The Westin Excelsior, Rome
The Hotel's Logo
The Westin Excelsior, Rome, facing the famed Via Veneto
Map
General information
LocationRome, Italy
AddressVia Vittorio Veneto 125
Coordinates41°54′N 12°30′E / 41.9°N 12.5°E / 41.9; 12.5
OpeningJanuary 18, 1906
OwnerKatara Hospitality[1]
ManagementWestin Hotels
Design and construction
DeveloperAktiengesellschaft für Hotelunternehmungen
Other information
Number of rooms281
Number of suites35
Website
www.westinrome.com

The Westin Excelsior, Rome, is a luxury hotel on the Via Veneto in Rome, Italy. It opened in 1906.[2]

History

The Hotel Excelsior opened on January 17, 1906. It was constructed by the Actiengesellschaft für Hotelunternehmungen, based in Lucerne, Switzerland.[3] They sold the hotel in 1920 to CIGA, the Compagnia Italiana Grandi Alberghi, or Italian Grand Hotels Company, an Italian luxury chain. In 1944, the hotel became the temporary headquarters of General Mark Clark after the US Army entered Rome.[4]

The Aga Khan IV bought CIGA in 1985,[5] then sold it to Sheraton Hotels in 1994, which placed the Excelsior in its Luxury Collection. His senior hospitality advisor, Paul Ruffino advised the Aga Khan to maintain ownership of the Meurice in Paris and The Excelsior. Following the financial turmoil he was experiencing in hospitality Khan's decision was to only hold on to the Meurice. In 1998 Sheraton was sold to Starwood, and the Excelsior was transferred to its Westin Hotels & Resorts division and renamed The Westin Excelsior, Rome. The hotel was fully renovated in 2000.[3] Starwood sold the hotel to Qatar-based Katara Hospitality in 2015 for €222 Million.[6]

In popular culture

The hotel hosted the cast and crew of Ben-Hur in 1959.[7] La Dolce Vita was filmed around the hotel in 1960[8] and Two Weeks in Another Town was filmed in the hotel in 1962. Portions of the 1983 miniseries The Winds of War were filmed in the hotel,[9] as was a scene in the 2009 period musical Nine.[10] In the 1973 film The Exorcist, Chris MacNeil (played by Ellen Burstyn) can be heard asking to be connected to the Hotel Excelsior in Rome when she is trying to reach Regan's (played by Linda Blair) father.

On March 3, 1994, singer Kurt Cobain overdosed in one of the hotel suites.[11]

The hotel is marked by its distinctive cupola, and for the two-story "Villa la Cupola" suite located on the fifth and sixth stories beneath it. This suite is noted as one of the most expensive hotel rooms in the world, and includes hand-painted frescoes, up to seven bedrooms, and a private cinema.[12]

References

  1. ^ "The Westin Excelsior Rome Sold for €222 Million".
  2. ^ "The Westin Excelsior, Rome, Rome". Five Star Alliance. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  3. ^ a b "Unknown".[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Beevor, Antony (5 June 2012). The Second World War - Antony Beevor - Google Books. Little, Brown. ISBN 9780316084079. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  5. ^ Russell Hotten (1993-10-16). "Forte to run CIGA hotels: 'Money from day one' in rescue deal for Italian luxury chain - Business - News". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-06-20. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  6. ^ "The Westin Excelsior Rome Sold for for[sic] €222 Million".
  7. ^ Suzanne Topham, Demand Media. "Famous Hotels in Rome | USA Today". Traveltips.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  8. ^ "La Dolce Vita by Federico Fellini , 2 - Activcinema Rome". Activitaly.it. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  9. ^ "The Winds of War (TV Mini Series 1983) - IMDb". IMDb.
  10. ^ "FILM. The celluloid magic of Rome | News in Rome | Rome City Guide". Wanted in Rome. 2010-02-17. Archived from the original on 2014-05-30. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  11. ^ The Rome Hotel Kurt Cobain overdosed in
  12. ^ "The World's Most Expensive Hotel Rooms", Forbes, March 7, 2002.

External links

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