Rome

Corso Apartments - Ambrose 

The Ambrose apartment in Rome faces Via del Corso and its daily parade of Roman life. The view is of the pedestrian street and the facade of the grand old Plaza Hotel. Inside it offers space and comfort.

The Ambrose apartment occupies the front of the palazzo and faces the Plaza Hotel. It has many elegant features befitting a fine building in this area of Rome.

As you enter, there is a table and antique mirror that reflects a long hallway that connects the rooms.

Wood wainscoting lines the hallway and handsome wood paneling surrounds you in the living/dining room and in the room with the twin beds. Notice the scroll work above the bedroom windows and on either side of the bedroom doors. Scrollwork conceals indirect lighting above the built-in closets and drawers. The wall and ceiling decoration in the living room is not, as you might think, wallpaper, but hand-cut wood appliqué wreaths, each one consisting of a dozen small pieces of stained wood. This work was done a hundred years ago and is rare today. Vaulted ceilings show that this is the original layout of the rooms in this four hundred year old building. 

The living/dining room area is spacious. The table is quite large, seating eight when you pull out the leaves, although I think you will find only seven chairs in the apartment. A sideboard holds a lamp and television. Another sideboard supplements the kitchenette with shelves for dishes and utensils of which there are ample. The sofa is comfortable and has a floor lamp beside it for light. The living room is accessed through the second bedroom.

The kitchenette is modern with a four burner stove top, small refrigerator with freezer shelf for ice, sink, and dishwasher. The pots, pans, knives, and utensils are of good quality and lack for nothing. The top shelves are very high and will be hard for shorter people to reach without the little stool you can stand on. 

The master bedroom has a queen sized bed, bedside tables with reading lamps and a side chair. It is quietly decorated in cream and black. 

The second bedroom has a twin bed that converts into two twins or a queen. The sofa also converts in the same way. The photo of the second bedroom shows them separate and of the sofa bed shows them made up together. If you are interested in this clever Italian system, the second bed part slides out from underneath, then you simply lift it and the legs drop down putting it at the same height as the original bed. You can align the beds as two halves of a queen and make them up that way, or separate them. Not that you need to worry about that, we will have them made up to fit your party.

The second bedroom has a handsome antique reproduction bureau with a lamp and closets and drawers built in on either side of the door. 

There are three small bathrooms which is a very nice setup when the apartment is full; three people can get ready at the same time. There are two water heaters so there is plenty of hot water for showers. The bathrooms have been recently refitted with new fixtures and tile work. One, built-in shower appears original. The bathrooms are equipped as follows:

1. Shower, sink, toilet
2. Sink, toilet, bidet
3. Shower, sink

All the radiators have been removed, so the heating, if needed, is via electric radiators which work wonderfully well. The only caution would be keeping toddlers away from the radiators.

We have stayed in this apartment and our frank evaluation is:

• We tested the beds that slide out and found them just as comfortable as the others.

• As we mentioned in the overview, we loved watching the parade of people in front of the building. The windows, three of them overlook the Corso, have deep wooden sills that you can lean on just for this purpose, I believe. Street musicians, a parade of plumed Bersagliere (proud assault troops), tourists of all kinds, and fashionable Italians kept us observing and discussing.

• Traffic is limited in this stretch of the Corso, but emergency vehicles, garbage trucks, and local workers on their "motorini" come and go, so if you sleep lightly, bring ear plugs.

• Linens are luxurious and include a terry bathrobe.

• There is no full-height closet for long dresses.

• The living room is accessed through the twin bedroom. The rooms can be closed off from each other.

• Two of the bathrooms have been renovated but the third hasn't been and is tired.

• There is no central heating, so during cold weather, electric radiators are provided. They work great; we stayed a cold week in Febrary and were very comfortable.

For general information on the building and the location see the overview.

Request this apartment. Phone 781.275.1055

Ambrose Apartment Details

The sofa is comfortable and has a floor lamp for light. Doors lead to twin bedroom.

Living room windows are perfect for people watching. They overlook the Plaza Hotel and Via del Corso.

Dining room table seats six or eight.

Master bedroom features fine woodwork and a large comfortable bed. 

Woodwork conceals lighting above built-in closets and drawers in both bedrooms.

Second bedroom with bed as twin. Large bureau supplements built-in closets and drawers.

Beds made up as twins, but they can also be made up as one queen. 

The sofa bed is made up as a queen in this photo, but can also be made up as two twins.

Bathroom with shower, sink and toilet.

Bathroom with sink, toilet and bidet. The third bathroom has a shower and sink.

Click to enlarge this layout drawing. The room sizes are approximate.