The Compass Check

What earned the trip.
What earned the price.

A beautiful hotel can still leave you disappointed. A complicated journey can lead somewhere extraordinary. The details decide whether an experience deserves your time and money.

Here, I review places I’ve personally visited through five lenses:

WORTH THE FLIGHT

What made the experience worth the journey.

WORTH THE SPLURGE

Where spending more improved the trip.

FRICTION LEVEL

The planning, transfers, inconvenience, and effort involved.

BELONGING

How I was treated and how comfortable I felt as a Black queer woman.

COMEBACK FACTOR

Whether I would spend my own time and money to return.

Each review explains what worked, what fell short, and who the experience would suit—so you can judge it against your own priorities.

Hallway inside Palazzo Fendi in Rome, with ornate paneling, geometric lighting, and a red rug. Photographed in June 2023.

The Compass Check · Rome, Italy

Fendi Private Suites

Two nights above the boutique.
A splurge I would repeat.

Stayed: June 2023 · Two nights with my girlfriend
What I paid: Approximately $3,600 total, including taxes

My first experience of living in Europe was a semester abroad in Paris during college. I loved it, but I was a broke student. By this trip, I was an established physician with the time and money to experience Europe the way I had always wanted to.

My girlfriend and I traveled from Paris to Venice on the Orient Express, then continued by train to Rome. This was a trip I had deliberately chosen to splurge on, and Fendi Private Suites became part of that experience.

Burgundy marble doorways framing a lounge inside Fendi Private Suites.
Inside Fendi Private Suites: marble, warm lighting, and intimate shared spaces.

01 · The setting

Worth the Flight

The Fendi name caught my attention. Learning that I could actually stay above the fashion house’s flagship boutique made me curious enough to book.

The hotel occupies the third floor of Palazzo Fendi and has just seven suites, close to the Spanish Steps. That small scale was part of its appeal. About Fendi Private Suites

Our suite had a balcony overlooking the activity below and a beautiful bathroom with a soaking tub. I could watch Rome going about its day while enjoying a space that felt private.

During our stay, staff told us the space had been Karl Lagerfeld’s private residence. I haven’t independently verified that history, but I remember photographs of him and his cat around the hotel. The connection to the people behind Fendi added to my interest.

Palazzo Fendi illuminated at night, with the flagship boutique at street level.
Palazzo Fendi after dark, with the flagship boutique below.

02 · The stay

Worth the Splurge

At approximately $3,600 for two nights, this was a substantial expense. What made it worthwhile for me was the combination of the suite, the intimate setting, and the access to Fendi’s working world.

And then there was breakfast. We ordered the night before and had it delivered to our room each morning at our chosen time. I love breakfast in my room. Being able to enjoy it privately was a detail that suited me perfectly.

The room tour shows the bed, sitting area, marble bathroom, soaking tub, and the view over Rome.

My suite in 16 seconds · June 2023.
Bedroom, sitting area, bathroom, soaking tub, and street view. No audio.

Worth the Splurge · The private tour

Inside the atelier

Staff explained that a private boutique and atelier tour was included in our stay. We could choose when to go, so I arranged ours for the last day, after checkout.

An associate guided us through the store and into a working atelier, where women were tailoring fur coats. Seeing that craftsmanship up close was memorable. Fendi isn’t even one of my favorite luxury brands, but I enjoyed learning about its history and seeing what happened behind the scenes.

There was no pressure to buy anything. My interest in the experience was enough.

This describes the tour included during my June 2023 stay; atelier access may differ for future stays.

An artisan working on a fur garment at a table in the Fendi atelier, surrounded by tools and clothing.
Craftsmanship at work during our private atelier visit.
Fashion sketches, a garment photograph, and material samples displayed in the atelier.
Sketches and material samples connected the designs to the work happening in front of us.

03 · Getting settled

Friction Level

Very little. Coming from the train station, we found the Fendi store first and spent perhaps a minute or two figuring out the hotel entrance. It was discreet, and the entrance wasn’t immediately obvious.

For me, that was a small part of finding my way around an old European city. It didn’t detract from the stay, and I don’t remember any significant frustrations.

04 · The welcome

Belonging

I don’t need constant attention. Service starts to feel uncomfortable when every interaction seems exaggerated or rehearsed. I appreciate people who notice what I need, respond when I ask, and give me room to enjoy myself.

That was my experience here. The staff explained how things worked and were available when we needed them. The attention felt appropriate for the size of the hotel and what we were spending. It felt genuine.

As a Black woman, I had wondered whether I would feel welcome in such an exclusive setting. I’ve spent money elsewhere and still felt easy to overlook. At Fendi, I felt respected as a paying guest throughout our stay—and during the boutique tour.

That ease was a meaningful part of the luxury.

Two glasses on a silver tray in a seating area inside the Fendi boutique.
A moment in the boutique during our private tour.

05 · My verdict

Comeback Factor

Yes. I would spend my own money to stay again.

For someone who enjoys an intimate hotel, design, fashion history, and breakfast behind their own door, this is a stay I would recommend as a deliberate splurge.

It was expensive. It was memorable. And for the experience I wanted on that trip, it was worth it.

Words, photographs, and video from my June 2023 stay.