From its beginnings our palazzo has been home to a rich collection of artworks, a tradition that originated with the noble Pisani family, and that continued with its successive owners including the Gritti’s.

Art in its many forms is an important part of our restoration, from the precious Rubelli fabrics that decorate guestrooms and suites, to the exceptional glass chandeliers meticulously hand restored according to tradition by able glass.makers from nearby Murano, and from the beautiful terrazzo floors to the remarkable selection of artworks and antiques that adorn all private and social spaces within the hotel.

As we reopen we would like to share with you this short video that recounts the work of the local artisans that took part in our conservative restoration.

The artisans involved in the restoration

We do hope you enjoy the video and look forward to having you experience the wonderful artwork and art pieces that are an integral part of our Venetian icon.

To make a reservation visit thegrittipalace.com, call +39 041 794611 or contact your preferred travel agency.

Best regards,

Paolo Lorenzoni
General Manager

One day and 00 hours to go

Just one day remains to the reopening of The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Venice, Italy.

As you may all well imagine, the hotel is alive with activity and excitement as we count down these last 24 hours until we celebrate the arrival of our first guest.

Chosen over the years by the world’s social elite as a place to celebrate important and cultural events, The Gritti Palace will continue this tradition with new and restored avenues of celebration. From the renowned Gritti Terrace to the grand 250 square metre panoramic Redentore Terrace, and from the Bar Longhi to The Gritti Epicurean School, every special occasion unites a reason for celebration with a unique place to celebrate.

To make a reservation visit thegrittipalace.com, call +30 041 2961222 or reserve through your preferred travel agent.

We look forward to celebrating your special occasions with you.

Paolo Lorenzoni
General Manager

During the 2nd week of January the temporary construction site offices were finally removed, freeing up access to the hotel’s street entrance off Santa Maria del Giglio Square. We are pleased to share with you a video of this important milestone.

Our associates have now returned to prepare their workstations. Exquisite details continue to be curated in the guestrooms, unique suites, and spaces for socialising and leisure. Just like a private home, favourite pieces have been returned to their places and room has been made for a trove of new treasures.

In the Gritti Palace kitchens, Executive Chef Daniele Turco and his brigade have been testing traditional Venetian culinary proposals and signature risottos that will feature at Club del Doge Restaurant, and perfecting the lightness of the soufflés that will be late night specialties to indulge in at Bar Longhi.

As we countdown these final days to our reopening, the atmosphere fills with enthusiasm and pride for all of those who have dedicated themselves over the past 15 months to our handcrafted restoration, and to preparing The Gritti Palace for its reopening. To add to the excitement of the reopening, the Venice Carnival, an event loved by travellers and explorers of fantasy and mystery around the world, is now underway.

We look forward to having you visit us soon and as you do, hope you will consider The Gritti Palace your home in Venice.  To make a reservation, call +39 041 2961222, visit thegrittipalace.com, or contact your preferred travel agency.

Best regards,

Paolo Lorenzoni
General Manager

We have been extremely busy over the past two months - the guestroom floors are now almost all complete: the walls have been redecorated with precious fabric upholsteries, restored hand painted boiserie and Venetian laquered painting; ceiling stuccowork has been redone; the restored antique mirrors and chandeliers have been rehung, much of the bedroom furniture, both restored and new, has been delivered and arranged, and bathroom marbles and fixtures are now in place.

With the major engineering works on the ground floors well behind us and the terrazza and marble flooring all relaid, specialised artisans have been restoring artwork on the decorative wooden beams in Club del Doge Restaurant, the Bar Longhi mirrors have been rehung, and the marble concierge and bar counters have been reassembled.

A good number of tasks do still remain to be completed before our reopening on 1st February 2013, and we invite you to accompany us on our countdown to this important date.

In wishing you all a serene and remarkable 2013, with great pleasure I share with you a video of The Redentore Terrazza Suite, a spectacular two-storey suite on the uppermost floor of the palazzo with a unique 250 square metre terrace for private use, special celebrations, or stylish entertaining.

For reservations visit thegrittipalace.com, email grittipalace@luxurycollection.com or call +39 041 2961222.

Warm regards,

Paolo Lorenzoni
General Manager

Many of you may have heard of the exceptional flooding which took place in Venice over the last couple of days.  As usual in these circumstances, residents, shop owners and hoteliers were pre-alerted of the high tide flooding by the city’s high water information service, enabling them to set up protective flood barriers, measures, and walkways, and thus limit the inconvenience to both visitors and the population alike.  Business is now back to usual in Venice.  If you have been following our blog since the beginning, you will remember that one of the major projects of our restoration was the installation of protective flood basins in the ground floor areas of our five star hotel to prevent these from flooding during the acqua alta.  We’re delighted to say we were able to test the basins first hand throughout these recent hours of exceptional flooding and the ground floor remained dry and free of water.

Apart from the unveiling of The Gritti Palace exteriors,  the restorative works over the last four weeks have involved the upholstering of guestrooms on the upper floors of the hotel, the polishing of the terrazzo floors, decorative painting, and the reinstallation of restored boiserie in the Venetian Style Rooms.  Below is a short slideshow with an update on our status.

The countdown to our reopening on February 1st, 2013 has begun!

