Hotel Gritti Palace
Venice
from Travel Intelligence

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Probably Venice's best hotel. Despite the luxury tag and an international reputation, it retains an old-world Italian charm.

Address:	Campo Santa Maria del Giglio 2467, 30124 Venice, Italy
Telephone:	+39-041 794 611
Fax:	+39-041 520 0942
Rooms:	97
Rating:	5 star

The Hotel Writes

"Directly overlooking the Grand Canal, with an incomparable view of Venice, the Palace of the Doge Gritti was commissioned in 1520 as the residence of the Doge of Venice, Andrea Gritti. The Gritti Palace was later used as the official residence of the Vatican's ambassadors to Venice.

"Over the centuries, it has welcomed kings and queens, prime ministers and presidents. Named to Condé Nast Traveler’s 2002 Gold List and Condé Nast Traveler’s 2001 Readers’ Choice Awards List, the Hotel Gritti Palace is one of the world's most celebrated hotels. The hotel continues to attract elite guests today with its ideal location, luxuriously appointed rooms, attentive service, and the savory cuisine of the Club del Doge restaurant."

Review

Jamie Dunford Wood:

Ex-CIGA Hotels and now part of the all powerful Starwood Group's 'Luxury Collection', it remains to be seen whether the Gritti will be able to maintain its unique character. The last thing it wants is restoration, because despite its grandeur, its price, its reputation, it still manages to preserve the character of a family run albergo in the traditional Italian style.

Downstairs the succession of public rooms seem cosy, inviting you to make this home, with none of the glamourous but weary bustle of the Danieli. Low, painted wooden beams vie with oils of past doges on marble, stone and fabric covered walls, whilst a magical bar, with walls of antique venetian mirror glass, gives onto a terrace restaurant overlooking that most overhyped view in the world, the Grand Canal. The point about the Grand Canal is that the views are all those from the canal, of palaces and churches and romantic diners in little canal-side restaurants - not so much of the people actually in the palaces, not at this end at any rate, who get an endless succession of vaporetti and camera wielding gondola boats of Japanese tourists. Still, the views from the few rooms with canal views (13, and 3 suites) get a nice view, if not a great one, with the virtue of being quotable - 'I had a room with great sunset views' might not turn heads, but 'I was overlooking the Grand Canal' certainly ought to.

There are just 91 rooms and 6 suites. Cool cream and gilt corridors with a thin strip of blue carpet on brown marble lead to generally largish rooms, with pretty but surprisingly plain furnishings, nicely understated - traditional Venetian chandeliers, swagged curtains, little antique details like carriages clocks, antique furniture (if not of the best quality), and decorative stuccoed walls with marble-effect panels in blues and creams. Others are in pale yellow, with painted Venetian furniture and elegantly sculpted bedheads. Bathrooms are generally small, with no modern luxuries like twin sinks or separate showers or, heavens forbid, steam proof mirrors. Canal view rooms generally have two large windows - if you spend this money, insist that they do - and those on the second floor have the highest ceilings. Some rooms - again the canal side rooms above all - boast small antique oil paintings.

The word which comes to mind when assessing this famous hotel is 'tranquillo'. Long may it remain so, 'Luxury Collection' notwithstanding.

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