Jo harnesses the power of Italian espresso
(Picture: Joanna Taylor)I know this is a cliché of epic proportions, but I’d always imagined that my formative experience of the Italian capital would be as romantic as Audrey Hepburn’s in Roman Holiday: wandering around in awe of the architecture, eating delicate little cones of gelato and intermittently clinging on to Gregory Peck’s waist for dear life. And to my own surprise, this swift stay in the Italian capital didn’t disappoint.
Okay, so, there were a few minor differences. Besides the fact I’m not (technically) a princess or head over heels for a questionable reporter, first and foremost I managed to secure a far better place to rest my curls than Peck’s rickety single bed. Instead, I checked in for a taste of mid-century modern Rome at The Hoxton hotel on the Largo Benedetto Marcello, where the buzz of the city quickly melted away. Yes, the hub has everything you could ask for from the hotel group’s 10th stylish venture — super-king size beds, retro Murano light shades, parquet flooring and fun, statement headboards — but what truly stands out are the facilities.
