Venice, Italy

The Venice Venice Hotel

Price per night from$587.77

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR545.45), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Sleep with the greats

Setting

Beholding the Rialto Bridge

Giants of the art world know, to grab attention and inspire you have to radicalise the form. And, this is what the Venice Venice Hotel – a hideaway hung with Fluxus and Arte Povera works, plus pieces by global greats (Bruce Nauman, Arnulf Rainer, Hanne Darboven) – is doing with style. It’s set in the Grand Canal’s oldest palazzo (the 13th-century Ca' da Mosto) – and overlooks the Rialto Bridge – but the owners, founders of brand Golden Goose, have brought in shiny new concepts and captivating 20th-century artworks it’s a privilege to slumber by, making something wholly modern. Take cicheti and cocktails in the market-style dining sotoportego gallery (a covered passageway), buy fine crafts in the boutique, book the private roof terrace for city-wide views, and ponder the big ideas. When it comes to shaking up hotels, our gaze is firmly on this very nice, very nice stay. 

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A leather key-card holder per room, signature Americano cocktail each, late check-out (3pm, subject to availability) and 10 per cent off in the M’Art boutique

Facilities

Photos The Venice Venice Hotel facilities

Need to know

Rooms

26, including two suites.

Check–Out

12 noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

Prices

Double rooms from £512.12 (€600), including tax at 10 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional local city tax of €5.00 per person per night on check-out.

More details

Rates include a generous à la carte breakfast and minibar items.

Also

The hotel’s common areas are accessible and four rooms are suitable for guests requiring assistance with mobility.

At the hotel

Spa treatment room, boutique, charged laundry service, free WiFi. In rooms: Bang & Olufsen TV, Bialetti coffee machine and kettle with teas, free minibar, bath products by the Erose.

Our favourite rooms

The Venice Venice could probably stand in for a foundation course in 20th-century art; staying here you’ll find yourself just casually snoozing by important works from the Fluxus community, Arte Povera and Poesia Visiva movements, and big-deal pieces from the owners’ collection, plus art books and journals abound throughout, so you’re bound to learn something, even by osmosis. Room 22 (AKA ‘Immense Light’) is dedicated to Austrian artist Arnulf Rainer’s Cycle of Hands, Room 27 has Bruce Nauman’s work on its walls, German conceptual artist Hanne Darboven is celebrated in Room 12 (Visual Codes), and Room 23 (A Gallerist’s Perspective) brings together Italy’s Arte Povera masterminds. But, art isn’t the only thing that’ll divert your attention – some rooms have iconic views of the Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge.

Spa

There’s a small spa dubbed Felix Anima with one treatment room, where you can enjoy a custom massage with the Erose products, followed by a cup of herbal tea.

Packing tips

Leave room for phenomenally crafted pieces (shoes, blankets, bags, clothes, a very cool umbrella) from the hotel’s M’Art boutique. After all, Smithsters get a discount. And don’t load up on art books, the hotel has plenty for those who like to look and learn.

Also

The Venice Venice has a very hospitable history: it was formerly the Leon Bianco, which hosted royalty, czars, poets, artists and Grand Tour takers.

Pet‐friendly

On request small dogs can stay in any of the hotel’s rooms for €200 a pet, each stay. See more pet-friendly hotels in Venice.

Children

The hotel shows the Italian’s enduring hospitality to children, with a Family Suite and babysitting if needed.

Food and Drink

Photos The Venice Venice Hotel food and drink

Top Table

Those overlooking the Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge, of course.

Dress Code

No blank canvases – think bold strokes and big ideas.

Hotel restaurant

In its dining concept the hotel once again hopes to, if not rewrite, then delicately superimpose history, taking the Rialto Market (a Venetian foodie hub for seven centuries and counting) as its inspiration. Venice M’art, in its sotoportego gallery – a passageway leading to the canal – has dining styles to satisfy all cravings, detailed on Pop Art-style menus. There are cicheti (fried meatballs, artichoke with potato foam, ragu cappuccino); all-day dining with truffled pasta, pea risotto, parmigiana, or octopus rolls and ribeye burgers; gelatos and granitas; toasties, pizzas and fried treats (anchovies and mozzarella, salt cod, pork shoulder); and a coffee bar serving hot from the Moka pot with fried pastries. It might derive from an ancient concept, but feels very fresh and fun – and there’s a boutique selling artful wares to browse when you’re full. For Venetian dining with a more romantic classic feel – white linens, candlelight, water snaking by, a singing gondolier (actually,scratch that last one), the hotel also serves dinner on its sheltered terrace. Shuffle out the deck of retro style recipe cards on your table to decide on your dishes; say, gnocchi in duck sauce, tender liver, rice and peas, and creamy and coffee-infused desserts.

