La Residenza Napoleone

A stunningly lavish suite of rooms, exuding old-world opulence, in the heart of Rome's fashion quarter

If you can drag your eyes away from the mouthwatering boutique fronts of Rome's Via Condotti for a moment, you'll see behind you some large and private wooden gates. They may not gleam and glitter like the window displays, but what lies behind them is dazzling.

These doors are a portal into a former, more splendid age. Doric colonnades lined with statues lead up to a wing of the 16th-century Palazzo Ruspoli. Above the all-marble staircase, imperial busts gaze onto fabulous antiques, and rare Gobelin tapestries rub shoulders with 500-year-old oil paintings (one of which artfully conceals a cinema screen). This is where Emperor Napoleon III and his mother, the former Queen of Holland, lived. Now it's home to the welcoming and unpretentious Princess Letizia Ruspoli, who has made two apartments available to the select few. If you have always wanted to stay somewhere fit for a king - or an emperor - this is your chance.

Highs

• A secluded haven on via dei Condotti, the epicentre of Italian high fashion
• Textiles and decor a class above anywhere else in the eternal city
• Lovely staff who cannot do enough for you, and a personal butler who unobsequiously caters for your every whim
• All modern comforts (iPods, DVD library, lift) to ease museum fatigue
• Stunning views of Rome from the Roof Terrace Suite compensate for the small bedroom
• Silent air-conditioning ensures a good night's sleep

Lows

• The master suite's bathroom and kitchen are less spacious
• The shower is above the bath, not separate (the scented candles lit for you in the bathroom may go some way to compensate)
• Don't expect sweeping views from the Napoleon suite - you look onto the buildings opposite
• Such luxury comes at a hefty price