Venice Travel Guide
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JW Marriott Announces New Luxury Venice Hotel
The 266-room JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa is set to open on a private island located in the Venice lagoon in 2014. This will be Marriott’s first hotel in Italy under the luxury JW moniker.
The hotel is just a short boat ride from the historic heart of the city, St Mark’s Square. There’ll be an array of restaurants and bars, of course, a health club and spa, and pools galore--one outdoors, one indoors, and one on the roof.
We think the renderings (more after the jump!) look impressive, with a Mediterranean vibe thing goin’ on–-all white and seafoam green--right in keeping with the whole “private island” business.
Hotel Openings / Hotel News / Amanresorts / Luxury Hotels / Venice Hotels / → All Tags
Palazzo Papadopoli Venice Will Be Home of Aman Canal Grande
We mentioned it right at the beginning of this year, but now it’s official: June 1 will see the opening of Aman Canal Grande in Venice, the first Italian and fourth European hotel by Aman Resorts.
If you're familiar with Aman Resorts at all, it'll be no surprise that Aman Canal Grande will be an extravagantly luxurious affair, and with only 24 suites, an exclusive one as well. Set in the 16th century Palazzo Papadopoli, the hotel will be midway between the Rialto and Accademia Bridges in the San Polo district.
Hotel Woes / Hotel News / Venice Hotels / Italy Hotels / → All Tags
Allora! Venice Is Flooding, So Check Your Hotel Rezzies
We’ve been hearing it forever—Venice is sinking. Well, right now it certainly is…wet. The city is enduring the Acqua Alta, aka the period when higher than normal water levels rise over the city, causing the lagoon's water to overflow over the canals and flood the walkways.
When it does happen, it's usually between the months of October through December when high tides affect Venice thanks to strong southerly winds and heavy rain. The resulting rising waters causes more than half of the city's low-lying cafes, shops and hotels to become a water-logged. This year, it has brought the sixth-highest tide in 150 years.
We’ve visited Venice in October and managed to dodge the Aqua Alta, but we packed a pair of rainboots just in case the weather gods decided to bring the rain and the funk (the canals, that act like sewer systems, can get quite pungent).
So what does this mean for people already in Italy, or who've made plans to visit Venice soon?
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Kim Kardashian Turned 32 At The Hotel Cipriani
Roses are red, violets are blue. Kimye invaded Venice, here's a photo for you!
After just one month, it seems Kim Kardashian is already bored of her temporary Miami digs. The jetsetting reality star was whisked off to Europe over the weekend by boyfriend Kanye West to celebrate her 32nd birthday.
The pair—photographed nearly every step of the way—made their way around Venice on Sunday, with Kardashian tweeting at one point: "Italy is so beautiful! Best birthday ever!!!"
Well, all we have to say is, it's easy to have that kind of reaction when you're staying in a place like the Hotel Cipriani, where the Daily Mail reports they crashed. Located on Giudecca Island, rooms at the hotel start at around $1,300/night, though we're guessing Kimye splashed out on a suite. You know, to accommodate the camera crews.
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Hotel Erwin's Got a New Suite Just for Sk8r Bois
Getting surfers and skateboarders to stay at the Hotel Erwin in Venice, Calif. has never been a tough sell for the hotel, thanks to its beachfront location along the Venice Boardwalk, its spunky style (a wall of grafitti art greets guests upon their arrival) and a killer rooftop scene like no other on the beach.
But now there's a whole new way for skaters to go all out at the hotel--The Red Bull Dogtown Suite.
For $1,500 a night, guests can stay in this 750-sq.ft. suite decked out with surf and skateboard decor, a 52" TV, a big round bed and a giant two-person tub. The suite also has a large private balcony with killer ocean views and even a custom DJ turntable should guests want to spin some tunes. And of course, it's stocked with cans of Red Bull.
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Twitpic of the Week: Spying On St Mark's Basilica From the Cipriani
In the ever-expanding universe of Twitter, there is one particular trend @HotelChatter happens to quite enjoy: candid hotel photos. These Twitpics range from stunning views to anti-views to celebrity tomfoolery and everything in between. And we can't get enough of 'em! Every Monday, we feature one "Twitpic of the Week" to commemorate our favorite hotel-themed snapshot. Got a favorite of your own? Want to show off your sweet suite? Send it in!
This week, we're dreaming of tiny arched bridges and cups of espresso by Piazza San Marco. Venice, seen here from the Hotel Cipriani, may be an over-exposed tourist trap, but she's also a classic.
This shot comes courtesy of @MattPenrose, who shared the pic, via Twitter, on The Fancy, the online shopping-social media hybrid site we discovered last October.
