Bulgari Roma or Hotel de Russie: choose by your trip

Q: Which one has a swimming pool?

The Bulgari15, with a 20-metre indoor pool. Hotel de Russie11 has a saltwater hydro pool, sauna and steam room, and you won’t swim lengths there.

Q: Which suits children, and from what age is the spa open?

I’d take children to Hotel de Russie10, and its spa12 admits them from 12. At the Bulgari17 the spa is for over-16s, and guests’ younger children swim with an adult in 2 sessions a day, without nappies.

Q: Which costs less?

Hotel de Russie3 is cheaper on 285 of 300 nights, and the Bulgari4 on 15, mostly in winter. Saturday 16 January 2027 is one of those: €1,994 at the Bulgari and €2,046 at Hotel de Russie. Booked direct they were €8 apart for one week in November.

Q: How far apart are the 2 hotels?

563 metres, about 6 minutes on foot27. Hotel de Russie stands at the Piazza del Popolo end of Via del Babuino, and the Bulgari on Piazza Augusto Imperatore.

Q: How do guests score them?

The numbers sit too close to choose by. On Google1 Hotel de Russie has 4.6 from 1,928 reviews and the Bulgari2 4.7 from 938. On Tripadvisor13 they have 4.6 from 2,511 and 4.4 from 17725, and on Booking.com14 9.0 from 108 and 9.6 from 10626.

For a garden to come back to, I would book Hotel de Russie. To swim in the spa, then drink in what one guest called “the most beautiful view of Rome”, I would book Bulgari Hotel Roma.

Chosen your hotel? Everything you need to go

Updated 31 October 202610 min readHow we write the guide

5 trips, and the hotel I’d book for each

Under each hotel you’ll find the reason to book the other one instead.

The Secret Garden in the evening: a balustraded terrace topped by a rustic stone arch, with a lit grotto and a stairway below, among palms, trees and rocks

A couple’s weekend: Hotel de Russie

For 2 people who want a garden to come back to. After marrying in Rome, one guest wrote in August 2026 of “a gorgeous room overlooking the garden”.

The trade-off

Families come here too, and in August 2026 one guest wrote “too many kids for us”. If you want water among adults, the Bulgari’s pool¹⁷ is for over-16s outside 2 sessions a day.

Why choose it

I’d ask for a Garden View⁵ room: the other rooms look over the city or an inner courtyard⁶, and the hotel offers Garden View guests the Secret Garden Table, for up to 4, with a complimentary bottle of Champagne. One guest who spent an afternoon on the patio wrote in June 2026 that it was “Spacious and romantic”. On Saturday 15 May 2027 a night for 2 costs €2,039³ here and €2,770⁴ at the Bulgari.

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The sitting room of a Deluxe Suite Garden View: a pale sofa with red and white cushions, 9 framed manuscript pages on the wall, the French window open onto a small balcony and the garden’s trees, and the bedroom through the door

A family with children: Hotel de Russie

For parents with small children. One family wrote in July 2026 that when they asked for a crib they also got “a changing pad, baby bath, diaper pail”.

The trade-off

The water here is a hydrotherapy pool, and the spa is closed to under-12s¹². If your children want to swim, the Bulgari’s 20-metre pool¹⁷ takes guests’ children with an adult from 10am to noon and from 3 to 5pm.

Why choose it

Rocco Forte Kids¹⁰ runs from babies to 16-year-olds: baby meals are free, children’s meals cost 50% less, and a babysitter comes on request for a supplement. On Sundays a Kids Club⁹ runs through brunch at Le Jardin, where ages 3 to 12 pay €60⁸. I’d ask for the Two-Bedroom Family Suite Garden View, or the family room¹⁰ that joins 2 Deluxe Rooms. Another family, in July 2026, wrote that the staff “went above and beyond to cater to them at every turn”. On Saturday 17 July 2027 a night for 2 adults costs €1,863³ here and €2,550⁴ at the Bulgari; I have no figure for a family, so ask for yours.

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The spa pool: water over green mosaic, columns of white marble with dark veining and, at the far end, a gold and green mosaic wall with the Bvlgari name and 2 spouts of water

A spa stay: Bulgari Hotel Roma

For a stay built around the water: a 20-metre pool among marble columns, in a spa one guest called “another world” in September 2024.

The trade-off

If you want an hour in salt water between 2 walks, Hotel de Russie’s spa¹¹ is “the best after a morning walk in the heat”, one guest wrote in June 2025.

Why choose it

8 columns¹⁵ rise from the pool, 2 bronze spouts feed it, and the mosaics draw on the Baths of Caracalla. Around it the spa¹⁶ has 8 treatment rooms and a Spa Suite with a green onyx bath. “I had one of the best massages of my life,” one guest wrote in July 2025, and another, in October 2025, that the pool “makes you want to jump right in for a dip”. On Saturday 16 January 2027 a night for 2 costs €1,994⁴ here and €2,046³ at Hotel de Russie.

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The entrance at 10 Piazza Augusto Imperatore: glass doors open onto the round vestibule, with a seated statue of Augustus beneath glass pendant lamps; above, the lettering “Bvlgari Hotel Roma”, and a potted palm either side of the travertine doorway

Walking Rome: Bulgari Hotel Roma

For walkers who want the old city at the door. The hotel faces the Mausoleum of Augustus, its entrance and the Ara Pacis are 3 minutes on foot, and one guest wrote in August 2026 of a “wonderfully central” location.

