the Catholic church runs is hypocritical given the current pope's vision of a “poor church for the poor.” The hotel would be located near where a number of homeless sleep at night, under the cover of several buildings just outside St. Peter’s Square.