If amazing views are your thing and the city you are visiting is a living museum, you can’t beat a location where Renaissance sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s epic Triton Fountain greets you from your hotel window in the morning or during aperitivo hour at its rooftop bar and restaurant.

© Elyse Glickman

When Bernini Bristol opened in 1874, its original owners successfully intuited their well-traveled guests would want a sense of place on the outside and the most opulent décor of its day on the inside embedded into their grand hotel experience. It is fitting Sina Bernini Bristol Hotel underwent a renaissance of its own prior to its 2022 opening, down to its inventive signature Il Vizio Restaurant and Bar. The Bocca hotelier family, its current owners, approached the reinvention of the property with the same idea when it added the hotel to its Sina luxury portfolio.

However, its €10 million investment served to expand and reinvent the grand hotel by doubling its size with the purchase of the adjoining building (a former bank). Public areas are awash in a fresh color palette of greens, yellows and deep blues, and a variety of textured fabrics and materials offset and frame murals and original baroque details.

Attention to small details and an emphasis on color and light, even in the hallways, runs throughout the hotel. Warmer old-world hues such as red, gold and burgundy are used sparingly in its 134 rooms and suites, updated with soft grays, dark woods and mid-century modern and contemporary furnishings, storage areas and accents. In addition to the sleek but cozy setting, the rooms feature a nicely appointed and good-sized bathroom, sitting area, views of the square and a balcony, along with the creature comforts of a minibar and coffee area.

As a larger hotel also affiliated with Marriott’s Autograph Collection (allowing the Bocca family to shape the hotel on its own terms along the same lines as its properties in Milan, Perugia and elsewhere in Italy), it beautifully accommodates small conferences, business travelers, families, friends and single travelers. The hotel offers a full gym and spa area and features a prolific concierge service with tours encompassing the city. Visitors opting for a more self-guided exploration of Rome appreciate the location is a short 20- to 35-minute walk to the most noteworthy landmarks, museums, shopping areas and restaurants at every price point.

© Elyse Glickman

Il Vizio Restaurant and Bar, which has taken over the rooftop and surrounding terrace, is poised to be a formidable challenger to other fine-dining institutions through its inventive dishes hitting all the right notes in the way the kitchen combines Eastern and Western influences. Under the collaborative direction of chefs Andrea Marella, Marco Gargaglia and Nagano Tetsuo, the menu successfully integrates traditional Italian, sushi, Latin American and Middle Eastern influences. Standout dishes include Wagyu beef and Lotus sushi; house-made fettuccini with duck and pistachios; a lamb main course with artichokes and croquettes; and white chocolate and cardamom tiramisu. Fantastic views; a sleek bar area; exceptional original cocktails; and a lovely, welcoming staff bring extra continuity to a grand hotel rethought for current and future travelers.

Sina Bernini Bristol Hotel

Piazza Barberini 23
00187 Rome, Italy
tel 39 06 488931