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It has history, it has swagger, and it also has world-class artisans making sure everything looks perfect. So, it’s no wonder that when it comes to luxury hotels, Venice is in a class of its own. The floating city has known exactly what travellers want since the days of La Serenissima, the ‘most serene’ republic of Venice, which collapsed in 1797 – and with every century it has only refined its offerings.
Although, things are changing. For decades, Venice was a place where luxury meant more of everything – from paintings and fancy wallpaper to chandeliers and even heavier drapes. But over the past few years, a steady stream of contemporary hotels have been throwing open their doors – even in the most historic Grand Canal palazzos.
So what will it be? A bed overlooking the Grand Canal? A super-cool contemporary design hub? Or do you prefer to roll back the centuries to La Serenissima’s heyday? In today’s Venice, you can choose whatever you like – and do it in style. Here, in no particular order, are 10 of the finest hotels Venice has to offer.
Best luxury hotels in Venice 2026
At a glance
1. Gritti Palace hotel
San Marco
There are grande dames, there are luxury hotels, and then there’s this – a true bucket-list pad perched right on the Grand Canal. There’s a reason why the Gritti has entranced everyone from Ernest Hemingway (whose favourite prawn risotto is still on the menu) to Kim Kardashian (who spent the Bezos wedding here) – it’s as close to flawless as it gets. Rooms hark back to the glory days of Venice, the walls plastered with multiple artworks, the terrazzo floors carpeted with precious antiques.
Beds are vast and comfy, the drapes are heavy and there’s a delicious amount of flounce at every angle (thanks mostly to fabrics from local silk weavers, Rubelli. Every room has a canal view – either out the spectacular front, or over a side rio (minor canal) – while the bar terrace is cantilevered over the Grand Canal itself. This was built as a home for the Grittis, one of Venice’s most aristocratic families – and it’s been hosting the great and the good ever since. The rates are sky-high but it’s a rare place that lives up to the hype.
Address: Campo Santa Maria Del Giglio, San Marco 2467, Venezia 30124 VE, Italy
Price: From £1,053
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2. Ca’ Sagredo hotel
Cannaregio
While other hotels attempt to reinvent the luxury wheel, Ca’ Sagredo sticks to what it knows best: sumptuous surroundings, charming service and spectacular Grand Canal views. A 15th-century palazzo beside the iconic Ca’ d’Oro (itself a mini Doge’s Palace, and now a museum), you’ll sweep up the grand, frescoed staircase to the piano nobile, or main floor, where every surface appears to be gilded, painted, stuccoed, or all of the above.
The 42 rooms aren’t as trendy or new as some of the other hotels on this list, but the prices reflect this. Instead, they’re traditional Venetian styling, with gilded furniture, plush velvet studded headboards, plus a bit of flounce when it comes to the upholstery. The views more than make up for any lack of high design, though – it’s definitely worth picking a room with a Grand Canal view, or for the ultimate upgrade get a frescoed Sagredo suite. Don’t miss breakfast – there’s a Tiepolo fresco on the ceiling.
Address: Campo Santa Sofia 4198/99, 30121 Venezia VE
Price: From £307
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3. Centurion Palace hotel
Dorsoduro
Today’s influx of contemporary hotels started with this, a glorious, hulking 19th-century palazzo that squares off against the Gritti Palace, on the other side of the Grand Canal. Where the Gritti lives in the past, the Centurion Palace blasts you right into the 21st century, with gold-plated bathrooms, silver sculptures, Swarovski crystals galore, and rooms painted deep reds or even brown. It sounds bold, but it works. This is a humdinger of a hotel, with a modern edge that makes the Grand Canal feel even grander than before. The charming staff keep things friendly, whether you’re having an aperitivo on the steps down to the water, or dinner on the terrace cantilevered over the Grand Canal at Antinoo’s Lounge.
Address: Dorsoduro 173, Venezia 30123 VE, Italy
Price: From £307
4. NH Collection Venezia Grand Hotel Palazzo dei Dogi
Cannaregio
While other five stars swagger around San Marco or dominate the lagoon on their own private islands, Palazzo dei Dogi is content to sit peacefully in quiet Cannaregio. And no wonder – amid the wide canals of this residential district, beside the church of Madonna dell’Orto, it’s home to one of the best hotel accessories in Venice, a huge garden that unrolls towards the lagoon.
Refurbished in 2023, the rooms are now perky and fun – think patterned screens behind the beds, damask wall coverings and colourful rugs as well as marble bathrooms. Sure, you can book a room with a canal view out the front, but it’s far more special to overlook the garden, first laid out in the 17th century when this was the Rizzo-Patarol palace. The tall trees and lawns sweep all the way down to the lagoon. It’s like nowhere else in Venice.
Address: Fondamenta Madonna dell’Orto, Cannaregio 3500, 30121 Venezia VE, Italy
Price: From £198
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5. Hotel Danieli
San Marco
Along with the Gritti, this is a true Venice icon – and in fact the two used to be sister hotels until the Danieli branched off (it’s slated to come under the Four Seasons umbrella later in 2025). But some things remain the same – this (or the first of three conjoined buildings) is still the 14th-century palazzo of the aristocratic Dandolo family. Walk through the door and the centuries roll back in the bar with its hulking columns, coffered ceilings and swirled-glass windows blocking out lagoon-side spies.
Up a glorious, colonnaded staircase – and across two neighbouring palazzos – are the rooms. Expect classic luxury, from the claret carpet and damask wall-coverings of the entry-level rooms, to the pastel-pretty, more contemporary Dandolo rooms designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon. Lagoon-view rooms are absolutely worth the upgrade – they’re the same look as the scarlet rooms, only with those knockout panoramas out the window. If a stay is out of your budget, try for a meal at Terrazza Danieli, hoisted above the lagoon on the hotel’s rooftop. It’s a Venice classic for a reason.
Address: Riva degli Schiavoni, San Marco 4196, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy
Price: From £587
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6. Ca’ di Dio hotel
Castello
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So you’re in love with the views across St Mark’s Basin from the Doge’s Palace and the historic Danieli, but you’re less enamoured by the crowds. This is your cue to sidle up the waterfront to the Castello district, where Ca’ di Dio swaggers lagoonside by the Arsenale vaporetto stop. A warren of corridors and a couple of cloisters, this used to be a retirement home, but as the number of Venetians dwindle, it was (somewhat controversially) converted into a five-star hotel.
Today, there are 66 rooms and suites, designed by Patricia Urquiola, which amp up local artisanry (think Murano glass and hand-carved boiserie) while still keeping things firmly cosmopolitan. The top two suites share an altana (roof terrace) with sweeping views over the lagoon; if you can’t stretch to one of them, you’ll find two sprawling courtyards plus tables on the waterfront.
Address: Riva Ca’ di Dio 2183, Castello 30122 Venezia VE, Italy
Price: From £351
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7. Nolinksi Venezia hotel
San Marco
When Italy meets France, you know you’re on to something special. In the city’s former chamber of commerce, a florid Art Nouveau building behind Piazza San Marco, this 43-room hotel is the first outside Paris for chic French group EVOK Collection. Here you’ll find the best of both, if not all worlds – French design, Venetian heritage, a Michelin-starred restaurant (Palais Royal), a library bar with over 4,000 books, and even an Ottoman-inspired spa. Spilling across five floors, the rooms exude timeless elegance with a contemporary kick – think swish parquet floors, lagoon pastels on the walls, and powder pink velvet sofas. It’s a pocket of la vie en rose in La Serenissima.
Address: Calle Larga XXII Marzo, San Marco 2032, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Price: From £486
8. Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido Resort
Lido
In September when the Venice Film Festival comes around, there’s only one place to be: the Moorish-style Excelsior, sitting plum on the sands of Venice’s best beach. The queen of the Lido (the seafront, beach-filled island beyond the city centre), it’s a Venetian retreat with a difference – the kind of place that will catapult you back into the 21st century after a morning in the ancient city centre.
