G-Rough

An open bottle of Sangiovese breathes on the table as the room fills with the soft, amethyst light of early evening, or prima sera as it’s called here.

From the moment you arrived in Rome, this place felt less like a hotel than like a rough-luxe private residence within this unspeakably beautiful city. You put on a Chet Baker record and begin to cut thick slices of pecorino and Calabrian sausage as friends arrive. Wine is poured; dinner stretches on for hours. There is laughter, dancing, and debate deep into the early morning. By the time you fall deliriously into bed, the room is filling with a gauzy first light, and this place is feeling more and more like home.

Housed in a 17th-century palazzo mere steps from the famous Pallaza Navona, G-Rough offers a stark contrast to Rome’s landscape of traditional grand hotels. You enter not into a lobby but a wine bar—and many of the building’s imperfections have been intentionally preserved: unrestored floor tiles and frescoes showing centuries of wear, walls sanded down to reveal layers of history. This curated dishevelment contrasts with glamorous details like dark-mirrored tiles and brass-fitted cast-iron tubs, as well as iconic Italian design pieces—spider-limbed Sputnik chandeliers by Gino Sarfatti, parchment beds by Guglielmo Ulrich, a bar trolley by Giò Ponti—resulting in an effortlessly unconventional rough-luxury aesthetic.

“Rome is the city of echoes, the city of illusions, and the city of yearning.” Giotto di Bondone

G-Rough is the creation of two ninth-generation Romans—the late racecar driver and bon vivant, Emanuele Garosci, famous for bringing Italy its first Philippe Starck-designed hotel, and Gabriele Salini, whose family resided for generations in the neighborhood that is now home to G-Rough. Having grown up here, Salini is able to share with his guests the best the neighborhood has to offer, including a list of his personal recommendations that awaits guests in every suite, and the kind of insider access only a true local can offer. He won’t just send you to his family’s favorite local trattoria—he’ll reserve you their special table.