While the allure of Rome may make tourism its principal industry, it is also a major international business center whose travelers require as much modernity and efficiency as they do the traditional comforts of a city that can be mindbogglingly difficult to negotiate.  These travelers also may regard being slightly out of the way from Rome’s tourist maelstrom or as near as possible to exit options as virtues during a short stay.  Here are some diverse hotels that fill those requirements splendidly. 

GRAN MELIÁ ROME 

  The new Gran Meliá Rome boasts a marvelous panorama on the great city, preceded by a short ride up a winding hill, removing you from the traffic miasma below. Indeed, the sprawling manor seems more like a country resort than a city hotel with public spaces wider, broader and longer than most others in Rome, and a very young staff, fluent in several languages who try very hard to make your stay according to what your personal ideals of service might be.  Still, though you seem remote, you may walk to Trastevere and the Vatican in five minutes and to the Piazza Navona in fifteen.
    This makes the best of both possible worlds—very old and very new—the theme throughout the hotel, with its outdoor pool surrounded by the city’s first botanical gardens, themselves worth a leisurely stroll.  The indoor pool more resembles what a wealthy Roman of 50 AD might have kept all to himself. The naturally lighted spa is by Clarins and includes a relaxation area, sauna, Turkish bath with chrome-aromatherapy, sensorial showers, external vitality pool, private Turkish bath, and fitness area with a personal trainer service.
    My favorite public room is the Library (left), set in what was once a 19th century church, where you can relax, have cocktails or a snack, also available at the casual glassed-in Nectar Bar. 

More upscale dining is in Vivavoce, whose chef consultant is the great Alfonso Iaccarino of Don Alfonso near Naples.
    The premises were once the site of the Villa Agrippina, home to emperor Nero’s mother, overlooking the Tiber. We stayed in a premium double room with a city view (left), the sleeping area, above whose bed is a stunning life-size faux mural capturing a section of a Renaissance painter’s masterpiece, was not particularly spacious, although the glassed-in bath and shower were larger and more California in style than you’d ever expect in Rome.  

 

BAGLIONI HOTEL REGINA
Via Veneto, 70/A
+39 06 421111
regina-hotel-baglioni-rome

    Who doesn't want to stay on the Via Veneto—the fabled winding street bound by the Villa Borghese and the Piazza Barbarini?  The Baglioni Hotel Regina, now within the Baglioni empire, has maintained and refreshed its effusive art déco exterior, with its fanned out glass and metal awning, the polished marble lobby and bright, very comfortable, modern rooms, all well-wired for the contemporary traveler, including 60 international TV channels. Our suite was done in black and off-white colors and buffed marble floors, heavy patterned draperies, antique desks and mirrors. 
    The Regina’s desirable location within easy walking distance to Maria della Vittoria church, the Spanish Steps, and Via Sistina gives it a centrality and access to all Rome’s transportation, including the subway and train station.
    The Regina’s Brunello dining room has the restraint of studied elegance and is neo-classical in décor, with a glimmering Venetian chandelier in the lounge area and appointments in  the color purple, which once distinguished the Roman senatorial class. Our meal was a fine marriage of Roman, Italian and Mediterranean elements, including springtime goat’s cheese stuffed zucchini flowers with just a hint of anchovies; risotto with salted codfish, yellow and green peppers and a dusting of black sesame powder;  red shrimps with a foam of yogurt and granita of passion fruit; and paccheri pasta (right) with basil sauce on cherry tomatoes extract, buffalo mozzarella flakes and Tuscan olive oil, as well as several marked vegetarian options.

 

 

 

MASSIMO D’AZEGLIO
Via Cavour, 18
+39- 06 4870270
romehoteldazeglio.it 

        Just a block away from the Termini train station, the Massimo d’Azeglio is easily the most accessible and luxurious hotel in the neighborhood.  It is owned by the Bettoja family, which also runs the Mediterraneo across the street, and is done throughout the public rooms in fin de siècle décor, rich in reds and golds, with a distinguished collection of paintings from the Risorgimento period of Italy’s unification, including a self-portrait of painter-statesman  Massimo d’Azeglio himself.
    With 185 rooms, the hotel is a particular favorite for business meetings in rooms outfitted with state-of-the-art tech equipment. The bedrooms are fairly basic in décor, though with excellent large bathrooms adding to the comfort.
        There are two restaurants, the main dining room (right) at street level, and below, a charming, rustic wine cellar trattoria (above), at its best when guests are at their most romantic.  We dined upstairs in a room that has admirably remained unchanged for decades, except for better lighting, hearkening back to days when dining was intended to be relaxing and enjoyed at your leisure, quiet enough for business, lovely enough for lingering.  It would not be an idle thought to close your eyes and imagine Gregory Peck seducing Audrey Hepburn at a well-set table here with its flattering pink linens and red flowers, over a glass of Frascati and dishes from Piedmont, like codfish with polenta; meat ravioli with scallop sauce, and a bollito misto of boiled meats.

 

 

HOTEL HILTON GARDEN INN, ROME CLARIDGE
Viale Liegi 62
39-06-845441
hilton-garden-inn-rome-claridge  

The modern Hotel Hilton Garden Inn, Rome Claridge makes no bones about its situation and style as a place for the business traveler to alight and perhaps leave within 24 hours. There is a 24-hour, high-tech business center (below), a small fitness room, and the uncluttered rooms are Spartan in their décor. 
  We found the reception and concierge staff particularly well versed in the needs of a guest who may have to be in and out in a hurry at any time of the day.
    For this reason, perhaps, not much thought seems to have been put into the restaurant menu, which is little more than serviceable for a post-workday dinner, though the breakfast buffet was more than adequate, and included in the room rate.

 

