Six of the best: Venetian Palazzi

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This was published 10 years ago

Six of the best: Venetian Palazzi

By Flip Byrnes
Palazzina G.

Palazzina G.

PALAZZINA G

FOR: SERIOUS GLAMOUR

The boutique Palazzina G, the first Starck-designed hotel in Italy, is so hip it hurts - Monsieur Philippe customised every fitting. This is uber-contemporary Venice; the blood-red hallway walls and white-mirrored rooms with steel and moonstone onyx tables were home to Johnny Depp for three months while he filmed The Tourist. The Krug Lounge (where guests sit on leather farm animals) in the 16th century wing is members-only but the upstairs terrace is open for common folk. Sight celebrities en masse for the price of a champagne. For rock'n'roll type guests, breakfast is served any time of day, anywhere in the hotel. From €320 for a double. See Palazzinag.com.

CA'SAGREDO

FOR: THE ULTIMATE

This 600-year-old palazzo on the Grand Canal in Rialto, Venice's oldest quartiere, is the sole hotel in Italy to include a national monument. But the famous 18th century grand staircase by Andrea Tirali is not all. The Sagredo family were patrons of the arts and the results are omnipresent. From ceiling paintings by Giambattista Tiepolo and Nicolo Bambini to Gaspare Diziani's fresco-wrapped ballroom (with secret door to a gambling den), this is an art buff's nirvana. Arrive by private boat, take a jogging tour with hotel trainer Roberto, book a photography week, eat watermelon granita waterside while gondolas float by. Far from stuffy, this is Venice at its absolute best. From €300 ($450) a night. See casagredo.com.

AI REALI

FOR: THE LATEST

Nine-month-old Ai Reali is the new kid on the block. Make that island. Despite qualifying as a five-star hotel, management decided to be the best in the four-star class. The resulting value means it's often booked out so plan ahead. It has the only spa in a Venetian four-star hotel (with massage table waterbeds) but more alluring is living like the noble Famiglia Reali. Following a three-year renovation, 80 per cent of the hotel is original, with Murano chandeliers and insignia marble fireplaces. Studding a ribbon of a canal like a pink pearl, this is a hidden gem. From €190. See hotelaireali.com.

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LONDRA PALACE

FOR: LOCATION

The collective gasp as guests throw windows open in the morning is almost audible. The Londra Palace is smack bang downtown, backing on to the Doge's Palace, with Piazza San Marco (Venice's CBD) a pigeon's flutter away. But it's the view, that glorious view of St Mark's Basin, that captivates. This is the grand dame, Venice's first purpose-built hotel in 1853 when the dilapidated islands were still semi-slums. Tchaikovsky (who complained about the management), composed Symphony 4 in room 106 - dine in the Symphony 4 restaurant with the best terrace and people-watching in town. From €240 for a classic double room. See londrapalace.com.

FORESTERIA VALDESE

FOR: BUDGET

Holy hostel! Located in the 16th-century Waldensian Church-run Palazzo Cavagnis, the building itself is slightly battered and the accommodation spartan but for a €30 dorm bed, who cares? Snuggled at the confluence of two canals near charming Piazza Santa Maria Formosa, this is Venice's best value hostel. Plus, the low-end price comes with high-end art. Look up - some rooms are decorated with baroque frescoes by Bevilaqua (request a camera affrescata, rooms 10, 14 and 16). Free Wednesday night concerts are the icing on the budget cake. From €30 in a six to nine bed dormitory, €105 a double. See Foresteriavenezia.it.

LA GARE

FOR: OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

Venice isn't the only island in St Mark's Basin; nearby are the smaller islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello. Murano is the closest, a small slice of authentic Venetian life 20 minutes by boat from St Mark's. Given this is where the world-famous glass is blown, it's fitting this hotel, opened earlier this year, is a former glass furnace that once employed more than 1000 workers (and now is part of the Accor collection). The hotel rooms are neutral (almost nondescript) but the drawcard is the location. This is a slow-paced Venice, at night the island empties of glass buyers and you have the streets to yourself. With the hotel alongside a vaporetto stop, day trip to even sleepier Burano. From €100 a night. See lagarehotelvenezia.com.

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