Hotel De' Ricci: The Boutique Hotel in Rome Where Every Serious Wine Lover Should Stay

Posted by Rowena Dumlao Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 3/16/2023

Hotel De' Ricci: The Boutique Hotel in Rome Where Every Serious Wine Lover Should Stay

The recipient of the Best Cellar award of Rome by the Wine Spectator for the fourth consecutive year, this intimate eight-suite boutique hotel boasts of a treasure trove of a cellar with over 1,500 labels (for over 10,000 bottles) of prestigious wine estates. Hotel De' Ricci takes wine determinedly. Wine is everywhere in the hotel where framed bottles of renowned Italian and French labels are on display. The best part is that in the eight luxurious suites, each is equipped with its own personal electric wine cellar stocked up with labels of importance. In fact, right from the time of booking, clients can already express their preferences in terms of wine and thus have a one-of-a-kind ad personam service. The hotel also opens its doors to all enthusiasts by organizing real private guided tastings, in addition to those that are already scheduled in the calendar of events.

The hotel, opened in May 2017, bears the signature of a family that has always been linked to catering, the most popular of which is the historic Pierluigi Restaurant. The hotel is overseen by Flavio Scannavino, the General Manger, who tailors his professionality with the needs of the guests. Hotel De' Ricci has a perfect location with a residential Roman charm tucked away in a quiet neighborhood dotted with cobblestone streets filled with shops, away from the heavily trodden tourist routes but close enough to the iconic squares of the city like Campo de' Fiori and Piazza Navona.

Hotel De' Ricci has the signature of Daria Reina who took care of the hotel's interior design. Adding to her creativity is her husband, the artist Andrea Ferolla, who has boosted the fascinating ambience with his designs impressed on the ancient walls. A retro touch pervades the rooms with iconic tokens from the past era. A unique highlight of the hotel is the cigar room, the only one in Rome, furnished with leather armchairs and lamps for an antique charm where you can smoke top quality cigars to accompany distillates and drinks.

Right across the cigar room is the hotel's private bar, Charade, a place to relax from morning until after dinner with its intimate atmosphere. Starting at 7 in the morning, à la carte continental breakfast is served (also straight to your suite), while on Sundays, a rich brunch is available from 11:30 to 15:30, each dish between €10 to €20. The lunch and dinner menu is simple with Italian dishes like: the seabass tartare with toasted almonds and lime zest or the smoked salmon with stracciatella cheese, carasau bread and olives powder for appetizers (€15 to €18); first courses of pasta and risotto (€15 to €20) like the tonnarelli pasta with rocket pesto, toasted almonds and Stracciatella cheese; main courses (€18 to €25) like the slow-cooked pork fillet with red wine and blueberry reduction, toasted walnuts and seasonal vegetables or the beef carpaccio marinated with lemon and mustard sauce; and desserts (€10 to €12) like tiramisù parfait.

The most favorite part of the day at Charade is aperitif time when the bartender prepares the classic and signature cocktails, each of which has its own story and character: Charade which is recommended with a good cigar; Sir Churchill JW, Churchill's favorite drink, or White Angel, Audrey Hepburn's cocktail in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's but revisited.