"The quiet, confident arrival of the Vilòn gave Rome a boutique hotel to showcase the city’s sharp sophistication, which too often gets lost among its antiquities—or trumped by that of Paris and Milan. In its Adelaide cocktail bar, where large-scale black and white prints pop against maroon walls and golden curtains surely recall the fabulous living rooms of the smart designers along Via di Monserrato, a Gimlet (or three) is a revelation. That is not to say set designer Paolo Bonfini, who exercises his craft with restraint and exquisitely clear vision here, brushed off Rome’s history when transforming this former nunnery into a vibrant 18-room hideaway down a central side street. Rather brilliantly, he found ways to make it feel relevant and not forced, which rarely land so easily in Rome. Rococo-style columns are discreet against mid-century-modern furniture, while the city’s famous monuments are referenced in works by contemporary Florentine photographer Massimo Listri. The result is fresh but mature, and self-assured with no ego; the type of place that is not trying to attract hipsters—as so many now are—but rather the finely tuned 40-year-olds they’ll grow up to be. The Vilòn stylishly captures a vital facet of the direction the city is headed in." - Maresa Manara
