Virtuoso Review: Portrait Roma Hotel

This Review of the Portrait Roma Hotel, part of the Lungarno Collection, is part of a trip report featuring Singapore Suites, Air Berlin Business Class, and luxury hotel stays, dining and activities in Berlin and Italy.

For the prior posts, please see:

Review: Air Berlin Business Class A330 JFK to Berlin

One of Europe's Best Hidden Secrets: Guess the Place

Review: Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, New York JFK Airport

Review: Hotel de Rome, Berlin

Review: Singapore Suites A380 New York JFK to Frankfurt with a Kid

Katz Orange Berlin Restaurant Review

TravelSort Clients enjoy Virtuoso Benefits for the Portrait Roma:

Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
Continental breakfast daily, for up to two in room guests, via room service
One-way private airport transfer to Fiumicino airport, Ciampino airport or Termini train Station (Transfers must be booked at least 24 hours in advance with hotel Concierge and are for up to two passengers)
Early check-in/late check-out, subject to availability

Portrait Roma Location and Check-In

The Portrait Roma is located at Via Bocca di Leone, 23 at the corner of Via Bocca di Leone and Via Condotti, a fashionable street lined with boutiques, and just steps away from the Spanish Steps. It's just a 12-15 minute drive to the Colosseum, or you can walk there in about 25 minutes, while the Roman Forum is about 9 minutes by taxi or a 20 minute walk.

We arrived in the late afternoon after exploring the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Basilica San Clemente, and arrive at the unassuming entrance:

After being buzzed in, we were ushered into the elegant and cozy lobby for our check-in, before being shown to our room, which had been generously upgraded to a Junior Suite.

Portrait Roma Junior Suite

We were shown all the aspects of our spacious Junior Suite. The door opens into the living room, which includes a sleeper sofa that was made up into a bed for our son during the nightly turndown service. As you can see in the background, there is also a kitchenette as part of the living room, which included a full array of dishes, and even a couple of burners for cooking, in addition to the coffee and tea maker and minibar.

A lovely bowl of fresh fruit and bottled water was waiting for us, and was very welcome refreshment after walking around for several hours that afternoon.

There are French doors that open from the living room onto a small private balcony overlooking the Via Condotti. I have a number of clients that want windows and doors that open to let in fresh air, so I'd certainly recommend the select Junior Suites that offer this balcony to them.

A door separated the living room from the bedroom, where a King bed with wonderfully soft linens awaited my husband and me. We both slept very well that evening, even if the bed is a tad firmer than we'd prefer.

On one side of the bed is a roomy closet, which I worked in a bit after my husband and son had already gone to sleep, so as not to disturb them.

On the other side of the bed is the bathroom. It's on the small side, space being at a premium in central Rome, but was luxuriously appointed with high quality fixtures, a walk-in shower, all the fluffy white towels one could wish for.

Naturally, since the Lungarno hotel collection is owned by the Ferragamo family, whose founder Salvatore Ferragamo grew his company from bespoke luxury shoes into a luxury goods empire, all the bath products are Salvatore Ferragamo's Tuscan Soul:

Portrait Roma Breakfast

Enjoy complimentary continental breakfast in your room as a Virtuoso benefit. Or, you can indulge in a full breakfast on the lovely rooftop terrace, as we did.

There was no one else there when we had our breakfast, so we had our pick of tables. Yet despite the Portrait Roma's intimate nature (there are just 14 studios and luxury suites in the hotel) an immaculate buffet was ready, including several types of fresh squeezed juices and an array of fresh fruits and cereals:

Cold cuts, cheeses, and delicious yogurts:

Pastries, apple tart and ricotta cheesecake (the cheesecake was definitely my favorite–you won't find me complaining about having an Italian dessert for breakfast!)

And there were not only jams, but about 5 different types of honey and even a panini maker if you felt like making your own savory panini for breakfast with fresh bread and cold cuts:

Plus, there was a menu of cooked to order eggs and pancakes available, which are included if you order the full breakfast. We opted to try the pancakes with fruit, which were tasty and prettily plated:

The Verdict

Our stay was all too brief, but if we're ever in Rome again, the Portrait Roma is where I'd want to stay-conveniently located in the heart of Rome, yet a luxury oasis, as if you were staying in the pied-a-terre of a wealthy friend with superb taste and great attention to detail. I loved the rooftop terrace where we had our breakfast, and it would be a romantic place for cocktails or an after dinner drink, given the cozy fireplace there: