You notice, but don’t really notice, how imposing building is as you ascend the steps to the front entrance. You enter and approach the front desk and immediately notice the impressive marble sculpture in-between the two desks used for checking in new guests. As you wait your turn, you glance and notice tile floors, carved doors, marble staircases. It’s becoming abundantly clear that the DoubleTree by Hilton Trieste is not a run-of-the-mill urban hotel!
Short History
Built between 1911 and 1914 as the Riunione Adriatica di Sicurtà (RAS) headquarters, this impressive building conveys the power, strength and wealth of RAS and of the economic power of Trieste, then part of the Austria-Hungary empire immediately prior to World War I. RAS survived both World Wars, though struggled post-war and had numerous corporate changes – i.e., stockholders rights and governance – that changed its business approach. Struggling in the 1980s, Allianz became the primary owner by becoming the majority shareholder in 1989, allowing RAS to remain today a major player in the Italian insurance industry.
RAS and later Allianz/RAS continued to use the building as RAS offices – technically headquarters, though much had moved to Milan – until the 1990s when the offices were closed, while only the commercial portions remained occupied. The upper floors remained vacant and, fortunately, the building remained primarily intact and unchanged as plans for its future were made, reviewed, reworked, discarded. Hilton obtained permission to make the building into a DoubleTree hotel with renovations that maintained its grandeur. Renovations began in 2017 and the hotel opened in 2019.
Restaurant and Bar
The restaurant and bar on the first floor (second for you snooty Americans) clearly shows the opulence and grandeur of this former headquarters. After exiting the elevators and following signs to your right, you walk through the former corporate library containing wall-to-wall wooden and glass bookshelves containing (what appears to be) original volumes of RAS. Even the original sliding ladder to access the upper shelves is present, though signs should prevent children – like me – from ascending.
As you continue, to your left is the breakfast buffet; straight ahead is the bar which overlooks the front of the building. More impressive is the eye candy present wherever you look: carved wood, tiled walls and floors, elaborate fireplace covers, decorated ceilings, light fixtures of the era. Some (mostly?) originals with reproductions undoubtably required for missing or broken pieces, but impressive nevertheless.
Staircase
On the left, after you pass through the library and before the breakfast buffet, is a staircase befitting a castle …. or, in this case, a headquarters trying to impress its customers. Today, it impresses guests. During our time in Trieste we visited palaces, now museums, of Trieste’s rich-and-famous, but this staircase might have been the most impressive of any seen.
Hotel Room
Navigating the hallways to find our room was initially a challenge: the signs indicated a turn here but in fact you continue straight; finding the elevator was trial and error until we identified our landmark: the wavy floor. Take the next right after walking over the wavy floor and halfway down the hall on the left is the elevator.
Our room appeared to be an executive’s office or a conference room in its previous incarnation, with a marble fireplace, bookshelves, grand windows, and the original ceilings. Our “key” was truly a key, not a key card, which we struggled with almost every time we need to lock or unlock the door. One evening we went to sleep with it unlocked, forgetting that it didn’t lock automatically!
To leave the original architectural decor unchanged and undamanged, a custom-built, all-in-one, bed/bath/closet/HVAC contraption was installed in the middle of the room, leaving a narrow path on either side. Using the bathroom required an awkward step-up, often forgotten in the middle of the night. The air conditioner was finicky, requiring the hotel engineer’s magical tough to get it to actually cool, important if we intended to get any sleep during a Trieste heat wave.
Final rating: comfortable but weird. Understand why but still just a bit weird.
Final Thoughts
Trieste hotels are not inexpensive, and, despite our preference for Hiltons, I typically do not book rooms approaching €500/night; fortunately, booking with credit card points made if appear free!
Regardless, architecturally this hotel is unlike almost any other hotel we’ve ever stayed at. Despite our room’s awkwardness, it’s extremely impressive how the renovation were able to maintain the building’s original building (likely at great expense!).
Definitely a hotel to recommend, if nothing else visit the first/second floor, get a glass of wine and wander around the public areas.
Image Credits
- Hotel Facade courtesy of Hilton (https://www.hilton.com/it/hotels/trsdtdi-doubletree-trieste/)
- All other images © 2026 Scott C Sosna, all rights reserved.