The trade-off

Your first steps are on a pedestrian square³⁰ beside a Mausoleum still being finished: Rome planned this phase³¹ to run about 18 months from June 2025, and in January 2026 one guest wrote of “works in progress” around the monuments. If you’d rather start in a park, Hotel de Russie is 8 minutes from the Pincio terrace²⁷ against 12, and 2 from Piazza del Popolo against 6.

Why choose it

From this door I’d walk 10 minutes to the Pantheon²⁷ and 11 to the Trevi Fountain; from Hotel de Russie they are 14 and 13. Piazza di Spagna and Piazza del Popolo are each 6 minutes away. On Saturday 17 April 2027 a night for 2 costs €2,440⁴ here and €1,932³ at Hotel de Russie.

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Il Ristorante’s terrace: tables laid with copper lamps under a reed-covered pergola, brick walls with climbing roses and iron chairs with sand-coloured cushions

An anniversary dinner: Bulgari Hotel Roma

For the dinner the trip is built around: the fifth floor, over the Mausoleum of Augustus. One guest wrote in June 2024 of a birthday dinner: “the experience was truly magical”.

The trade-off

The evening here belongs to a fifth-floor room of 54 seats and its terrace. If you’d rather eat among orange trees, Hotel de Russie has Le Jardin⁸, overseen by chef Fulvio Pierangelini, and offers guests in Garden View rooms a Secret Garden Table⁵.

Why choose it

Il Ristorante²³ serves dinner from 7 to 11pm. The menu²⁴ has 2 set menus for the whole table: I Classici at €150 and La Degustazione at €190, with water and coffee, or €250 and €350 with paired wines as well. Main courses run from €38 to €72, with VAT and service included. One guest wrote in August 2026 of an engagement anniversary at the hotel bar: “The service was flawless.” On Saturday 12 June 2027 a night for 2 costs €2,550⁴ here and €2,103³ at Hotel de Russie.

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A night for 2, the lowest price on sale. Ask whether breakfast and taxes are in it. Prices from Google Hotels, 13 October 2026. Walks are at 1 km in 10 minutes.

What each hotel does best

Neither hotel is trying to be the other, so I’d start here.

Hotel de Russie is best at coming back. Its garden⁵, laid out in the early 19th century, climbs behind the hotel among grottoes and orange trees, and 9 reviewers¹ have reached for the word oasis since June 2024. “The garden is like a paradise in the bustling city center,” one wrote in June 2025. In the courtyard the Stravinskij Bar⁷ pours from 10am to 1am.
Bulgari Hotel Roma is best at water and height. The spa¹⁶ covers 1,500 m² and opens from 7am to 9pm. Upstairs, from 5pm, La Terrazza²¹ puts 76 seats under 11 pergolas, with Villa Medici, the Tiber and the Janiculum around you. The hotel’s events page mentions a winter closure²² without dates, so ask the hotel before you count on the view.
The rooms start at the same size. The smallest measures 33 m² at both Hotel de Russie⁶ and the Bulgari²⁰, so the room alone won’t decide this for you.

What a night costs, and how to enjoy both

The 2 hotels stand 6 minutes apart on foot, so the choice is smaller than it looks.

Hotel de Russie is cheaper on 285 of 300 nights³ from 1 November 2026 to 8 September 2027, and the Bulgari⁴ on the other 15, 10 of them in January and February. Booked direct they sit closer: for the 7 nights from 16 November 2026, €1,898 a night at Hotel de Russie and €1,890 at the Bulgari. Rome’s tourist tax²⁹ adds €10 per person per night at both, for up to 10 nights in a calendar year, and under-10s pay nothing²⁸.

You can sleep in one and enjoy the other. La Terrazza²¹ takes bookings online and is open to people staying elsewhere, and Le Jardin⁸ takes them by phone and email; book first, at either door. Hotel de Russie sells a Day Spa Pass¹² at €110 for 2 hours. The Bulgari’s spa publishes 2 ways in for visitors: a treatment or a membership¹⁸.

Read the detailed stay guide

Questions before you choose

The small facts that settle it.

Bulgari Roma or Hotel de Russie: which should I book?

Hotel de Russie for a couple’s weekend or a family with children. Bulgari Hotel Roma for a spa stay, for walking the old city or for an anniversary dinner. If you’re still undecided, ask yourself whether you want a garden or a pool.

Which one has a swimming pool?

The Bulgari¹⁵, with a 20-metre indoor pool. Hotel de Russie¹¹ has a saltwater hydro pool, sauna and steam room, and you won’t swim lengths there.

Which suits children, and from what age is the spa open?

I’d take children to Hotel de Russie¹⁰, and its spa¹² admits them from 12. At the Bulgari¹⁷ the spa is for over-16s, and guests’ younger children swim with an adult in 2 sessions a day, without nappies.

Which costs less?

Hotel de Russie³ is cheaper on 285 of 300 nights, and the Bulgari⁴ on 15, mostly in winter. Saturday 16 January 2027 is one of those: €1,994 at the Bulgari and €2,046 at Hotel de Russie. Booked direct they were €8 apart for one week in November.

How far apart are the 2 hotels?

563 metres, about 6 minutes on foot²⁷. Hotel de Russie stands at the Piazza del Popolo end of Via del Babuino, and the Bulgari on Piazza Augusto Imperatore.

How do guests score them?

The numbers sit too close to choose by. On Google¹ Hotel de Russie has 4.6 from 1,928 reviews and the Bulgari² 4.7 from 938. On Tripadvisor¹³ they have 4.6 from 2,511 and 4.4 from 177²⁵, and on Booking.com¹⁴ 9.0 from 108 and 9.6 from 106²⁶.

An independent Lumina selection. Hotels do not pay to appear, and Lumina takes no booking commission.