Venice’s picture-perfect Grand Canal provides the spectacular setting for some of the city’s best hotels
Anne Hanley Destination Expert
Anne Hanley has lived in Italy for over 30 years. Venice is her favourite Italian city, and she finds endless reasons for lengthy visits. She has also edited Time Out Guides to Venice, Rome, Naples and Milan.
See more
Published
Venice’s watery main thoroughfare is a spectacle to behold – and more particularly so if you’re observing it from the comfort of your own room. The grandest of the Grand Canal-facing hotels cluster around the lower reaches of this magnificent waterway, towards St Mark’s square. The price tag in these establishments reflects the prestige, but not all rooms look in the right direction – check when booking that you really will be peering out over the passing gondolas and vaporetti.
Elsewhere along the great sweep of water are accommodation options of all sizes and varieties: B&Bs, family-run places, international chains and elegant stand-alones. Stay in a grand palazzo overlooking the gentle lapping waves or check into a boutique hideaway affording canal views from a quieter corner of the city. Here’s our pick of the best Venice hotels with Grand Canal views, which we think are worth paying the premium for.
How we review
All our reviewers are either resident destination experts or travel writers that specialise in hotels. Often they will have stayed at a hotel many times and so can see how it has changed for better or worse over the years. They know what makes a great hotel in that particular destination and will compare it contextually against local competition. When our reviewers first visit a hotel, they stay for at least one night, eat one meal in addition to breakfast and will experience all of the facilities on offer. Whichever category of room they stay in, they will see the entry-level rooms in order to assess them.
After their stay, our reviewers then give the hotel six scores out of 10, rating its location, style and character, service and facilities, rooms, food and drink, and value for money. The average of these scores then determines the overall score. Our experts then select reviews for curated lists like this – the best hotels in a particular destination for families, for instance – together with the Telegraph Hotels team.
A long-time favourite among luxury travellers, The Gritti Palace beguiles with its prime position on the lower reaches of the Grand Canal and palatial interiors pairing antiques and frescos with modern touches. Guests can take in the hotel’s superb views from the lavish restaurant’s canal-side terrace, as well as its Grand Canal-facing suites. Facilities adding further appeal include the Gritti Epicurean School and The Gritti Spa - Sisley Paris. From the hotel, cultural sites abound. In its position on the canal, the property faces the church of Santa Maria della Salute and the Punta della Dogana art space.
From £ 2,680
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
The best hotels in Venice
Famously the setting for the Clooneys’ nuptials, Aman Venice certainly comes with star quality. Considered one of the best Venice hotels on the Grand Canal, this hotel in the luxury Aman hotel collection occupies a 16th-century canal-side palace, found in the city’s San Polo district, now pairing its heritage with contemporary flair. On arriving by boat, guests enter the frescoed reception area from where a grand staircase leads up to the piano nobile and rococo ballroom featuring gilt mirrors, frescos and Murano chandeliers. The dining room, bar and salons are equally as opulent. Perhaps most appealingly, many of the 24 rooms overlook the Grand Canal.
An insider guide to venice
This joyful pastiche of Venetian style lies right at the heart of Venice, just north of the Rialto Bridge, on the Grand Canal. In this retreat taking over a palace dating back to the 1500s, Louis XV inspired style runs throughout each characterful space where highlights of the shared areas include a central living room leading out to a terrace with impressive views over the Rialto Bridge and Grand Canal. Guests are accommodated in just nine brocade-decorated rooms and suites, of which three come with their own canal views. A generous breakfast spread is made to order.
From £ 458
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
The best restaurants in Venice
Ca’ Sagredo is located within a 15th-century palazzo, which has been declared a National Monument, on the Grand Canal. Frescos adorn the interiors of this heritage site, also featuring the magnificent Scalone dei Giganti staircase, with antiques and works of art then furnishing the rooms. The hotel’s music room is particularly impressive with its terrazzo flooring, frescos by Gaspare Diziani and Murano chandeliers. The rooms, which are decorated in classic Venetian style, look out over the rooftops, inner courtyard or Campo Santa Sofia while the restaurant terrace overlooks the water.
From £ 630
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
The best boutique hotels in Venice
The five-star St. Regis Venice brings modern luxury into a place of historic grandeur set across the Grand Canal from the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute and San Giorgio Maggiore. Arrive by boat to the hotel’s private jetty before stepping inside to interiors where contemporary decoration comes with Venetian inspiration. Here, a collection of rooms and suites, some with balconies, is joined by a Venetian restaurant and terrace, two sumptuous bars, a ballroom, library and small spa. The hotel features an abundance of contemporary art and even has a resident artist programme.
From £ 1,957
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
The best luxury hotels in Venice
Offering a more modern feel, Palazzo Barocci comes with light, bright contemporary rooms and suites, some of which overlook the Grand Canal, along with a café bar and garden courtyard for leisurely breakfasts or an apertivo. Local touches are brought into the interiors through design details like black and white photography. The site itself is steeped in heritage as its roots date as far back as the 1300s and its history includes once housing a theatre. The hotel is located right by Sant'Angelo vaporetto stop on the Grand Canal and it is within easy walking distance of St Mark's and the Accademia.
From £ 398
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
The best budget hotels in Venice
This canal-side hideaway combines an excellent location, right on the Grand Canal but in the quieter area of Dorsoduro, with boutique charm. The hotel takes over a Belle Époque palazzo and, through its interior décor, comes with a faux-Gothic air. The hotel’s terrace, where breakfast is served, places you right on the canal and the roof terrace also comes with impressive views. The hotel has 24 individually decorated rooms. Stay in a superior room or suite for a view over the water. During a stay, guests have complimentary use of the hotel’s vintage wooden boat.
From £ 571
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
The best free things to do in Venice
The unique Hotel L’Orologio sits behind the Rialto produce market on the Grand Canal. This convenient location places the property within easy reach of many of Venice’s central sights. The hotel is slick and contemporary in style, with some more retro décor and its theme of horology seen throughout. There are 43 rooms and suites in the main palazzo of this property, with several more in a nearby building. The two-level Premium Suite affords views over the canal. The hotel has a vintage-feel bar at canal level and a fourth-floor terrace for aperitivos.
From £ 501
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
The most romantic hotels in Venice
A boutique bed and breakfast that’s filled with charm, Cima Rosa offers the quiet luxury of personalised, home-style service in elegant surroundings overlooking the Grand Canal. The hotel is located in the northern district of Santa Croce, close to the city’s main attractions but also in an area that still provides glimpses of real Venetian life. This bed and breakfast is the creation of an Italian architect and American interior designer. Entering through a courtyard adorned with roses and statues, guests arrive in common areas pairing modern taste with antique items. These common areas then lead to five sensitively restored rooms.
The best attractions in Venice
The boutique Sina Palazzo Sant’Angelo hotel pairs a picturesque setting on the Grand Canal, just a stone’s throw from Piazza Santo Stefano, with classic Venetian style. The hotel is set in an Istrian stone palazzo, which the architect Angelo Scattolin designed in the 1950s. Guests staying at this boutique hotel can make use of the property’s lounge, American bar and wisteria-shaded courtyard-garden plus a narrow terrace furnished with tables and chairs on the water. The hotel’s 26 rooms and suites are decorated in red and gold Rubelli fabrics, gilded mirrors and marquetry-inlaid antiques and some of the suites also afford canal views.
From £ 476
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
Contributions by Kiki Deere, Caroline Hamilton, Kate Bolton & Jill Weinreich