While the fun, boutique-style entry-level rooms overlook the courtyard, it’s worth upgrading to a Venice view (across the lagoon, the city in the distance) or a sea view (overlooking the beach and the Adriatic). But the main draw is the outside, with a beach bar and restaurant, Adriatico Terrace, overlooking the beach, plus cabanas set up on the sands just steps from the hotel. While other private island hotels keep to themselves, this is a flamboyant part of the community – you can rent a bike to cycle the length of the Lido, or take off on foot to explore its 19th-century architecture (all cute cottages and villas amid the trees and bougainvillea).
Address: Lungomare Guglielmo Marconi, 41, 30126 Lido VE, Italy
Price: From £307
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9. The Venice Venice Hotel
Cannaregio
Ignore the uninspiring name. This revamp of the 13th-century Ca’ da Mosto, one of the grandest (and oldest) palazzos to grace the Grand Canal, is a design-heavy hangout, filled with modern art (the owners, who founded the fashion brand Golden Goose, are big collectors). The 45 rooms are as hip as the public areas – you might have Americana-themed artwork under the dark, ancient beams in a standard room, or an installation taking over the wall beside your Grand Canal balcony in another. The waterside terrace looking towards the Rialto Bridge sets the scene for breakfast and aperitivo; you can have dinner there, too, or book the altana (private roof terrace) for a spectacular dinner.
Address: Cannaregio 5631, 30121 Venezia VE, Italy
Price: From £527
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10. Violino d’Oro hotel
San Marco
The narrow calli (alleyways) behind Piazza San Marco are packed with designer shops and luxury hotels, of which this is one of the newest, having opened in 2023. Part of the family-owned Collezione Em group, who also have properties in Florence and Forte di Marmi, it’s an ode to Italian artisans, with Venetian and Florentine work clustered across the three 17th-century palazzos.
Each of the 32 rooms is a jewel, from the hand-laid seminato (similar to terrazzo) floors to the handwoven Rubelli curtains and Murano glass by Venini, yet the effect is light and modern rather than heavy with tradition. Restaurant Il Piccolo’s menu is vegetarian-pescatarian focused, filled with vegetables grown on the islands and lagoon-netted fish.
Address: San Marco, 2091, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Price: From £655
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Why trust us
The hotels featured in this list have been carefully selected by The Independent’s expert travel writer, Julia Buckley, who has a deep knowledge of Venice, having lived there for several years. Our hotel contributors either live in these locations or visit frequently, ensuring a personal and informed perspective. When picking which hotels to include, they consider their own experience staying in the hotels and evaluate location, facilities, service and all the other details that make for an exceptional stay for all types of traveller.
FAQs
When is the best time of year to travel to Venice?
The best time of year to visit Venice really depends on what is most important to you: good weather, fewer crowds or cheaper costs.
The shoulder seasons of April to June and September to October bring pleasant weather and fewer crowds to compete with. July and August are peak months for tourism, meaning plenty of crowds, premium prices and temperatures in excess of 30C. February also attracts large crowds and hotel prices rise due to the annual carnival. November to January bring fewer crowds and colder weather – but visiting Venice at this time of year can be very atmospheric.
Where are the nicest areas to stay in Venice?
Where to stay in Venice depends very much on your travel preferences and budget.
San Marco and San Polo are both central, lively and close to many of Venice’s main attractions, but they’re also crowded – and the former can be expensive.
Cannaregio is situated in the historic Jewish Ghetto and is home to canalside bars, a local vibe and cheaper accommodation and food options. Elsewhere, Castello is much more peaceful, with gardens and fewer tourists, and is a great option if you’re visiting for the Biennale.
And as the home of the Gallerie dell’Accademia and Peggy Guggenheim museum, Dorsoduro is a great option for art lovers seeking an authentic feel and plenty of culture.
Where do celebrities stay?
With Michelin-star dining and unrivalled views of Venice, the five-star Hotel Cipriani is a firm favourite with celebrities. Previous guests have included Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and George Clooney. George and Amal Clooney also held their wedding reception at Aman Venice, a luxurious property housed in a 16th-century palazzo.
Elsewhere, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks have bedded down at the Gritti Palace. And as the official host hotel of the Venice Film Festival, the Excelsior Venice Lido Resort has played host to some of the film world’s great and good.