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Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp Check into Hotel Danieli in 'The Tourist'
Everyone's buzzing about The Tourist, the soon-to-open flick starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. People are wondering if the pair will have some good on-camera chemistry and whether Jolie will kick some ass in the movie. We were dying to find out about the hotel that provided the setting for some of the film, Hotel Danieli in Venice.
In The Tourist, Elise (Jolie) meets Frank (Depp) aboard a Paris train bound to Venice and sparks fly. They hop on a water taxi to get to the island and then check into the luxe legendary hotel.
Hotel Lawsuits / Orient-Express Hotels / Venice Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Crisis in Cipriani Land! Hotel Cipriani Wins Lawsuit Against Cipriani Restaurants
So here's a funny story: Apparently Orient-Express Hotels, which owns the famous Hotel Cipriani in Venice, just won around 7.5 Million GBP ($11.4 million) in a lawsuit they brought against Cipriani restaurants.
The terms are a bit confusing, since one would assume that the Hotel Cipriani was associated with the similarly well-known chain of Harry Cipriani's Bars and ritzy Cipriani restaurants in locations like New York, London and Hong Kong. But that's not the case. The Hotel Cipriani sued the Cipriani restaurants for the obvious: using the Cipriani name.
The brief press release on the court decision also mentions that the company behind the Cipriani restaurants has had their worldwide assets frozen. That's a huge deal—are we on the verge of either a major Cipriano re-naming and re-branding, or will the restaurant company come down altogether? Of course the Venice hotel will continue to exist, rolling in their winnings.
[Photo: Hotel Cipriani]
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What They’re Slinging Over At Hotel Erwin’s Hash
Last month, we told you about the opening of Hash at JDV’s Hotel Erwin in Venice Beach. Now that we’ve had a chance to go in for a meal there, we wanted to let you in on all the delish menu items you can expect to help stave off the munchies.
True to its name, the restaurant serves up four different kinds of hash for breakfast (including one daily special like the one with apples and house-smoked turkey bacon) from Monday-Friday 7:00am-11:00am, and Saturday-Sunday 8:00am-1:00pm. You can also get your standard egg and pancake dishes along with some house specialties like the artery-clogging "Chicken Fried Steak ’n Eggs ’n Biscuits" ($13.95), or the colorful “Green Eggs & Ham" smothered in tomatillo salsa ($10.95).
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Fairy-Tale Destination, Fairy-Tale Deal for Italian Getaway
It's no one-cent weekend, but this travel package, which includes stays in both Tuscany and Venice, is one of the most reasonable, all-inclusive deals we've seen in a while. We concede that the base price of $799 (airfare included) is slightly unbelievable—and, if you get into the nitty-gritty fine print, it truly is, depending on where you're flying from and when you travel. Yet it's still a solid deal, and there are ways to stay within a bargain basement range if you're willing to be a little flexible (and isn't that the caveat of similar deals, anyway?).
Killer View / Snapshot / Venice Hotels / → All Tags
A View That Makes Braving Piazza San Marco's Pigeons Totally Worth It
Can we please just take a hot minute to "oooh" and "ahhh" at this view from The Hotel Danieli in Venice? Seriously.
This is actually a shot taken from the terrace of the hotel's restaurant (where the photographer, DerekLakin, took tea, if you're interested) — and doesn't this sort of make that dangerous trek through the very, very nearby Piazza San Marco worth it? And when we say "dangerous," we mean "risky due to falling pigeon poo everywhere."
This hotel is part of the Starwood Luxury Collection and is "made up of three beautiful Venetian palazzi dating back to the 14th, 19th, and 20th Centuries, featuring hand-made Murano glass chandeliers, precious rugs, hand-carved marble columns, and many original antique pieces." The whole place got a big ol' renovation in '08, and the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel (where this shot was taken, we assume) was once "the viewpoint from which Venetian noblemen would once watch the arrival of merchant ships from the Orient with their wares."
Rooms here will cost you, though: they start around 510 Euros — or $710.
[Photo: Derek Lakin]
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Wake and…Partake at Hotel Erwin’s Hash
Hash, the aptly named restaurant at JDV’s new boardwalk-adjacent Hotel Erwin in Venice Beach, is finally open. Well, for breakfast, at least.
Monday through Friday 7:30am to 11:30am, and Saturday-Sunday 8:00am to 1:00pm, you can crash the 44-seat restaurant for dishes like the “Snooze-You-Lose” omelets, buckwheat pancakes, and Angus corned beef hash.
We’ve also just learned that dinner service will be starting next Friday, July 17th, and the hours for that will be Tuesday-Saturday, 6:00-9:30pm, with the hotel’s bar open from 5:00pm-late night (weather permitting). Some dinner dishes we’re preparing for: red beet ravioli and spiced Korobuta pork chop. Everything will be made from scratch and will be market-fresh, with nightly dinner specials taking center table.
That should take care of your munchies.
