Head-to-head · Rome
Both make the rooftop the center of the evening. One is a warm palazzo by the Pantheon; the other is a colorful Rocco Forte palazzo at the top of the Spanish Steps. Here is how I would choose.
Stayed at La Minerva · Visited the de la Ville · October 2026
The warmest shared spaces and the friendliest team I found in Rome, in a hotel where I felt I could be myself.
My La Minerva review →
A Rocco Forte palazzo on Via Sistina with colorful, very Roman interiors and Cielo, a rooftop bar and restaurant with views all over the city.
My Hotel de la Ville review →
| La Minerva | Hotel de la Ville | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Piazza della Minerva, by the Pantheon | Via Sistina, right at the top of the Spanish Steps |
| The feel | A warm palazzo with a real buzz (Orient Express) | An 18th-century palazzo with colorful interiors by Tommaso Ziffer (Rocco Forte) |
| Outside the door | A real Roman neighborhood | Crowded from morning to night |
| The rooftop | A restaurant over the domes and rooftops of the centro storico | Cielo, a bar and restaurant across the top two floors |
| Downstairs | A bar and lobby with a real buzz | Mosaico on the courtyard and the Julep cocktail bar |
| Spa | Signature Suite bookings can include a massage for two | A Sicilian-inspired spa |
| My take | The warmest team I met in Rome | Nice, but I prefer its sister, the de Russie |
| Best for | Younger travelers, social couples, La Dolce Vita passengers | The Spanish Steps on the doorstep and sunset drinks |
Work with me and you get Fora perks, plus someone who has been to both and personalizes your stay: I set up La Minerva before La Dolce Vita, compare the de la Ville with its sister the de Russie for you, and arrange your transfers from Fiumicino or Termini. Same rate as booking direct.
La Minerva is about people. The team is the warmest I met in Rome, and the restaurant upstairs, the bar downstairs and the lobby are shared spaces you actually want to sit in.
The Hotel de la Ville is a nice Rocco Forte hotel right at the top of the Spanish Steps. Its highlight is Cielo, the rooftop bar and restaurant across the top two floors. Honestly, I do not have a ton to say about it beyond that.
If you want a real neighborhood and a team that lets you be yourself, pick La Minerva. If you want the Spanish Steps on your doorstep and a rooftop for sunset drinks, the de la Ville does that, though I would also look at its sister, the de Russie.
The rooftop restaurant at La Minerva is where I would spend the evening, looking over the domes and rooftops of the centro storico.
At the Hotel de la Ville, Cielo spreads across the top two floors, with views across Rome’s skyline. It is the hotel’s highlight.
The Hotel de la Ville is an 18th-century palazzo with colorful, very Roman interiors by Tommaso Ziffer: yellow walls, engravings, plaster reliefs and black and white floors. There are 104 rooms and suites, some with terraces and city views.
La Minerva is an Orient Express palazzo by the Pantheon, and its personality is in the people, the lobby and the bar downstairs.
The Hotel de la Ville has a Sicilian-inspired spa, plus the Julep cocktail bar and Mosaico, the main restaurant, on the courtyard.
At La Minerva, Signature Suite bookings through me can include a 50-minute massage for two, on top of daily breakfast, a hotel credit and a VIP welcome. Small thing: the best slippers of my whole trip. I kept them.
La Minerva puts you by the Pantheon, in a real part of the city, and I appreciated that compared with a lot of its competitors. It is also where I put clients before La Dolce Vita.
The top of the Spanish Steps, where the Hotel de la Ville sits, is crowded from morning to night. For quiet, the Eden is a short walk away on a calm residential street.
It depends on what you want. La Minerva for warmth and a real neighborhood by the Pantheon. The Hotel de la Ville for the Spanish Steps on your doorstep and a great rooftop, though between the Rocco Forte hotels I prefer the de Russie.
They are different evenings. Cielo at the Hotel de la Ville is a bar and restaurant across two floors, made for sunset drinks. The rooftop restaurant at La Minerva looks over the domes of the centro storico, and it is where I would spend the evening.
La Minerva, for the warmest shared spaces and the friendliest team I met in Rome.
The Hotel de la Ville has a Sicilian-inspired spa. At La Minerva, Signature Suite bookings through me can include a massage for two.
The de Russie. The two are sister Rocco Forte hotels a few minutes apart, and its courtyard, renovated rooms and indoor pool made it the stronger stay over the de la Ville.
Tell me your dates and who is coming, and I will tell you which one fits and which room to ask for.
La Minerva review → Hotel de la Ville review → Hotel Eden or Hotel de la Ville → La Minerva or Hotel de Russie → My Rome guide →