Hotel bar

On the ground floor, Venice M’Art caters to all drinking denominations with both a cocktail and wine bar. At the former, ‘spritzettos’ muddle prosecco with Campari, Aperol or Select for classic Italian drinking; the Americano M’Art is a bold concoction of vermouth, Campari, soda and orange foam; and the Caustraure Spritz goes nuts, adding a dash of artichoke liqueur and lemon foam to fizz. And, to miss aperitivo hour is unacceptable, so be present for the hotel’s, where cheeses, anchovies and mini toasts are paired with wine or a G&T. And, guests get exclusive access to the Venice Bitters Club on the first piano nobile. The Altana Roof Terrace is for the privileged guests staying in suite 43; however, it can be booked exclusively for events, and we suggest you do, because it overlooks not just the Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge but the entire lagoon, the bell towers and elaborate steeples jabbing the skyline, and out to the Dolomites in the distance. 

Last orders

No need to rush out of bed or snappily vacate a table – here, breakfast runs from 7am to 11am, lunch from 11.30am to 5pm, and dinner from 6pm to midnight.

Room service

Dine in your room around the clock.

Location

Photos The Venice Venice Hotel location
Address
The Venice Venice Hotel
Cannaregio 5631
Venice
30121
Italy

You might think the Venice Venice Hotel couldn’t get more Venetian, but its spectacular setting, along the Grand Canal, with a view of the Rialto Bridge, positions it in La Serenissima’s most recognisable panorama.

Planes

Venice’s Marco Polo airport is the closest, a 25-minute drive from the city. But… who wants to take the dowdy Strada Regionale (which only goes as far as Piazzale Roma, from which you’ll have to make your own way to the hotel), when you could arrive as people have for centuries, floating over in a vaporetto to get the big reveal as you turn into the Grand Canal – it’s really the only way to arrive.

Trains

Believe it or not, Venice has a train station, just a 20-minute walk or 10-minute float down the canal from the hotel. Santa Lucia is surprisingly well-connected too, with direct routes to Rome, Milan, Florence and more in just a few hours.

Automobiles

Ha, no. With its teeny-tiny alleyways and enthusiastic crowds of tourists there’s really no room to manoeuvre a vehicle through Venice. But, the determined can drive over to the city then park their car in Piazzale Roma before moving to foot or boat. The hotel can help to reserve parking.

Other

Splash out for a motorboat taxi, or make like George Clooney on his wedding day and ride in on a vintage Riva speedboat.

Worth getting out of bed for

The Venice Venice Hotel has somehow found itself in the right place in all of the right times (from the Byzantine era through to today) – and that place is opposite the Rialto Market, along the Grand Canal. This means you can be gaily selfie-ing away on the Rialto Bridge in less than five minutes, or seamlessly slipping into a gondola and admiring the reliquaries in St Mark’s Basilica before bellinis at Florians in 10 minutes. While at St Mark’s piazza, climb the Campanile for city-spanning views, drop in at doge-den Palazzo Ducale (passing over the Bridge of Sighs), admire the Torre dell'Orologio’s spectacular edifice, and parse the antiquities of Museo Correr. Day trip to Murano for glassware (and to try your hand at blowing) and Burano for a rainbow backdrop of merrily painted houses; then wend through tiny alleyways to seek out hip handicrafts at ateliers such as Antonia Miletto Gioielli (for bizarrely brilliant bijouterie), Gianni Basso Stampatore (for elegant letterpress stationery), or Declare (for bold modern leather pieces). Curiosities abound: bath tubs and boats full of books in the – sometimes flooded – Libreria Acqua Alta, cursed Ca’ Dario palace, Santa Maria e San Donato church’s ‘dragon’ bones, the lavishly dressed San Nicolò dei Mendicoli from Don’t Look Now… But, sleeping in Fluxus and Arte Povera-themed rooms, next to a genuine Joseph Beuys or Bruce Naumann will lead you down an aesthetically pleasing path through the city’s many many galleries. Find modern masterpieces at the Ca' Pesaro International Gallery, Fondazione Prada or the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (where the art-collecting heiress is also buried with her pets; seek out Bellinis, Tiepolos, Tintorettos and Titian’s luminous Assumption of the Virgin in grand churches and basilicas; and try to time your stay in line with the Biennale, when the halls of the Arsenale and Giardini park are installed with intriguing works.

