Venice's hidden hotels
Feb 10th 2007 | 2:33 am
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Venice's hidden hotels
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2007/02/04/etvenice104.xml
Venice's hidden hotels
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 04/02/2007
Page 1 of 3
Five tips for romance in Venice
Concealed in the side streets of La Serenissima are some of the
loveliest places to stay in Italy, says Fiona Duncan.
Venice, it hardly needs to be said, is full of romance and full of
secrets. There are plain churches in dusty squares that shelter
masterpieces of Venetian art; crumbling palazzi encasing wildly rich
interiors; high walls that hide lush private gardens; rooftop terraces
with birds-eye views and tiny neighbourhood restaurants that serve the
city's best food. And there are hotels, just a few tucked away, mostly
small and inexpensive that have a certain something that sets them
apart. It may be a garden or a tranquil, flower-filled courtyard, a
frescoed ceiling, a private rooftop terrace or an entrancing view that
makes them special, but whatever it is, they make the best boltholes
for a few enchanted days in La Serenissima.
Venice
Prices quoted are for low season to high season rates and include
breakfast. The code for Italy is 0039; the code for Venice from the UK
is 041.
Oltre Il Giardino
This peaceful haven is unique in Venice: a country-house hotel in the
heart of the city. A stone throw from the Frari, it was the home in
the 1920s of Alma Mahler, the composer's widow, and stands in one of
the city's many hidden gardens, entered via an unassuming door. The
rustic, three-storey villa now belongs to elegant Franco-Venetian
Alessandra Arudini Zambelli and is run by her charming son, Lorenzo.
The interior is a clever, stylish mix of antique furniture,
contemporary rugs and tasteful artifacts, and the six bedrooms are
beautifully decorated and coloured, with spoiling bathrooms. Best are
the two suites that overlook the garden where a delicious breakfast is
served in summer.
# San Polo 2542 (275 0015; www.oltreilgiardino-venezia.com). Doubles
from £100 to £254.
advertisement
Palazzo Abadessa
Its old-world ambience won't charm everyone, but most guests who come
across this palazzo, tucked behind Ca' d'Oro in Cannaregio, adore it -
and its owner, Signora Rossi. In the early evening, as likely as not,
she will invite you to join her in the spacious garden for a glass of
Prosecco, and guests really do seem to make friends here. The dozen
bedrooms have centuries-old painted beams, frescoed ceilings and
trompe-l'oeil walls, plus much gilt, silk and velvet. There's no
restaurant, but breakfast is outstandingly good.
# Calle Priuli, Cannaregio (241 3784; www.abadessa.com). Doubles from
£100 to £300.
Ca' Maria Adele
For more than a touch of decadence (after all, Venice has always been
nothing if not decadent) book the Sala Noir, with its purple walls and
vast black chandelier, in this 16th-century palazzo across a canal
from Santa Maria della Salute. Or opt for one of the four other
"concept" rooms: the lovely Oriental room, with delicate Chinese
fabrics and antiques, the blood-red Doge's room, the Moor's room or
the creamy white Fireside room. The rest of the rooms, nine in all,
are traditionally decorated and well-equipped, with plasma TVs and
smart bathrooms. No 332 has fabulous views over Salute and a heavily
beamed ceiling. Downstairs, in the lovely breakfast room, there's a
fascinating photograph of the world's largest chandelier, made by the
grandfather of the hotel's owners, two brothers from Murano.
# Dorsoduro 111 (520 3078; www.camariaadele.it). Doubles from £245 to
£500.
Al Ponte Mocenigo
Two things especially have ensured that this newcomer has become a
hit. First, it's right by the San Stae vaporetto, with no bridges over
which to lug the luggage. Second, its setting, behind a wrought-iron
gate and pretty courtyard (where breakfast is served in summer), is
charming. Two Venetian friends, Walter and Sandro, spent much time
looking for the right place to convert, and with this old beamed house
behind the Palazzo Mocenigo they've chosen well. In the diminutive
lobby there's just enough space for a bar and breakfast area, while
the bedrooms upstairs are resolutely traditional (damask, Murano
glass, gilt) but also stylish, smart and comfortable, with excellent
bathrooms. A cosy bolthole, offering value for money.
# Santa Croce 2063 (524 4797; www.alpontemocenigo.com). Doubles from
£60 to £107.
Hotel Galleria
For an affordable view over the Grand Canal, look no farther than this
diminutive upper-floor hotel right beside the Accademia. Its
improbable entrance is next to a craft shop, whereupon you climb
steepish stairs and travel back in time to the turn of the last
century, courtesy of the dark red flock wallpaper, wooden floors and
large, old-fashioned wardrobes, beds and chandeliers. The room of
choice here is No 10, large enough for four and perfect for two, with
a glorious painted ceiling.
# Dorsoduro 878a (523 2489; www.hotelgalleria.it). Doubles from £73 to
£110.
Ai Do Mori
If you crave a rooftop terrace all to yourself, consider Ai do Mori,
run by the vivacious Antonella Bernardi. With only a lantern
discreetly displaying its name, this budget San Marco hotel is hard to
spot. Rooms No 6 and 7 have rustic beams but by far the most endearing
is what Bernardi calls her "Painter's Room". Tucked under the eves,
it's just large enough for a double bed and a few carefully chosen
pieces of furniture, but from its sun-trap terrace you can almost
reach out and touch the figures on the Basilica San Marco. Just the
place for a glass of Prosecco in the sunshine.
