London-based architecture and interior design studio THDP has completed the design of DoubleTree by Hilton Rome Monti, a 133-room property featuring several F&B concepts.
Overlooking Piazza dell’Esquilino, the HNH Hospitality-operated hotel was born out of a collaboration between THDP owners Nick Hickson and Manuela Mannino, Italian product designer Simone Bretti and architect Francesca Benedetti – the latter also being part of the wider THDP team.
The conversion of two existing, connected buildings – one of which was The Hotel Commodore and the other the headquarters of insurance company (and owner of the properties) Reale Immobili – is more an intervention than a renovation, while th adaptive reuse, curated by local engineer Gabriele Masina, sees structures and facades preserved but all internal partitions revised to create a contemporary social aesthetic.
The property’s 133 guestrooms are spread over seven floors and feature large windows, which provide views of the surrounding streets and palaces, while common areas include a café and bar with an outdoor seating area, a restaurant equipped with an open kitchen and wine tasting, and a rooftop bar and eighth level terrace offering vistas of Santa Maria Maggiore abbey.
Channelling an industrial look with warm tones, restaurant Mamalia serves up sweet and savoury dishes in the morning and authentic Italian cuisines and wine come evening. Here, the idea from THDP was to offer relaxed seating arrangements including long banquettes in a vibrant orange colour for shared and social meals.
The studio also partnered with Ramiro Contract to design high tables that can be used as fruit and cake buffets, while all ceilings are sprayed in an anthracite acoustic foam by Oscar Acoustic, and a grid of exposed electric tubes in brass by Il Fanale, together with suspension brass lighting, are very similar to those found during the first site visit.
Elsewhere, the central area’s flooring is a mix of ‘cementine’ effect tiling in terracotta, green and black tones, surrounded by UV-oiled flooring by Havwoods, and the walls are adorned with wine shelving and a large Crittall-style steel window overlooking the open kitchen space.
Aimed at hotel guests, tourists and locals, MiT Food & Coffee Brewery combines retro design touches with rattan chairs and banquettes designed like small arches to create a relaxed space for quick lunches or coffees.
The flooring is made by a cornice of hexagonal tiles in shades of white, black and green by Grandinetti, with herringbone wood flooring in the centre, while the bar is equipped with an Italian deli counter and the coffee experience has been engineered by Lavazza, who are sponsoring a new brew especially for the hotel.
Rooftop cocktail bar Mùn meanwhile is characterised by a contemporary design and features walls finished in a dark ochre plaster, reflecting the view of the facades outside. The venue has been furnished with outdoor metal seating by Emu and outdoor fabric stools and sofas by Atmosphera Italia and Talenti respectively, while Grandinetti’s Roman terrazzo flooring inside is sprinkled with a light marble effect, and the outdoor terrace has a decking-like flooring by Florim.
Large ecru colour umbrellas offer shade during the summer months, with THDP also selecting outdoor poles and wall lights by Il Fanale, who supplied most of the brass and metal lighting for the project through the specialist contractor Gomiero, to create a warm and decorative garden effect.
The F&B concepts and layouts at DoubleTree by Hilton Rome Monti were developed in collaboration with Michelin star chef Alfredo Russo, while the menus have been entirely developed by Chef Alessandro Caputo.
