Monday, November 18, 2013

Travel :: The Gritti Palace - Venice, Italy

As I mentioned last week, our last night in Venice was one of the most memorable of my life -- much because of our fantastic evening at Venice's most celebrated hotel, The Gritti Palace.  The five-star hotel, located along the prestigious Grand Canal, was first built as a royal residence in 1525 and converted to a hotel in 1948.  It has been a favorite of celebrities such as Ernest Hemingway and Peggy Guggenheim {both of which have glamorous suites named after them}, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.  The hotel recently underwent a $50 million dollar refurbishment and chose to restore rather than alter, housing sometimes upwards of 150 skilled artisans a day who painstakingly restored the hotel to historical context.  Everything from the art to the furniture to the textiles {reproduced from the hotels archives} were deliberately chosen to be true to the hotel's regal history.  And let me tell you, it was exactly how I imagined Venice -- elegant, opulent, romantic, and sumptuous.

The hotel houses 82 luxurious guest rooms and suites, a gourmet restaurant {we had the most amazing dinner there}, and an Epicurean School.  Rooms are filled with luxurious linens, Murano glass chandeliers, antique furniture, and offer stunning views of the Grand Canal and San Giorgio Maggiore.  The service was impeccable and the ambiance absolutely dreamy.  I can only hope that someday we will return to Venice and will be able to splurge on a couple of nights at the unforgettable Gritti Palace.

9 comments:

  1. How I love Venice! I'll spend half a year in Trieste soon and look forward to visiting Venice often!

    Love from Germany and a little weekend review:

    http://lasagnolove.blogspot.de/2013/11/weekend-reviewmy-army-of-fortune.html

    Bambi

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  2. PS: Have you ever been to Trieste? Did you like it?

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  3. Just discovered your blog! Love all of your travel pictures!

    Cheers!

    http://mommyinmilwaukee.blogspot.com/

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  4. thanks so much keila!

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  5. i haven't been to trieste yet but would absolutely love to. it looks so magical and is a great base to explore other parts of italy like the dolomites, venice, and lake como, as well as croatia, austria, hungary, and more. plus i have heard the area in and around trieste are very authentic and not overrun by tourists. it sounds like such a wonderful adventure and i look forward to seeing your photos and reading all about your explorations :)

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  6. These don't even look real - seriously, they look like stock photography or out of a magazine editorial. So beautiful!
    http://perpetuallycaroline.blogspot.com

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  7. Molly {Dreams in HD}November 21, 2013 at 8:34 AM

    i know, that one robin's egg blue suite with the telescope really has me swooning!

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  8. Molly {Dreams in HD}November 21, 2013 at 8:35 AM

    thanks for stopping by bambi!

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  9. Is my room ready?

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