All aboard Rome’s new hotel inspired by the Orient Express

Architect Hugo ToroAlexandre Tabaste/Supplied

When he began to reimagine Rome’s Fonseca Palace hotel as the new Orient Express La Minerva, architect Hugo Toro knew he would break at least one rule. “I hate orchids. I don’t understand when hotels put them everywhere,” he says. “Orchids have just become this blanket statement for luxury that has lost its feeling.”

Instead of following expected design codes for the first brick-and-mortar property of the luxury train brand, he leaned into his unapologetically eclectic aesthetic. He credits the look to his French and Mexican heritage, which surround him with colour, texture and a feel-good sense of place. “That’s something that my mom was always trying to give us,” he says.

The hotel is just steps from the frenzy of the Pantheon.Alexandre Tabaste/Supplied

At the Orient Express La Minerva, that feeling begins in the entrance to the hotel, which once welcomed notable writers such as Herman Melville, Stendhal and George Sand. A signature room scent imbued with notes of olive oil and amber wafts through the lobby bar, which sits under a striking vaulted glass ceiling. The space is the centrepiece of the hotel’s 17th-century architecture, created by combining five separate buildings, and an oasis just steps from the frenzy of the Pantheon.

Rugs and wood flooring are patterned after the Pantheon’s geometric ceiling, and custom marble bathroom sinks echo Rome’s fountains.Alexandre Tabaste/Supplied

The Italian capital was a main source of inspiration for the hotel’s design. “Something that I’m quite proud of is Roman people are really happy about the project because they feel that it’s a hotel that belongs to Rome,” Toro says. Rugs and wood flooring are patterned after the Pantheon’s geometric ceiling, and custom marble bathroom sinks echo Rome’s fountains. A marble statue of Minerva by 19th-century Italian sculptor Rinaldo Rinaldi presides over the main floor and is original to the building, as is the Olimpo ballroom.

Suites, however, echo the intimacy of a luxury sleeper train compartment. Tables and in-room bars are fashioned like steamer trunks in rich, dark woods and the bedding is courtesy of Rivolta Carmignani, the same linens used on Orient Express cars. In 2026, the brand will debut another hotel in Venice, the Palazzo Donà Giovannelli. It will be, of course, just a quick train journey away.