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"Long considered among Rome’s most prestigious addresses, this 19th-century gem—once called “paradise on earth” by Jean Cocteau—balances a perch by the Spanish Steps with surprising serenity. Architect Giuseppe Valadier designed both the hotel and its tiered Secret Garden, an al fresco dining hotspot best taken advantage of in spring and summer. Reopened in 2000 under Rocco Forte Hotels with reimagined interiors by Olga Polizzi, it invites fresh bites amid rose bushes and orange trees at Le Jardin, restorative time at the De Russie Spa or the gym, and blissful wind-downs in suites with Roman-style mosaics and Italian-marble bathrooms." - Nicole Kliest