DMA were appointed to renovate and redesign the interiors of this 235 bed ‘urban villa’ – merging an ‘urban’ city hotel with a ‘villa’ style resort to appeal to business and leisure travellers. The Hotel Villa Pamphili sits in a strategic location between Rome’s main international airport and the historic city centre, and takes its name from the vibrant adjacent park and landscaped grounds of the Villa Doria Pamphili.
The brief spanned the entire scope of the hotel’s interiors, and included the refurbishment of 235 guestrooms, the existing restaurant, reception lobby, lobby bar & lounge, conference facilities and a new rooftop bar.
The concept of the hotel was directed by our ethos of developing a ‘neighbourhood story’ unique to the site. In this case the location, climate and existing seventies period architecture naturally allowed for the channelling of a ‘Miami beach’ feel complimenting the iconic Italian aesthetic; merging a city hotel (Urban) with a resort (Villa) to create a venue for local and international business and leisure guests to experience Rome’s abundant and multi-layered history while enjoying all the comforts of a wellness orientated environment. The ‘Urban Villa’ was born.
Influenced by the Italian designer Gio Ponti, the guestrooms are composed of grey and mint green colour blocking, punctuated by the geometric lines of the slatted headboards. Desks and mini-bars are volumes that pop out from a platform specially created for the placement of luggage and shoes, clearing floor space for circulation. Newly designed wardrobes with benches for dressing, and full height sliding mirrors work together to open up the guestrooms. These mirrors conceal doors between interconnecting rooms, allowing guests to control their privacy without disrupting this spacious ambience key to the guestroom’s environment.
Washrooms feature walk-in showers and large bespoke vanities, replacing old and underused baths, and walls will be lined in bright fresh tiling which will complement the new green terrazzo floor.
The biggest change we made to the spatial arrangement of the hotel was to move the small existing bar. Previously located at the far end of the hotel from the reception and thus not apparent to guests until they had walked to the centre of the building, this was relocated adjacent to the entrance lobby and greatly enlarged. This ensures that it is immediately noticeable to both arriving guests and to local custom, connecting the hotel to its surrounding locale and integral to its commercial success.
The new bar’s lounge merges with the reception lobby creating one large combined and flexible space, with no boundaries between hotel and visiting local guests. This lounge extends around to the terrace at the rear, exposing the lush external vista and gifting all guests with the best views in the house.
Throughout the front of house design a pastel palette of peach, pink and green has been adopted to create bold patterns which informally act as wayfinding for guests. The rigidity of the existing travertine column grid has been punctuated with multi-use benches, creating cosy pockets of seating that easily adapt for work or leisure.
In the restaurant the pastel tones are grounded by rich earthy terracotta shades, while accents of natural stone and timber are used to instil warmth and authenticity. Plants line the walls, echoing the lush greenery of the vast terrace gardens of the hotel. A new rooftop bar will be created from the reformatting of existing suites.
