Il Palazzo Experimental

Style

Marbles and mirrors

Setting

Off the beaten canal

Il Palazzo Experimental in Venice is a waterside Renaissance palace, with a signature city-view cocktail bar all the big-ticket sights nearby. Dorothée Meilichzon designed the sumptuous interiors in locally inspired shades of terra cotta and soft yellow, while retaining the centuries-old exposed beams and Gothic windows: it’s the ideal spot for watching vaporettos buzz up and down the Giudecca Canal while you tuck into plates of Venetian cicchetti on the restaurant terrace, or take afternoon tea in the secluded garden. You can summon a gondola to the private pier or take a trip on hotel pontoon – or just set out on foot and lose yourself in ‘La Serenissima’…

Facilities

Rooms

32, including one suite.

Checkout

10am, check-in 3pm, but both are flexible, subject to availability.

More Details

Rates don’t include breakfast, but you can have your way with the buffet for €25 (€18 for kids); expect homemade granola, fresh pastries, eggs and fruit.

Also

There are two ground-floor rooms which are suitable for wheelchair users, and all the common areas are also accessible.

Free Internet Access

Laundry

On-Site Restaurant

Room Service

At the Hotel

Free WiFi. In rooms: TV, minibar, air-conditioning, free bottled water, tea- and coffee-making kit.

Our Favourite Rooms

Go for a Deluxe Canal room, for the extra space, sitting area, and views over the Giudecca Canal.

Packing Tips

Binoculars, for peering at the pontoons zipping along the canal (bonus: you’ll feel like a Bond villain).

Also

Il Palazzo is part of the esteemed Experimental group, including Henrietta Hotel in London and Grand Pigalle Hotel in Paris.

Children

All ages are welcome. Babysitting is available for €30 an hour (plus extra for taxis and if the sitter is needed after midnight). There are high chairs and a kids’ menu in the restaurant.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

The prime perches are on the sun-trap terrace, overlooking the Giudecca Canal.

Dress Code

Anything but stripes and straw boaters, unless you want to be ambushed by selfie-seeking tourists.

Hotel Restaurant

The Giudecca-side restaurant specialises in modern Venetian cuisine, which means you can look forward to fresh takes on seafood classics, handmade pastas, and piles of polenta. Booths and banquettes make for an intimate indoor space, and there’s an outdoor terrace for alfresco dining. Meanwhile, in the rear courtyard, you’ll find tables set for breakfast and afternoon tea.

Hotel Bar

The Experimental Group prides itself on first-class and fiercely creative cocktails. Pick from a menu of newly imagined house drinks and sip them in the sun on the terrace, or in the Cristina Celestino–designed interior.

Last Orders

Breakfast is from 7am until 11am; food is served in the restaurant until midnight. The Experimental Cocktail Club serves food from 7pm until 10pm, and drinks from 5pm until 2am.

Room Service

There’s no room service yet, but with all of Venice to explore why stay in your room?

Planes

You can fly into Venice Marco Polo airport with British Airways or Easyjet, then take a 30-minute transfer to the hotel (€130 each way).

Trains

Santa Lucia station is two kilometers from the hotel, which takes around 20 minutes by water taxi. There are high-speed Trenitalia services from Venice to Florence (two hours), Milan (two and a half hours) and Rome (three and a half hours).

Automobiles

There aren’t many roads here, ragazzi.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

Wake up and check on the morning traffic on the Giudecca Canal, then head down for breakfast in the courtyard garden. After a day of pottering around piazzas and marvelling at museums, return to the very same spot for afternoon tea. Or, if you’re in the mood for something stiffer, one of the signature house cocktails.

Take a day trip to Burano Island, where colourful fishermen’s houses line the canals, and craftspeople weave delicate lace (even better, you get views of Venice from the boat). Rollover, Renaissance – it’s all about modern art at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection; check the exhibition programme, and book tickets ahead of time. And then, of course, there’s the Rialto Bridge. OK, it’s not exactly under-the-radar, but it’s just one of those things that has to be seen – go at night and you’ll have fewer tourists to contend with.

A trip to Venice wouldn’t be complete without a stop at Piazza San Marco, the iconic centrepiece of the Floating City.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .