As our driver pulled up to the JK Place Rome, I wondered – is this the right place? Hidden just off Via Condotti, you’ll find the entrance to JK Place Roma. We almost mistook it for someone’s home, and that’s exactly how it is supposed to be. Once you walk through the entry you find yourself in an open atrium surrounded by life size marble statues, palm trees, and plush furniture with beautiful light entering from above. It feels like a secret oasis in the midst of the chaos of Rome’s busy, historic shopping district.
No detail has been overlooked at the JK Place. The elevator is hidden by a much more beautiful glass door. It’s also so huge that there’s a corner sofa inside of the elevator. This luxury boutique hotel feels small and quiet but we’ve been told in the evening it’s one of the few hotels Romans frequent to meet and see and be seen.
With the government restrictions, hotel restaurants and bars were reserved for hotel guests after 6pm when we stayed at the JK Place, so only guests could dine at JK Cafe. It was quiet, but that gave us the ability to admire the stunning decor. Servers attired in Isaia suits mix inventive, balanced cocktails in a library-like setting. We met Maria Strati, the general manager, for an aperitivo and learned about the weekly rotating menu that features cuisine from all different regions of Italy and the ways she is encouraging Romans to spend a staycation at the JK Place.
During our stay, the menu focused on the Abruzzo region. There is always a regular menu of classic Roman dishes, but having enjoyed Roman food daily, we were thrilled to try something from a different region. The chitarra with lamb tartare melted in our mouths and the pan roasted filet of pork was seared to perfection. We aren’t normally dessert people but I love rum cake, so we split their rainbow cake layered with pastry cream and rum and finished the entire thing!
With all of the coronavirus regulations changing constantly, Maria also had the genius idea to coordinate Covid tests for hotel guests who need them for travel purposes. She located one of the best places to get Covid tests, with reasonable prices and a reliable turnaround time. The hotel will either arrange for a Covid test at the hotel or can make an appointment for you to go to the facility just down the street.
As an added bonus, if you love food, just outside of the hotel is a local market. We enjoyed having a coffee in our room in the morning watching the locals shop and the shopkeepers trim fresh spring artichokes.
Maria emphasized that the goal of the JK Place is to make it feel like a home, and she has truly succeeded on an inspiring level — so much so that one of our first stops on returning home was to pick up a palm tree for our living room.
JK Place Roma, Via di Monte d’Oro, 30, 00186 Roma, Italy
Note: The JK Place Roma provided support for the reporting of this story.
