Today I wanted to show you inside two of the James Bond Hotels I went to in Rome that were featured in the James Bond novel For Your Eyes Only, a collection of short stories. One of them being Risico where Bond travels to Rome. I did not stay in these hotels, for the record.
According to a blog by Byronico, Fleming was not a fan of the Eternal City, but Anastasia and I, we love the place. Took my Mum, had some good food, good wine. Its hard to find a bad time in Rome, in my opinion.
Click to watch 5 minute video of James Bond Hotels on YouTube
The Westin Excelsior
But back to the book. So Bond meets Kristatos at the Excelsior Hotel in Rome, this is owned by the Westin Hotels now. The name has changed hands a few times, on March 1, 2000 the Excelsior was transferred to their Westin Hotels & Resorts division and renamed The Westin Excelsior, Rome. The hotel was fully renovated in 2000.
Inside the Westin Excelsior
According to WIKI
On March 3, 1994, singer Kurt Cobain overdosed in one of the hotel suites.
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.
So as you can see this is a very opulent bar. The prices for a cocktail weren’t cheap, and there is nothing there to acknowledge that the hotel was featured in a Bond novel. But this is not uncommon. Bond and Fleming are not Italian, and they tend to celebrate their own here.
Nazionale
OK onto the Nazionale, this is what we presume to be Bond’s hotel after he instructs the taxi driver to take him there after dropping Lisl Baum off at the Ambassadori. Anastasia and I walked in for a night cap. There was no one behind the bar. The menu wasn’t overly inspiring and it looked to be quite a tired hotel. But in a way, that added to the charm.
Inside the Nazionale
Nazionale bar area
I liked the fact that this is probably how it looked when Bond stayed here at the time the novel came out in 1960. And if Bond stayed here, perhaps this is where Fleming stayed also. In fact let me email the hotel, see if they have any record of Fleming staying there.
In terms of location you’re right in the action here. Only few steps away from the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, etc.
Sources:
Further reading
Please check out the James Bond Travel Diary page for more locations I’ve visited in relation to the films and books.
