Fans of Challengers director Luca Guadagnino are going wild over his latest project: a luxury hotel in Rome.
The Italian movie mastermind – who is behind a number of top films including the Zendaya-led film, Call My By Your Name and I Am Love – spent two years working on the renovation of a 16th century college, which had fallen into a state of decay.
Through his eponymous design studio, Luca helped transform various parts of Palazzo Talìa, giving the spaces somewhat of a filmic quality with period features complimented by modern, elegant touches.
Touching on his thinking behind the hotel’s aesthetic, he told FT.com: ‘If you come to Rome, a hotel like this, you want to diffuse yourself in beauty, comfort and softness. So, for me, everything [color, light, texture] needed to exude that pleasure.
‘The aesthetic is maximalist but with the rigor, let’s say, of minimalism. Because if you apply minimalism per se, you lose the thread of the pleasure.’
Fans of Challengers director Luca Guadagnino are going wild over his latest project: a luxury hotel in Rome
The Italian movie mastermind – who is behind a number of films including Challengers – spent two years working on a project to renovate a former college which fell into a state of decay
Rates at the boutique hotel start from more than $670 a night for a superior room, while the top tier two-bedroom Talia Suite starts from more than $18,000.
There are just 26 rooms at the property set over two floors, and Luca said he wanted the place to exude an ‘intimate’ and welcoming feel rather than to make it ‘exclusive.’
His design studio was behind all of the hotel’s common areas, which include the grand lobby area and the sumptuous Il Bar della Musa, which features frescoed ceilings and glimmering metallic wall tiles.
Since opening, fans of Luca and his films have given Palazzo Talìa thumbs up and applauded his foray into the hospitality sector.
One X user wrote: ‘If I die, I’ll be buried in the Italian palace hotel in Rome that Luca Guadagnino built.’
Another mused: ‘I want to go and see each of the rooms, they all look so pretty.’
On TikTok, travel experts have also deemed the palatial property ‘literally magic’ and ‘perfect.’
Travel writer Marissa Klurstein got to stay at the spot during its soft launch and she deemed it the ‘best hotel in Rome,’ and the first 10 out 10 hotel she has ever stayed in.
Since opening, fans of Luca and his films have given Palazzo Talìa thumbs up and applauded his foray into the hospitality sector
Travel writer Marissa Klurstein got to stay at the spot during its soft launch and she deemed it the ‘best hotel in Rome’
In a TikTok detailing her stay, she said: ‘I can’t even describe the feeling of turning the corner and seeing this.
‘The interiors really feel like you’re living on a Luca Guadagnino movie set, so many hotels in Rome are luxury hotels but they lack a sense of personality and soul.
‘Not here, personality is welcome, you feel very at home at the bar.
‘I think its the most epic hotel bars I’ve ever been to. It is a masterpiece.
‘Also, fantastic cocktails, great soundtrack… it really feels like you’re in a jewel box, suspended somewhere between the 1600s and today.’
Continuing her review, which she highlights she wasn’t paid to do, Marissa says: ‘The craftsmanship is impeccable, the mixture of textures and colors.’
During her stay, the content creator also checked out the hotel’s Tramae Restaurant, where she said she had the best spaghetti carbonara she had tried in Rome.
When it came to the hotel’s bedrooms, the interiors were overseen by Mia Home Design Gallery and Laura Feroldi Studio
Like Luca’s design firm, the designers responsible for the rooms went for a stylish blend of old and new
The hotel – which stopped operating as a college in 1999 – is now owned by the Federici family
The breakfast also got a top rating, with Marissa commending the ‘soft scrambled egg with chives’ and ‘perfectly crispy bacon.’
Hotel aside, Marissa went on to commend the staff, which she said have been hired ‘for personality [and] they’re encouraged to be themselves.’
Because of this, she says ‘the service is fantastic, truly the best that I think really could ever exist, so intuitive, so human and with personality.’
When it came to the hotel’s bedrooms, the interiors were overseen by Mia Home Design Gallery and Laura Feroldi Studio.
Like Luca’s design firm, the duo went for a stylish blend of old and new.
Marissa says the rooms deliver in every way, from ‘two sizes of very plush slippers,’ to two types of pillow to choose from; down and a down alternative.
Along with a bar and restaurant, there is a subterranean spa and leafy courtyard on the premises.
The hotel – which stopped operating as a college in 1999 – is now owned by the Federici family, and Elia Federici told FT.com that he was introduced to Luca Guadagnino by a mutual friend.
‘I thought he could give an unconventional design to a place full of history and art,’ he said of his decision to pick the filmmaker as a designer.
Luca set up his design studio in 2017, and it has since been responsible for three of his own properties, as well as several private and high end commercial commissions.
