Book the Hotel Cipriani Venice with VIP Benefits

With Venice's many art treasures, historic buildings, palazzos, and famed canal waterways, the elegance and ornate style of the Belmond Hotel Cipriani match the setting perfectly.

Venice is perhaps one of those places everyone should visit at least once in a lifetime. This unique and beautiful historic city is built upon 100 small islands in a lagoon in the shimmering cyan-blue Adriatic Sea.

Hotel History

This exquisite property was bought by renowned chef Giuseppe Cipriani with backing from the daughters of the Earl of Iveagh and opened in 1958. The three aristocratic daughters arranged for suites designed in Venetian style with lavish furnishings and artwork, creating the hotel's lasting style.

Later, an Olympic-sized outdoor swimming pool replenished by filtered seawater was added on acquired neighboring land and set among gorgeous gardens to enhance the hotel.

Name Change

Hotel Cipriani changed hands in 1976 and added the adjacent 15th-century Palazzo Vendramin, a floating restaurant, tennis courts, and event space. Finally, in 2014, the hotel was renamed the Belmond Cipriani with newly styled management, and a fine dining restaurant opened.

The resort was a success right from the start and has remained so, welcoming royalty, nobility, and celebrities worldwide. The disadvantage is that the main hotel is seasonal, making its delights only available from spring to fall, but the other buildings remain open to guests.

Location

The hotel is a little away from Venice's center on the quieter, more private island of Giudecca. Guests arrive, leave or visit central Venice by motor launch, making the short canal trip to/from St Mark's Square every 15 minutes as needed.

Its views across the lagoon and to the Doge's Palace are stunning and desirable. Easily reached by road, Venice is a short drive from Marco Polo airport.

Hospitality and Style

The resort is noted for the knowledgeable staff's impeccable conscientious service and hospitality, who are always on hand to advise and assist.

Guests are welcomed in the main building in the elegant lobby with many refinements, including marble and quartz terrazzo floors and exquisite Murano glass chandeliers. The same style continues throughout the hotel and into the old Venetian palace annex of Palazzo Vendramin, where stylish artwork and antiques look at home.

Gorgeous Venetian Fortuny and Rubelli fabrics and unique lamp and light fittings add to the luxury.

Rooms

With 96 rooms and suites ranging across the main building, the Palazzo and additional accommodation in the recently acquired and refurbished Palazzetto Nani Barbaro annex.

All the rooms are light and gracious with pristine white and pastel colors, polished wood floors, gorgeous fabrics, and fabulous lighting. The choice is for lagoon or peaceful garden views, each with particular benefits and refined décor.

The Double-Lagoon View rooms are charming with soft blue furnishings, accent lagoon-blue chairs, and private viewing balconies. Spacious marble bathrooms are stocked with luxury complimentary toiletries.

Suites

Private balconies or terraces are standard in the suites, and all are expensive but the ultimate in Venetian glamour and style. The Palazzo and Palazzetto suites have Venetian splendor's feel of bygone days but benefit from all modern amenities expected in a luxury hotel.

Stunning views and refined décor grace every suite with color accents of gold and blue splashed here and there among the antiques and art. Large deluxe bathrooms feature deep tubs and showers, housekeeping visits are twice daily, and a private butler service is available in the Palazzo.

The most expensive suites have private docking on the canal front, garden access, additional rooms, and many refinements. The Palladio has all these, including two bedrooms and three bathrooms and a heated jacuzzi in part of the garden. A piloted private launch is also available for guests to this suite.

Fine Dining

Several excellent choices are on offer for hotel visitors. The glory of the Cipriani is the Michelin-starred Oro restaurant set beside the water's edge. Décor is renowned designer Adam D. Tihany showcasing more fine Murano glass chandeliers and a gold-leaf domed ceiling.

Venetian dishes are taken to another level by creative chef Davide Bisetto with lots of pasta and local seafood plus delicious Italian dolci. Bisetto's tasting menu is a famous evening treat.

Lagoon Dining

Diners can start with a Negroni cocktail by the lagoon or the famed Bellini, conjured up by Cipriani in the days of Harry's Bar. The bar was opened by a former bartender in 1931 and is still operating.

Cip's club restaurant is the place for dining out on the water's edge with light meals and specialties, including signature wafer-thin beef carpaccio. Beautiful views across St Mark's square accompany the meal.

Guests enjoying the vast swimming pool can dine in the delightful Porticciolo garden restaurant or take that Bellini in the famous Gabbiano Bar. Breakfasts are thoroughly American or buffet-style, with every dish guests could want.

Spa and Wellness

The Casanova Spa claims that guests can luxuriate in the gardens of the famed lover's liaisons. Single, couples, or Thai treatment rooms provide every kind of luxury face or body therapy using exclusive botanical products.

The signature treatment includes a footbath, massage, body scrub, and moisturizing with essential flower waters and oils.

Children

The Smile Club is one of the joys for families staying at the hotel. Run by English-speaking staff, the club offers delightful garden picnics, pastry or Venetian mask-making lessons, and plenty of fun while parents enjoy the city.

Hotel Extras

The hotel has an on-site boutique with clothes, jewelry, and designer-label accessories. Guests can also benefit from red clay tennis courts with showers, lockers, and private lessons if required.

Scented garden walks are another option. Event facilities are at the Granaries of the Republic building.

Takeaway

Venice has many titles to describe its unique characteristics appreciated only by gondolas on the canals or fabulous views approaching the Adriatic Sea. Perhaps the best title is La Serenissima, denoting its former princely honored status still echoed in the city's beauty and pride.