Local restaurants

Venice’s distinct dining style evolved from its thriving spice trade and rich aquaculture of lagoon fish and seafood. The peckish, in particular, thrive here due to bacari with tempting counters of cicchetti. You’re unlikely to be far from a dinky snack at any point, but spots to seek out include All'Arco – whose baccalà mantecato (whipped salt cod) might be the creamiest in town – close to the Rialto Bridge, or Basegò, which throws in a few flavourful surprises among the classics, such as crostini with salmon and strawberry or prawn and mustard. Antiche Carampane is such an ‘in-the-know’ spot that its motto is ‘you don’t arrive here by chance’, so we’re loathe to share it, but duty bound, especially when there’s tagliatelle tossed in spider-crab sauce, fried lagoon shrimps with wasabi mayonnaise, and cuttlefish in an inky sauce with pillowy polenta at play. And continue your seafood odyssey in the fitting setting of Vecia Cavana, a restaurant in a renovated boathouse, where recipes have been revived from those used in the doge’s palace back in the day. L’Osteria di Santa Marina offers both traditional and less-so tasting menus – we urge you to walk on the wilder side and tuck into amberjack ceviche with almond milk and mango chutney or cold spaghetti with red prawns and pistachio. Or hit the à la carte for squid stuffed with tuna tartare and barbecue sauce or basil risotto with bonito flakes and lemon foam.

Local cafés

Cappuccino is a morning drink in Venice – throughout the rest of the day, unless otherwise specified, you’ll be given a shot of something teeth-jitteringly strong Italians seem to be able to down fast without having a heart attack (we jest, the coffee is yet another thing they excel at). Good to keep in mind as you navigate Venice’s strong café culture. Torrefazione Cannaregio has an inviting rustic interior and friendly staff who know their joe. Bean blends and single origins come from all over the world here (and you can buy them by the bag), and baristas are happy for fellow aficionados to grill them as they work at the antique roaster. For something sweet to accompany it, head to Pasticceria Rosa Salva for pistachio cream puffs, rum babàs and fruit tartlets.

Local bars

Clinking bellinis at Harry’s Bar (where the spritz was conceived) might be a bit of a cliché, but there’s still something magical about this 1930s joint. Then, once you’ve downed yours, move on to Il Mercante where drink inspiration strikes in surprising ways. Each cocktail nods to an element of Venetian history and is accompanied with a backstory – take La Fenice, named for the theatre which burnt down and was rebuilt three times, denoted by three smoky flavours: peat whisky, mezcal and black tea. Birreria Zanon is less polished – in fact, young locals love it for its dive-y feel – but you’re guaranteed a fun craft-beer-fuelled time.

Reviews

Photos The Venice Venice Hotel reviews

Anonymous review

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this non-stop Biennale of a hotel along the Grand Canal and unpacked their fabulously eerie Carnival mask and stopped humming ‘Just one Cornetto…’, a full account of their pit stop on the Grand Tour will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside the Venice Venice Hotel…

When it comes to instilling a sense of place in a hotel, some places are more emphatic than others – take the Venice Venice Hotel, which we think might be in Venice. But, its ‘so good they named it twice’ moniker isn’t all that makes it emblematic of Italy’s buoyant beauty. For one, it’s set in the Palazzo Ca' da Mosto, the oldest building on the Grand Canal (so you get the view), dating back to the 13th century; while within, homage is paid to great Italian artists and designers of the 20th century, covering all bases when it comes to Italy’s cultural cachet. A dining concept co-opts the centuries-old success of the Rialto Market model – with cicchetti, a gelateria, pastas, cocktails, wine and more – Murano glassmakers Venini have laden the piano nobile with a sparkly installation, and in the M’Art boutique there’s the kind of craftsmanship Italy’s honed throughout history on display. Frankly, if this stay were a gesticulation it would be a wildly dramatic one.

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Price per night from $587.77