Hotel Parco dei Principi is one of the most well known hotels in Rome and its elegant restaurant, Pauline Borghese, is the perfect spot for a luxurious lunch. The privileged location in the upmarket Parioli district, next to the Villa Borghese park has made it popular with celebrity guests – the Beatles, Woody Allen, and many more.
Lunch at Pauline Borghese, Parco dei Principi
Crossing the threshold, you really feel like you are in an oasis of calm. The Hotel Parco dei Principi Roma was designed by the famous Italian designer Giò Ponti in 1964 and recently had a facelift inspired by the villas of Rome’s 17th-century nobility.
It’s the perfect base from which to explore the Colosseum, the Vatican and Rome’s hidden gems. One of the main attractions is the impressive spa, of which more later. We had been invited to sample the delights of the renowned “Pauline Borghese” restaurant with its delightful terrace overlooking the Italian style garden.
Due to the heat, we opted for the air-conditioned seating inside the restaurant, with its pretty stucco plasterwork and comfortable chairs. The menu here is based on traditional Italian cuisine with a modern twist, and a particularly fine selection of wines.
There’s even a choice of regional Italian oils to accompany your meal. You may be wondering who Pauline Borghese was?
Her full name was Pauline Borghese Bonaparte – Napoleon’s sister was beautiful and flirtatious, breaking hearts all over Europe. Her second husband was Prince Camillo Borghese who owned the largest collection of diamonds in the world.
Their relationship was quite discordant – he even placed her under house arrest at one point.
Great attention has been paid to detail, from the elegant crockery to the silver plate covers that the friendly waiters remove with a flourish.
This starter of parmesan cheese tempura with bacon panzanella salad was the perfect choice on a hot Summer’s day and the savoury flavour of the Parmesan matched the bacon perfectly.
My starter of vegetables with baked ricotta cheese and taggiasca olive sauce was a wonderfully light combination. Taggiasca are sweet and mild olives from Liguria which produce a very fruity sauce.
Continuing my health kick, I chose red Mediterranean Grouper in Acqua pazza style with agretti for my main course. Eating out in Italy is great for learning new cooking techniques and vocabulary!
Acqua pazza literally means crazy water, as fishermen from Naples used to sautée the catch of the day in seawater with tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil. These days it’s a recipe for white fish poached in a lightly herbed broth.
Agretti looks like a cross between rosemary and grass. It’s a water-retaining plant that has a season of only a few weeks, so it’s the first time I’d tried it, and I really enjoyed its delicate flavour.
Mr Luxe was not to be outdone and his main of sea bass and king prawns au gratin served with Roman taccole beans gave me serious plate envy.
The double chocolate mousse with crispy meringue and Haitian vanilla sauce was a delight and the raspberries brought just the right note of acidity to the dish. Mr Luxe’s wild strawberry tartlet with lemon and champagne cream was equally flavourful.
The petits fours with our fresh mint tea were a real treat – candied orange peel and crispy chocolate nuggets.
After lunch, the General Manager showed us around the rest of the Parco dei Principi Grand Hotel & Spa, which has elegant boiserie, gilded stuccowork and precious artworks.
The hotel even has some archeological remains on site, next to the 18 room Congress centre.
One of the hotel’s star attractions is the Prince Spa, opened in 2010. This luxurious spa is on three levels with a 450 square metre fitness area and 12 treatement rooms plus 2 multisensory couple spa suites.
The highlight has to be the Swarovski crystal ceiling of the 25 metre ozone spa pool. You can just see it on this photo, I didn’t want to disturb the swimmers.
The 179 rooms in Hotel Parco dei Principi have fantastic views over the Villa Borghese park or the exclusive Parioli district. Most of them have balconies or terraces and quite a few have connecting rooms.
Just look at the view from the balcony of this room – beyond the pool is the Villa Borghese Park and aviary.
There are 24 recently renovated suites have been recently renovated and we visited the 350 square metre Royal Suite with its panoramic terrace. Woody Allen had the treadmill installed here when he last stayed and it has been here ever since. All in all, it’s one of the best places to stay in Rome, and we’re looking forward to staying here on a future visit.
Pauline Borghese at Parco dei Principi Grand Hotel & Spa, Via G. Frescobaldi, 5 – 00198 Rome, Italy
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Suze, if you keep posting food pictures like this, I may actually have to stop reading because of the SERIOUS food envy I get from your posts!! 😉
Ha ha, I get the same from yours Shikha! Bon appetit
awesome shots, this place is one of the best in town….
kisses
http://www.theitalianglam.com/
It really is a fantastic place, isn’t it!
We were quite full by then but I managed to find some space for the chocolate nuggets!
You’re spot on there, it’s all very lux but in a relaxed fashion
Sadly we didn’t get to use the pool but next time! Don’t think I would want to check out ever
It is a gorgeous place and with yummy food too!
It definitely has a very luxurious vibe, we loved it
It’s very elegant, got that old school glamour they do so well in Italy
I loved the fact that the food was so light but tasty at the same time
It’s very elegant and the food matches the decor!
It was a lovely treat, great to get out of the hot Roman sunshine to such a haven
Double chocolate mousse with crispy meringue and Haitian vanilla sauce? Sounds like my kinda dish!
I hadn’t tried Haitian vanilla before but it was very flavoursome!
Grazie Valeria! We certainly got a great dose of luxury there, now I want to go back and use the spa
That dining room is exquisite! And I’m in love with the pool – always a sucker for dimly lit pools. So much more relaxing!
I don’t know which I liked more, the indoor Swarovski pool or that outdoor pool with the sun loungers!
I know, makes me feel hungry just looking at it. Thanks for stopping by Bash
This all looks gorgeous, that view, those desserts, that spa!! Need to get there soon 🙂
This is totally your sort of place Suzanne, highly recommend it
Okay I will admit it, when I first started reading this blog post, I couldn’t stop myself from drooling over the first dessert photo. OMG I am in love :). And the suite.. gorgeous. You’re so making me dream right now :).
Kia / The House of KTS
www.houseofkts.com
I can just imagine Woody Allen running on that treadmill Kia 😉
What a stunning place! And right by the park. You’d need to get some exercise in after eating all that exquistie food.
Too right! Actually there were people doing Segway in the park and that looked quite tempting though probably did not involve enough of an effort to work off the lunch!
I would have eaten outside, we get so few occasions to do so in the UK, but my husband is more sensible than I am and it was sweltering even in the shade!
Oh that’s too kind, have a brilliant holiday and looking forward to checking out your blog
It was lovely, Shelby – thanks for stopping by!
You and me both, Cvetina! They’ve put so much care and attention into that spa
Thanks very much Vishakha, glad you liked them
wow the desserts look very luxurious! I really love the decoration of each dish 🙂
The desserts were my favourite, mind you it was all lovely
I swear you’ve been to the most luxurious places ever. Look at those food, and that place! 🙂
I’m very lucky! The food and the venue were perfect
Albert, I think you would love it!
Thanks Constantinos and have a great weekend
Yes it’s a real haven, the grounds are so lovely
Spot on Ashley, have a great weekend
That pool looked so amazing and their gym is the largest in Rome!
I love Italian cuisine and a modern twist all the better. The presentation of your food is beautiful, I love eating with my eyes. Lucy x
They did a fantastic job on presentation, you’re right that we eat first with our eyes Lucy
It was an amazing oasis of calm in Rome!
We had an amazing visit and lunch, highly recommend it if you visit Rome
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