Italy: Luxury hospitality brand Orient Express has opened its first hotel, La Minerva, in central Rome, developed in partnership with Italian hospitality investor Arsenale Group.
Located at Piazza della Minerva 69, close to the Pantheon, the hotel offers 93 rooms including 36 suites. Housed in a 17th-century palazzo, the site was restored by artist-architect Hugo Toro and opened in April 2025.
Guest rooms feature travel-inspired interiors such as bespoke bedside trunks and linens by Rivolta Carmignani, the same supplier used on original Orient Express sleeper cars.
La Minerva also offers three food and drink venues, including La Minerva Bar, Gigi Rigolatto rooftop restaurant due to open in May, and Mimi Kakushi which will launch later this year offering Japanese fine dining.
Additional amenities include five event venues: The Olimpo Ballroom, Rinaldi Meeting Room, Alfieri Meeting Room, Bernini Meeting Room, and The Gallery.
Orient Express CEO Gilda Perez said: “Opening the doors marks a powerful moment in our journey. Rome offers the perfect canvas to reimagine the legacy of Orient Express through new purpose and experience – where Romans gather, and international aesthetes unite.”
Arsenale Group CEO Paolo Barletta said: “With Orient Express La Minerva, we are inaugurating the very first Orient Express hotel in the world, giving shape to a new concept of ultra-luxury hospitality. We chose Rome because it represents the crossroads between history, culture, and Italian hospitality.”
Orient Express will continue its hotel expansion with the opening of Orient Express Palazzo Donà Giovanelli in Venice later this year.
In 2026, the first of two Orient Express Silenseas ships will launch: the Orient Express Corinthian.
