Aman Canal Grande hotel, Venice, Italy: review
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The Aman Canal Grande is a Venice hotel offering sumptuous interiors, Grand Canal views and a charming roof terrace, close to the Rialto Bridge. By Nick Trend.
The Clooneys opted to spend their wedding night in this Grand Canal-side five star which says it all. The 16th-century palazzo has contemporary furnishings mixed with sumptuous chandeliers and burnished mirrors in immense salons, 24 ultra-luxe suites including the Alcova suite with ceiling paintings by 18th-century maestro Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, a gourmet restaurant and two lovely gardens. There’s a private boat jetty on the Grand Canal, but slip out the back door and you’re no more than 10 minutes’ walk from Rialto.
Location
In the San Polo district, within a short walk of the Rialto Bridge and close to the Traghetto San Tomà for access to Piazza San Marco (St Mark’s Square).
Style/character
Named Palazzo Papadopoli after the Greek family who owned the building in the 19th-century, guests can arrive by boat to enter by the formal 'porta d’acqua’ into a vast, beamed reception with marble chequered flooring and original frescos. A trompe-l’oeil grand staircase leads up to the piano nobile and rococo ballroom with gilt mirrors, frescos, Murano chandeliers, terrazzo floor and windows overlooking the Canal. Dining room, bar and salons have sumptuous Rubelli silk wall coverings, oil paintings and carved stone fireplaces with bowls of exotic white amaryllis as table centrepieces. Overlooking pantiled rooftops, the wooden 'altana’ is a small decked roof terrace for sunset drinks.
Service
Friendly and helpful, the largely Venetian staff show plenty of enthusiasm but are still gaining on-the-job experience. A series of well-designed, themed “itineraries” is available from expert guides organised by the hotel.
Rooms
Just 24 rooms, many of which overlook the Grand Canal. These fall into four categories. Cheapest are the palazzo bedrooms which have views of the hotel’s leafy back garden and are smaller - though with identical furnishing and facilities - than the bigger palazzo chambers and stanza rooms. Five 'signature’ rooms include the parquet-floored Papadopoli stanza with views of the water and garden terrace. This has ceiling frescos in the bedroom and in the equally large bathroom. Most striking, although without the views, is the Alcova Tiepolo suite with a Chinese painted sitting room and ornate bedroom ceiling reliefs painted by eighteenth-century Venetian painter, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.
Food and drink
Menus alternate nightly between Thai and classic Venetian, with dishes served on low tables in the grand 'Red’ dining room. Italian starters may include beef tenderloin with black truffle vinaigrette (€30), followed by black squid ink risotto (€24) or pan-roasted sea bass (€33). Thai food depends on seafood sourced at the Rialto market such as pad pong karee (stir fried fish with red chilli and celery with lime-clam froth (€28)). Breakfast is a relaxed and hushed affair with a choice of fruits and cereals (€12), continental (€28), or cooked 'American’ (€40).
Value for money
Although top end and not cheap, room rates remain the same throughout the year, so are better value in high season. Double rooms from €1,100 (£935), including VAT at 10 per cent per room, but excluding breakfast and a €5 per person city tax. Free Wi-Fi.
Access for guests with disabilities?
Two ground-floor rooms with adapted bathrooms.
Family-friendly?
Children are welcome but there are no specific facilities provided and there’s a predominantly adult atmosphere.
The Clooneys opted to spend their wedding night in this Grand Canal-side five star which says it all. The 16th-century palazzo has contemporary furnishings mixed with sumptuous chandeliers and burnished mirrors in immense salons, 24 ultra-luxe suites including the Alcova suite with ceiling paintings by 18th-century maestro Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, a gourmet restaurant and two lovely gardens. There’s a private boat jetty on the Grand Canal, but slip out the back door and you’re no more than 10 minutes’ walk from Rialto.
Location
In the San Polo district, within a short walk of the Rialto Bridge and close to the Traghetto San Tomà for access to Piazza San Marco (St Mark’s Square).
Style/character
Named Palazzo Papadopoli after the Greek family who owned the building in the 19th-century, guests can arrive by boat to enter by the formal 'porta d’acqua’ into a vast, beamed reception with marble chequered flooring and original frescos. A trompe-l’oeil grand staircase leads up to the piano nobile and rococo ballroom with gilt mirrors, frescos, Murano chandeliers, terrazzo floor and windows overlooking the Canal. Dining room, bar and salons have sumptuous Rubelli silk wall coverings, oil paintings and carved stone fireplaces with bowls of exotic white amaryllis as table centrepieces. Overlooking pantiled rooftops, the wooden 'altana’ is a small decked roof terrace for sunset drinks.
Service
Friendly and helpful, the largely Venetian staff show plenty of enthusiasm but are still gaining on-the-job experience. A series of well-designed, themed “itineraries” is available from expert guides organised by the hotel.
Rooms
Just 24 rooms, many of which overlook the Grand Canal. These fall into four categories. Cheapest are the palazzo bedrooms which have views of the hotel’s leafy back garden and are smaller - though with identical furnishing and facilities - than the bigger palazzo chambers and stanza rooms. Five 'signature’ rooms include the parquet-floored Papadopoli stanza with views of the water and garden terrace. This has ceiling frescos in the bedroom and in the equally large bathroom. Most striking, although without the views, is the Alcova Tiepolo suite with a Chinese painted sitting room and ornate bedroom ceiling reliefs painted by eighteenth-century Venetian painter, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.
Food and drink
Menus alternate nightly between Thai and classic Venetian, with dishes served on low tables in the grand 'Red’ dining room. Italian starters may include beef tenderloin with black truffle vinaigrette (€30), followed by black squid ink risotto (€24) or pan-roasted sea bass (€33). Thai food depends on seafood sourced at the Rialto market such as pad pong karee (stir fried fish with red chilli and celery with lime-clam froth (€28)). Breakfast is a relaxed and hushed affair with a choice of fruits and cereals (€12), continental (€28), or cooked 'American’ (€40).
Value for money
Although top end and not cheap, room rates remain the same throughout the year, so are better value in high season. Double rooms from €1,100 (£935), including VAT at 10 per cent per room, but excluding breakfast and a €5 per person city tax. Free Wi-Fi.
Access for guests with disabilities?
Two ground-floor rooms with adapted bathrooms.
Family-friendly?
Children are welcome but there are no specific facilities provided and there’s a predominantly adult atmosphere.
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