What to expect: A white-gloved doorman greets guests at this former Patrician villa, built in the 1930s. Set in exclusive Parioli, the hotel is fronted by marble steps that lead to a reception area. Glossy dark woods complement black- and-white striped carpeting and silver light fittings. This area merges into a seating area with large sofas, books, and fresh flowers.

Amenity highlights: The hotel offers a restaurant and bar, both of which are Art Deco in style. Port and petits fours are offered in the evening; croissants, chocolate-filled brioche, coffee, and juice are served in the morning. Other amenities include currency exchange and child care services. Public-area walls showcase paintings from the owner’s private art collection. The works are by Northern European artists such as Maurice Paul Joron and Nicholas Granger Taylor; most date from the early 20th century.

Fully renovated in 2002, this regal 1906 building stands on fashionable Via Veneto. The spacious lobby leads to a vast lounge, with marble floors, stucco ceilings, crystal chandeliers, and early 19th-century Empire-style furniture of gilded wood, upholstered with red-and-cream fabrics. Guests include the rich and famous; corporate and government leaders, and well-traveled couples.

When Hotel Majestic opened in 1889, in a converted 18th-century palazzo, it was the first hotel on Via Veneto. Its yellow facade, curved to follow the street's contour, remains a landmark. A palazzo atmosphere is preserved in a lobby with high, molded ceilings and highly polished dark woods and in function rooms featuring original ceiling frescos by Domenico Bruschi.

At once elegant and comfortable; the top-hatted porter ushers business travelers and vacationers into a bright lobby with creamy marble floors, Roman arches and columns, and inviting couches with a plethora of colorful throw pillows. Past guests have included royalty and heads of state; these days, celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, and Nicole Kidman establish residence here while in Rome.

Celebrities and diplomats are regulars at this hotel, a Belle Époque masterpiece brimming with crystal, frescoes, soaring ceilings, sculpted columns, and precious antiques. The lobby is appointed with white-marble reception and concierge desks, red-velvet throne chairs, Oriental rugs, and a 30-foot ceiling.

This hotel is housed in a restored turn-of-the-century building set amid a private park. Refurbished in 2004, the property has new facades, a new palatial foyer, and a new restaurant. Accommodations have updated bathrooms and are now equipped with interactive TV and high-speed Internet access (surcharge). The expansive lobby is decorated with heavy drapes, plush couches, and tapestries. The hotel's spacious public rooms and hallways are larger than those of most hotels in Rome’s center. The property draws business travelers, families, and couples.

What to expect: A revolving mahogany door leads from Rome’s main street, the bustling Via del Corso, into a high-ceilinged marble-floored, walnut-paneled lobby. Formerly a royal convent, it became a hotel in 1860 at the time of Italian unification and has been frequented by popes, princesses, and ambassadors ever since.

Amenity highlights: The gold stuccoed Salone delle Feste is the largest of the eight conference rooms where embassies and companies such as Microsoft and Versace often host receptions. The Lemon Terrace lines one side of the hotel offering panoramic views over the Via Condotti (designer shopping heaven). Bar Bistro Mascagni, the mahogany-panelled cocktail bar, is named after the famous eponymous Italian composer who died in the hotel.

Insider tip: The hotel was the location for Zefferelli’s film Tea with Mussolini, in which it was described it as ‘the finest hotel in Europe’. It also features in a number of Visconti’s films. You can’t miss the life-sized, marble Lion of Babylon at the foot of the grand marble staircase – it may look scary but it has been a symbol of welcome for 140 years.