The Waldorf Hotel looks out over the city from the top of one of Rome’s surrounding hills. The main complex is set in a large park amid lush vegetation. Palm and cypress trees stretch upward, while majestic Italian stone pines spread their parasols over wide expanses of well-tended grounds maintained by diligent attendants.
I enter the commodious lobby, lit from all directions by the day’s bright sunlight filtering in through the many windows and glass doorways. I expect the concierge to simply tell me the way to the spa but instead she walks with me to the elevator, selects the floor, rides down to the 2nd sub-level with me, and ushers me to the spas reception desk. There, a very distinguished gentleman, who tells me his name is Gabriele, greets me. Gabriele directs me to a couch in a lobby area connected to their small restaurant space. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and offer coffee all day. I am given tea to sip while I wait for the person who will take me on a tour of the facility. The air is slightly humid and I hear the sound of bubbling water, laughter, and talking echoing from the open door to my left.
My guide arrives and the tour begins. The first room we visit is called the Amethyst room. It is dimly lit except for an otherworldly blue light that shines up from the water and reflects off the walls. Marble, stonework, and tile cover virtually every surface. Roman pillars and glass separate a large hot tub from an even larger Turkish steam room, where stone benches align the wall, facing in toward a glowing pool at its center. A door leads from the steam room into a cold plunge pool. Everything is coed except the dry saunas, which are each connected to the men’s and women’s locker rooms.
On the other side of the Amethyst room is the relaxation area. We make our way around the glass divider to take a closer look. There are ten reclining day beds, each complete with their own sound system. Televisions play silent videos of relaxing scenes. There is even a station where guests can get fresh lemon water.
We leave the area and head towards the gym, passing the reception desk. On the way, my guide pauses at a display and talks about the beauty and health products that the Rome Cavalieri Spa makes available to their guests. The Spa chose each product for its special qualities, a Swiss brand La Prarie, La Cremerie out of Paris; and from the Caribbean, Ligne St Barth.
The gym is divided into the weight room and the cardio room. They offer regular classes, including Pilates, yoga, dance, boxing, and many more. All the machines look like they are brand new. There are televisions and Internet connection available as well.
We pass through a doorway into the poolroom. A woman floats casually in a large, heated pool, talking in friendly tones to another standing at the edge. Across the pool is a large fireplace, a hot and cold plunge, and a Jacuzzi. Out beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass is a large outdoor pool where guests relax in the sun.
My guide takes me back to the lounge area where we sit and talk about the facilities. I learn that the spa has upwards of 300 members who live in Rome and visit regularly. The rest of the clientele are guests to the hotel who visit from all over the world. As we are talking, I notice two silver trophies displayed on a table nearby. I ask about them and my guide tells me that they are trophies from the hotel soccer team. Surprised, I repeat, “The hotel has its own soccer team?”
As if on cue I hear, “Yes. And I am the president of the team.” A very friendly man introduces himself as Felix. He says he just finished with physical therapy from back surgery but he takes a few moments to talk with me about the success of the hotel’s team for many years running.
I bid farewell to Felix, and soon I am sitting and talking with Barbara, the hotel’s PR manager. I am fascinated to learn that the spa offers Kobido massage, a 2000-year old technique that was given to Samurai warriors before battle. Utilizing meridians and tsubo points, this method of facial massage improves the quality of the skin by stimulating blood and lymphatic circulation, and releasing muscular tension that creates wrinkles.
There are so many things that the Rome Cavalieri offers. After your spa experience, you can continue to satisfy your body with a dinner at La Pergola, the only 3-star Michelin-rated restaurant in Rome and one of only a few in Italy. If you prefer to feed your soul, you can connect with the hotel’s art historian and take a private tour of their extensive art collection, with over a thousand pieces ranging from Tiepolo to Warhol.
Whether you live in Rome or are visiting from abroad, even one day at the Rome Cavalieri is a vacation in itself.
