Experimental Group has opened the doors to Experimental Roma, its latest hotel on Rome’s Via Veneto, a street long associated with the glamour of La Dolce Vita. The property occupies a former bank building, now transformed into 82 rooms and suites designed by Paris-based interior architect Rodolphe Parente. The design draws on the legacy of Italian masters such as Gio Ponti and Carlo Scarpa, blending Italian opulence with a distinctly French sensibility through materials like marble, chrome tubing, and lurex carpets. Parente describes the project as “a living tribute, a free interpretation expressed through materials and space,” aiming to capture the tension between “sacred and profane, splendour and decadence” that defines Rome.
The hotel’s lobby leads to a series of public spaces where enveloping banquettes, quilted drapery, and exposed beams evoke the city’s cinematic history. Throughout, references to 1970s Italian style appear in disco-inspired accents and sculptural staircases. Upstairs, the rooms fall into two principal categories. The first type channels the theatricality of a Roman bedroom with dramatic headboards, blocks of color, and filtered light reminiscent of Villa Medici, while the second adopts a more refined, almost futuristic tone with mineral patinas, lacquered ceilings, and ribbed stainless-steel headboards. Bathrooms combine warm wood and cool stone, with chainmail curtains concealing amenities.
Artworks in the rooms nod to figures such as Cy Twombly and Christo, and time in these spaces feels “slower, more reflective,” according to Parente. Some rooms offer high ceilings and views over the Swiss Institute, and four accessible rooms are available, one on each floor.
The hotel’s culinary direction is shaped by Rome-born chef Giovanni Passerini, whose restaurant Ludovisi e Cadore marks his return to the city after establishing himself in Paris. Passerini brings a French touch to Italian ingredients, serving dishes such as mazzancolle mi-cuit with green tomato-verbena sauce, mashed potatoes with Normandy butter, and onion gratin with porcini mushrooms. Desserts include a crunchy tiramisù and profiteroles filled with pears and vanilla gelato. The breakfast buffet features French pastries like pain au chocolat and madeleines alongside mozzarella and ricotta.
Drinks are central to the Experimental Group’s identity, and the ground-floor Experimental Cocktail Club serves both classic and signature cocktails using vintage spirits and local ingredients. The rooftop, La Terrasse, offers a bar with striped umbrellas, yellow banquettes, and views over Rome, as well as a swimming pool surrounded by daybeds and plants. Both bars serve the group’s signature drinks, such as the Old Cuban and the St. Germain des Près.
Experimental Group was founded in Paris in 2007 by Olivier Bon, Pierre-Charles Cros, and Romée de Gorianoff, later joined by Xavier Padovani. The company now operates 15 hotels across Europe in cities including Paris, London, and Venice, as well as countryside estates and resorts in Ibiza and Menorca. Le Bon describes the three-year renovation of Experimental Roma as “the biggest renovation we’ve done at Experimental.”
Experimental Roma is located a five-minute walk from Villa Borghese and ten minutes from the Spanish Steps. The magazine has also reported on The Nora Hotel, a new statement in West Palm Beach.
Sources
- Hotel Designs: Experimental Roma: a French interpretation of Italy, October 23, 2026
- Condé Nast Traveler: Experimental Roma: First In, October 23, 2026