NEW YORK CORNER
By John Mariani

BILL'S  

57 East 54th Street (off Madison Avenue)
212-518-2727
bills54.com 

    The East Side townhouse that is home to Bill’s dates back to 1924 as a speakeasy, when food was not on most patrons’ minds.   After Prohibition loosened its mushy grip, the premises were transformed into Bill’s Gay Nineties, known as much for its basic food as for its sing-along piano bar and the silver dollars imbedded in the bar’s wooden floor (left). So there’s a lot of history still in the rafters, along with vintage prints and artwork, book-lined walls, a fireplace, stuffed animal heads, sports memorabilia, hunting bugles chandeliers, ship’s wheels, ceiling fans, leather banquettes, and tables set with starched linens.
     A few years back Bill’s Gay Nineties closed, an event that provoked elegies from NYC’s old-time newspaper wags, so its re-opening in 2013 was eyed suspiciously, especially since the awkwardly named Crown Group Hospitality made it plain they sought to attract the kind of people who wear real and knock-off Ralph Lauren, arrive in town cars, and create the deafening din of people whose voices, as Scott Fitzgerald said, “were full of money.”  But that ploy, along with some nasty company shake-ups and unpaid lease bills, didn’t last long and, after a brief flare-up of interest, Bill’s closed yet again.
    Now, since April, what is now called Bill’s Townhouse seems on much surer footing, thanks to veteran restaurateur Curt Huegel, whose previous involvement included Scarpetta and American Cut, and to a  kitchen now far more dependable under Chef Angel Vela, previously at Pastis and Waverly Inn,  while Manager Stephanie Gonzalez works hard to make everyone welcome.
    It’s been a while since I’ve heard the word “barfly”—a term that dates back to 1906 in American print—to describe a regular and committed imbiber at a saloon, but it seems worth bringing back to describe the downstairs clientele at Bill’s, where the bar is mainly filled with loud men just off from work, their ties askew, bellying up to the bar for another round of Bud Light or Absolut on the rocks.
    They are a raucous lot, and, although there are a couple of tables downstairs and a couple more outside for summer, anyone wishing to have a good meal and conversation with friends will find upstairs (right) fare more appealing.
    Bill’s menu is what it is, though, without sounding presidential, that depends upon what the meaning of “is” is. What it is is unabashedly traditional New York-American fare of a kind that has never gone out of style, just as the menus of the classic bistros of Paris and the tavernas of Mykonos will resolutely be ever the same.  So, of course, there’s the requisite raw bar selections, which on the night I visited featured Wellfleet oysters ($18) and a colossal lump crabmeat cocktail ($20).  There are about a dozen appetizers, along with one or two nightly specials, including lobster thermidor ($25), a 19th century Escoffier classic that went out of style in the modern foodie era.  Usually this dish of lobster meat cooked with cream, butter, brandy, mustard and tarragon can be too rich when served as a main course, but at Bill’s it makes a capital starter, without the lobster being overwhelmed by the sauce; it’s a dish worth bringing back from the Gilded Age.
    Veal and porcini meatballs with ricotta and fried sage  ($18) were delicious, if not classic America, but the crabcake, with cabbage slaw and tartar sauce ($19), lacked the colossal lump crabmeat served in the raw bar cocktail, instead too firmly packed with shreds of  crab. “Bill’s Housemade Buttered Egg Noodles” ($12) were just that and nothing more, nice, egg-rich noodles with butter,  with nightly variations, so one order is fine for a table of four as a side dish. 
    Among the entrees, a roasted half chicken ($29) was excellent, big breasted with very crisp, burnished gold skin, juicy to the bone and served with carrots, onion and a dash of lemon.  We tried a veal chop ($52) special, with pesto sauce that did nothing for the superlative chop I’d rather have had without it because it was a very fine piece of meat. Indeed, wherever Bill’s buys its beef, it must save special cuts for the restaurant because both the 14-ounce New York strip ($51) and the bone-in ribeye ($57) were among the very best I’ve had in a city manic about its steakhouse fare.  Bill’s were nicely charred, medium-rare as ordered, and had both the richness of fat-rich marbling and the tangy minerality a great steak should have. Were I ravenous for  just a slab of beef, but not in the mood for the caterwauling ambiance of a typical NYC steakhouse, I’d head straight to the civilized and historic surroundings of Bill’s and have it there. Oh, and the “cheesy potatoes” ($10) and trio of sautéed onions ($10) made good sides for such steaks.
    Of the desserts I tried I’ll go, as ever, for the S&S Cheesecake, almost a staple of New York chophouses and a standard for what a dense but moist slice of this cream cheese confection should be.
     The wine list is not cheap, especially the wines by the glass: a Nino Franco Rustico Prosecco goes for $14 a glass, the same price as an entire bottle in a NYC wine shop; Villa Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2011 $17 versus $26; MacRostie Chardonnay 2012 is $17 versus $23.  By the bottle, the listings shoot past $100 quickly, with mark-ups about 300% above retail, with Pio Cesare Barbaresco an eye-popping $275, which sells in a store for about$60-$65.
    That famous and beloved cheesecake, which has been made in the Bronx for more than half a century, is a natural choice for a place like Bill’s, which itself is a repository of NYC gastro-lore.  Were Bill’s only a nostalgia trip, it might be worth a burger and beer at the bar.  But in its present re-incarnation, Bill’s manages to add measurably to its cherished image by polishing it to a shining modernity.  Bill’s may not be as raffish as it once was, but it is still what it is, and now it’s a whole lot more.  

Lunch and Dinner Mon.-Sat.

 

NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR

A CRITIQUE OF PURE RIESLING, Part Three
By John A. Curtas

    Friendliness and approachability are pretty much the watchwords at Weingut Dr. Loosen, not to mention elegance, which is pretty obvious from the moment you step into the tasting room, just across the river from Weingut Thanisch.  These stately homes are steeped in history and give you a feeling of timelessness as you stroll the cobbled streets of what can only be described as a Riesling storybook land. Wine shops and tourists are everywhere, and you half expect Hansel and Gretel to come strolling out of one of half-timbered houses.
    Looming over it all is the impossibly steep Berncasteler Doctor, the most famous vineyard in Germany. The village of Bernkastel-Kues (really two villages on opposite sides of the river) has been at the center of the German wine world since Roman times, and Dr. Loosen's headquarters are right in the middle of town. Markus Schulte, our wine guide for the morning, brought an armful of maps, pictures, and props to demonstrate what makes the soil and the exposure so valuable in this region.  One of the most stunning was a famous photo of the Doctor vineyard, showing a frost on the ground all around it, but, owing to its position on the river, providing a clear and warm terroir for the vines fortunate enough to be drinking up the sun being reflected from the water.
     For all of its history, though, Dr. Loosen (right) has made a name for his winery as one of the most modern of the German wine estates. Since taking over the family business in 1988, Ernst Loosen has turned a modest estate (at the time comprising 19 acres of planted vines) into a Middle Mosel powerhouse, with almost a hundred acres planted. Loosen makes three blended wines, a non-estate Riesling called "Dr. L," and two estate Rieslings, one made from grapes grown entirely on blue slate, and another from vines in red slate. All three of these retail for under $15, making them a flat-out steal for everyday sipping.
    But the core of the Loosen portfolio are the six old-vine sites from which Loosen makes both dry and sweet wines that are benchmark examples of the form. The bouquet, density and higher alcohol content of these wines distinguish them from the usual fruity, Mosel style. These sites represent some of the Mosel's most coveted: Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Ürziger Würzgarten, Erdener Prälat, Erdener Treppchen, Bernkasteler Lay, and Graacher Himmelreich.  Each vineyard is the German equivalent of Grand Cru vineyards, or Erste Lage (first class site), which is designated on the label as "GG," an abbreviation that stands for Grosses Gewächs wines.  Luckily, as we've noted previously, the taste of the wines more than makes up for the constant confusion printed on German labels.
    With the exception of the Dr. L wine, all the wines are fermented with indigenous yeasts, and aged on their lees in massive old oak barrels for at least 9 months before being racked. The single vineyard wines are aged in old oak for between 12 (for sweet) and up to 24 months (for dry) on the lees before filtration and bottling.
    As quaffable as Loosen's entry-level wines are, it's the single vineyard selections where things get really serious. His 2012 Ürziger Würtzgarten Spätlese may clock in at only 8.5% alcohol, but it delivers a strong floral nose and loads of citrus notes all wrapped around juicy acidity that begs for a second sip. Quite a mouthful for around $27.  Even more stunning was the 2011 Erdener Pralat Alte Reben Auslese Reserve, not only for the price (around $200), but for the huge, round, sexy-silky mouth feel of a sweet grapefruit, offset by concentrated acidity that advertises its aging potential. It is the stuff Riesling dreams are made of, and in ten years could go toe-to-toe with anything the Loire Valley or Burgundy could throw at you. The reserve we tasted is probably next to impossible to find in the United States, but the regular Alte Reben GG is available in better wine stores for around $60, and it's nothing to sneeze at either.
    To complicate things further, Loosen has designated some of his dry wines "GGR," standing for Grosse Gewachs Ruhe Reife, or, a dry wine from the Grosses Gewachs vineyard that has been allowed to rest (ruhe) and mature (reife). Rather than try to keep up with all of this, just know that regardless of your wine knowledge, budget, or level of bewilderment, Dr. Ernst Loosen has a product that will fill the bill and please your palate.
    I came away from Mosel actually feeling sorry for German winemakers. They try to impart as much information as they can to the consumer (as required by law) and sincerely want you to know as much about the bottle as possible before you buy it. But the densities of the German language defeat them—and us—every time. Be that as it may, there's something fascinating about all this ironic inscrutability,  telling you everything while leaving you in the dark, that will keep you coming back for more, once you dive into the deep end of the Riesling pool and discover the most remarkable and versatile white wine you will ever taste.

Dr. Loosen has small tasting rooms within the beautiful house that holds its business offices. Dr. Loosen must be contacted in advance for a tour of the cellars and a tasting of the full panoply of its wines.

Part One and Part Two here.