Palazzo Venart Luxury Hotel — Hotel in Venice

Dear traveler, please believe me: this unique treasure of a hotel is not to be missed. We made landfall via water taxi from the airport at Palazzo Venart's exquisite private dock. There is also an unassuming heavy iron gate at the pedestrian entrance on a charming alleyway. You can see photos to get the sense of the rooms--which will match all your expectations for luxury. And it's easy enough to read reviews of the food, which is exquisite (the hotel hosts a Michelin two-star restaurant). But what makes Palazzo Venart special is the level of service, made possible by the small size of the property (only 17 rooms). It sounds cliche but Palazzo Venart doesn't feel like a hotel--it feels like you are guests at a grand home where an absentee owner has given his or her staff strict instructions to tend to your every need. That's the vibe at the property and the level of personalized attention you receive. We were so charmed by the staff we plan to include them in our annual end-of-year holiday card. We've stayed in other five-star properties that aspire to the same personal touch but it rarely works out. Small is beautiful when it comes to attention to detail, I guess. When I lived in Aspen many years ago, the ski resort ran an advertisement "uncrowded by design." I thought of that every time I returned to the property from the throngs of central Venice. No pushing through a scrum to retrieve your key from the front desk, just a pleasant catch up with the charming front desk attendants. No waiting on hold for the concierge, only immediate response from a dedicated WhatsApp line. Room service breakfast arrived at precisely the time specified--and when we asked if we could have dinner in a grand, empty drawing room in the property, they served Glam's entire tasting menu to us with our own highly attentive waiter.

We were warned before booking by a frequent visitor to Venice that the hotel wasn't centrally located. On the contrary, we loved the location--for the able-bodied it's a very short walk to the main sites, and frankly we felt it was a relief to be in a quieter part of town (the hotel is terrific for sleeping; it's so quiet!). Palazzo Venart came to feel like a refuge (its small but serene garden overlooking the canal certainly added to that impression).

The price is of course high--this is Venice, after all. But for us it felt like exceptional value when compared to other luxury hotels in the area.

Indeed, we moved on to other five star hotels around Italy after our stay but we unfortunately had been spoiled by this exceptional place: my wife and I kept looking at each other and saying "I miss the Palazzo Venart."

Don't miss the opportunity to experience this...

Palazzo Venart is truly a luxury hotel. From the moment we arrived by taxi boat, we were in a peaceful, beautiful escape from the hustle and bustle of Venice, even though we were just a three-minute walk from some great restaurants and a 12-minute walk or so to the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark's Square. The beautiful gardens on both the canal side and the street side of the hotel were meticulously cared for. The manager, Flavia, greeted us warmly. Sylvia led us up one floor to a lovely seating area where she helped us check in. (The most wonderful checkin I have ever experienced.) Even though we arrived in the morning, they made sure that our room was ready for us - no waiting for a 2 or 3 pm checkin time. The hotel itself is beautiful, and our room was spectacular. A view of the Grand Canal, outstanding furnishings, including Murano glass sculptures displayed in lit cabinets, and a bedroom and bathroom to die for. The bathroom was a rich marble. But the staff were the real treasure. The two concierges - both named Giacomo - arranged everything for us. They even walked us to our restaurant one night as we were tired and getting lost - and then had the owner of the restaurant call him when we were finished eating so he could meet us at the restaurant and walk us back to the hotel. Mihaela was also extremely helpful. Everyone at the hotel was a model of outstanding service. We looked forward to our breakfast each morning with a view of the perfectly manicured garden, and Enrico from the restaurant greeted us warmly each morning, remembering our orders from the day before. Room service (food and service) was outstanding. If not the best tiramisu ever, then truly in the running! Everything about Palazzo Venart is first class, the building itself, the grounds, the room, the location. But - above all - the incredible staff - so gracious and helpful without being stuffy! I already miss Giacomo and Giacomo - role models for every concierge at a five star hotel. Palazzo Venart deserves any praise it receives. You will love every...

Rooms - Not well thought out, underwhelming and, frankly, not clean. Bathroom amenities were not of the sort one would expect from a hotel of this purported caliber. Grounds were fine, but there was a promised lounge that was similarly generic.

Service - The intention was there by some of the staff, but execution was seriously lacking. We missed our first night due to flight delays, totally outside of everyone's control. The staff attempted to be understanding, but we would have expected something (even minor) in terms of compensation or even just a welcome drink or something at the very least from a hotel that received full payment on a night in a room that no one stayed in. Not a great start.

A few examples: (1) I asked the front desk for a drink and was told I could go up to the lounge and they would send someone to take my order. 30 minutes went by so I gave up and left the lounge and went to bed. This example was typical of the service provided in our stay. (2) Similarly, we asked the front desk to order us a taxi to take us to the train station on the morning of our departure date and we were early and wanted to have a coffee before departing, but instead we were rushed out the door to accommodate the taxi driver's schedule rather than our schedule--and in rushing us out the door the person on staff failed to give us our breakfast boxes for our train trip. This really soured our trip because the breakfast was our favorite part of the trip.

Location - Fine, no big complaints here. Close to the airport, but a bit further from the main...