€530-€1,400*

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If you can drag your eyes away from the mouthwatering boutique-fronts of Rome's Via Condotti for a moment, you'll see behind you some huge, very private-looking wooden gates. They may not gleam and glitter like the window-displays, but what lies behind them is equally opulent, if not more so.

These doors are a portal into a former, more splendid age. Doric colonnades lined with locally-excavated statues lead up to a wing of the 16th-century Palazzo Ruspoli. Above the all-marble staircase, imperial busts gaze onto antique furnishings, while inside, rare Gobelin tapestries rub shoulders with five hundred year-old oil paintings, some of which artfully conceal plasma TV screens. This is where Emperor Napoleon III and his mother, the former Queen of Holland, lived in the 1830's, and the air oozes pedigree. It's now home to the welcoming and unpretentious Princess Letizia Ruspoli, who has made two apartments available to the select few (i.e. those who happen upon an article like this). If you have always wanted to stay somewhere literally fit for a king, here is the opportunity of a lifetime.

SUITES

The Napoleon suite is the one to go for. This is late baroque opulence at its best, from the marquetry of the furniture to the parquetry of the floors. Coming in from the dazzling Lazio sun, the sombre tones and sheer size of the bedroom will leave you squinting at six huge oil paintings. One of these opens to reveal an exquisite, if bijou, marble bathroom; another leads to a walk-in dresser. You also have a small kitchen and a pair of sumptuous reception rooms at your disposal.

Recently restored, the Blue Bedroom has been added at the Residenza Napoleone III. Past the Yellow reception room, on the left you climb a wooden staircase to enter the Blue Bedroom, which has two single beds and ensuite bathroom with shower and bath. The bedroom is called “blue” for its poteche, and it is very charming and cosy although not as grand as the master bedroom in the Residenza.

There's also a Roof-garden Suite, a split-level penthouse apartment with an airy sitting room and a cosy double bedroom with ensuite bathroom. Next to the Napoleon Suite, the interior is comparatively modest; but it's the vast, flower-girt terrace - over 600 square feet of multi-level decking overlooking the Spanish Steps - which makes it so special. If the Napoleon is booked, or just that titsy bit too pricey, this is a respectable alternative.

EATING

Guests are left to their own devices for lunch and dinner, but the smooth, unobtrusive efficiency with which your personal butler serves a generous continental breakfast in period silverware is hard to beat.

For dinner, Letizia can recommend and secure tables at seemingly impenetrable restaurants nearby.

ACTIVITIES

• Cool your heels in the boat-shaped Barcaccia fountain in Piazza di Spagna

• Swoon at the haute couture (and the haute prices) on display along Via del Corso and Via dei Condotti

• Admire the painstakingly recreated Altar of Augustan Peace on the Via della Ripetta

• Marvel at the engineering of Hadrian's second most famous construction, the Pantheon, home to Raphael's tomb

• If your head starts to spin from cultural overload, grab a cappuccino at the bohemian Caffe Greco, Goethe's old local; or an ice cream from one of the tantalising gelaterie

• A secluded haven on via dei Condotti, the epicentre of Italian high fashion

• Textiles and decor a class above anywhere else in the eternal city

• Personal butler who caters for your every whim without ever obtruding

• All modern comforts (CDs, video library, lift) to ease museum fatigue

• Silent air-conditioning ensures a good night's sleep

• The bathroom and kitchen are less spacious

• There is no separate shower (the scented candles lit for you in the bathroom may go some way to compensate)

• Don't expect sweeping views - you look onto the buildings opposite

• Such luxury comes at a hefty [i!http://www.i-escape.com/minihotel.php?section=booking&hotel_key=IT041!price]