<snip page 2,3>
Venice's hidden hotels
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 04/02/2007
Page 1 of 3
Five tips for romance in Venice
Concealed in the side streets of La Serenissima are some of the
loveliest places to stay in Italy, says Fiona Duncan.
Venice, it hardly needs to be said, is full of romance and full of
secrets. There are plain churches in dusty squares that shelter
masterpieces of Venetian art; crumbling palazzi encasing wildly rich
interiors; high walls that hide lush private gardens; rooftop terraces
with birds-eye views and tiny neighbourhood restaurants that serve the
city's best food. And there are hotels, just a few tucked away, mostly
small and inexpensive that have a certain something that sets them
apart. It may be a garden or a tranquil, flower-filled courtyard, a
frescoed ceiling, a private rooftop terrace or an entrancing view that
makes them special, but whatever it is, they make the best boltholes
for a few enchanted days in La Serenissima.
Venice
Prices quoted are for low season to high season rates and include
breakfast. The code for Italy is 0039; the code for Venice from the UK
is 041.
Oltre Il Giardino
This peaceful haven is unique in Venice: a country-house hotel in the
heart of the city. A stone throw from the Frari, it was the home in
the 1920s of Alma Mahler, the composer's widow, and stands in one of
the city's many hidden gardens, entered via an unassuming door. The
rustic, three-storey villa now belongs to elegant Franco-Venetian
Alessandra Arudini Zambelli and is run by her charming son, Lorenzo.
The interior is a clever, stylish mix of antique furniture,
contemporary rugs and tasteful artifacts, and the six bedrooms are
beautifully decorated and coloured, with spoiling bathrooms. Best are
the two suites that overlook the garden where a delicious breakfast is
served in summer.
# San Polo 2542 (275 0015; www.oltreilgiardino-venezia.com). Doubles
from £100 to £254.
advertisement
Palazzo Abadessa
Its old-world ambience won't charm everyone, but most guests who come
across this palazzo, tucked behind Ca' d'Oro in Cannaregio, adore it -
and its owner, Signora Rossi. In the early evening, as likely as not,
she will invite you to join her in the spacious garden for a glass of
Prosecco, and guests really do seem to make friends here. The dozen
bedrooms have centuries-old painted beams, frescoed ceilings and
trompe-l'oeil walls, plus much gilt, silk and velvet. There's no
restaurant, but breakfast is outstandingly good.
# Calle Priuli, Cannaregio (241 3784; www.abadessa.com). Doubles from
£100 to £300.
Ca' Maria Adele
For more than a touch of decadence (after all, Venice has always been
nothing if not decadent) book the Sala Noir, with its purple walls and
vast black chandelier, in this 16th-century palazzo across a canal
from Santa Maria della Salute. Or opt for one of the four other
"concept" rooms: the lovely Oriental room, with delicate Chinese
fabrics and antiques, the blood-red Doge's room, the Moor's room or
the creamy white Fireside room. The rest of the rooms, nine in all,
are traditionally decorated and well-equipped, with plasma TVs and
smart bathrooms. No 332 has fabulous views over Salute and a heavily
beamed ceiling. Downstairs, in the lovely breakfast room, there's a
fascinating photograph of the world's largest chandelier, made by the
grandfather of the hotel's owners, two brothers from Murano.
# Dorsoduro 111 (520 3078; www.camariaadele.it). Doubles from £245 to
£500.
Al Ponte Mocenigo
Two things especially have ensured that this newcomer has become a
hit. First, it's right by the San Stae vaporetto, with no bridges over
which to lug the luggage. Second, its setting, behind a wrought-iron
gate and pretty courtyard (where breakfast is served in summer), is
charming. Two Venetian friends, Walter and Sandro, spent much time
looking for the right place to convert, and with this old beamed house
behind the Palazzo Mocenigo they've chosen well. In the diminutive
lobby there's just enough space for a bar and breakfast area, while
the bedrooms upstairs are resolutely traditional (damask, Murano
glass, gilt) but also stylish, smart and comfortable, with excellent
bathrooms. A cosy bolthole, offering value for money.
# Santa Croce 2063 (524 4797; www.alpontemocenigo.com). Doubles from
£60 to £107.
Hotel Galleria
For an affordable view over the Grand Canal, look no farther than this
diminutive upper-floor hotel right beside the Accademia. Its
improbable entrance is next to a craft shop, whereupon you climb
steepish stairs and travel back in time to the turn of the last
century, courtesy of the dark red flock wallpaper, wooden floors and
large, old-fashioned wardrobes, beds and chandeliers. The room of
choice here is No 10, large enough for four and perfect for two, with
a glorious painted ceiling.
# Dorsoduro 878a (523 2489; www.hotelgalleria.it). Doubles from £73 to
£110.
Ai Do Mori
If you crave a rooftop terrace all to yourself, consider Ai do Mori,
run by the vivacious Antonella Bernardi. With only a lantern
discreetly displaying its name, this budget San Marco hotel is hard to
spot. Rooms No 6 and 7 have rustic beams but by far the most endearing
is what Bernardi calls her "Painter's Room". Tucked under the eves,
it's just large enough for a double bed and a few carefully chosen
pieces of furniture, but from its sun-trap terrace you can almost
reach out and touch the figures on the Basilica San Marco. Just the
place for a glass of Prosecco in the sunshine.
<snip page 2,3>