By the way, if you will be visiting Vienna, Austria between 16 and 25 November 2012, Executive Chef Daniele Turco will be seducing Viennese gourmets with a selection of his specialties from our lagoon city accompanied by select Masi wines, during a Venetian Culinary Fair at the Hotel Bristol, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Vienna.   Information and reservations.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Best regards,

Paolo Lorenzoni,
General Manager

Featuring stand-up balconies which give unobstructed views onto Venice’s heritage Customs House, now seat of Francois Pinault’s Punta della Dogana art museum, the Punta della Dogana suite envelops its occupants with the feel of a luxurious private home. Literary works on the Francois Pinault Collection, rich design fabrics from the Lorenzo Rubelli archives, and a finely restored selection of antiques from The Gritti Palace collection will accompany visitors along a journey across the 19th and 20th centuries.

Reserve accommodations at The Gritti Palace from 1 February 2012.

This past month redecoration works have concentrated on many of the artistic details that form part of the city’s heritage handcrafts and which will continue to be an integral part of The Gritti Palace after its restoration.  In particular, on the ground floor the “terrazzo” flooring has been relaid by specialised artisans in The Gritti Epicurean School, in Club del Doge Restaurant, and in the Longhi Bar – for those of you unfamiliar with the term “terrazzo“, these are marble floors that are composed of different coloured pieces of marble using a characteristic technique that has been carried down over the centuries.

In the lobby and corridor area the marble flooring and boiserie has been put in place, and the retiling of the  back areas of the hotel has commenced.   Not all works have taken place on the ground floor. On the guest floors, the decorative stuccoes continue to be redone by hand in the guestrooms, the marble bathrooms continue to be fitted, and in the top floor suites upholstering of the walls has begun.  I take pleasure in sharing with you a slideshow of images documenting our progress.

There’s a lot more to come in the just over 4 months until our reopening so do keep checking back on our progress.  If you are visiting Venice before then – we suggest a visit to the Biennale of Architecture which runs until 25 November 2012 -  both Hotel Danieli, a Luxury Collection hotel and The Westin Europa & Regina will be happy to assist.

Paolo Lorenzoni
General Manager

Fascinated by the paintings in the Accademia of Fine Arts gallery, by the beauty and the relaxed atmosphere of the city, in a letter dated 1960 he wrote:

“There are few things in life more pleasant than to sit on the terrace of the Gritti when the sun about to set bathes in lovely colour the Salute, which almost faces you. You see that noble building at its best and the sight adds to your satisfaction.

For at the Gritti you are not merely a number as you are in those vast caravanserais that are now being built all over the world; you are a friend who has been welcomed as he stepped out of his motor boat, and when you seat down to dinner at the very same table that you sat at the year before, and the year before that, when you see that your bottle of Soave is in the ice-pail, waiting for you, as it has been, year after year, you cannot but feel very much at home.”

Inspired after this illustrious and loyal guest, the W. Somerset Maugham Royal Suite overlooks the Canal Grande, and is a celebration of the novelist’s unique artistry, irony, and passion for fine art.

With immense pleasure we share with you below historical clippings from our archives of W. Somerset Maugham’s visits to The Gritti Palace.

Reservations for stays at The Gritti Palace from February 2013 are now being taken and may be made on our official websites thegrittipalace.com, luxurycollection.com/grittipalace, through your preferred travel planner or website, or by contacting The Gritti Palace reservations team at ph. +39 041 2961222 email grittipalace@luxurycollection.com

Best regards,

Paolo Lorenzoni,
General Manager

Over the last couple of weeks we have begun reassembling our remarkable palace.  At ground level, floor heating systems have been installed in the Club del Doge Restaurant, and in the Gritti Epicurean School, and part of the beautiful wooden boiserie has already been put back in place in the entrance hall, Reception and Luxury Concierge areas leading off Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, the small square in front of the hotel’s street entrance.

In the guestroom levels, oak-wood floors have been laid in some of the new sestriere suites, the redefinition of the stucco frames decorating guestrooms and corridors is underway, we have started to reassemble the boiserie in some of our non-smoking Venetian rooms, and guestroom bathrooms are being fitted with beautiful Green Alpine, Cream Tirreno and classic Palissandro marbles.

The re-tiling of the back corridors and stairways has also commenced.

I am sure you will enjoy this recent album of photos which documents the state of our progress.

I also have an important update for those of you who are fans and friends of The Gritti Palace on Facebook. As a result of the restoration we have had to create a new page in Facebook. Like us now on Facebook at facebook.com/thegrittipalace to continue to follow our news and tidbits about Venice.

Additionally, just a reminder that The Gritti Palace is now taking reservations for stays from 1 February 2013.  Reserve your stay now on our official websites thegrittipalace.com, luxurycollection.com/grittipalace, through your preferred travel planner or website, or by contacting The Gritti Palace reservations team at ph. +39 041 2961222 email grittipalace@luxurycollection.com

For those of you visiting Venice for the 13th International Architecture Exhibition titled “Common Ground” (29 August – 25 November 2012) and the 69th International Film Festival (29 August – 8 September 2012), Hotel Danieli – a Luxury Collection hotel and The Westin Europa & Regina would be delighted to assist you with your accommodation requirements.

Best regards,

Paolo Lorenzoni,
General Manager

To make your reservation please visit thegrittipalace.com, luxurycollection.com/grittipalace, email grittipalace@luxurycollection.com, call +39 041 2961222, or contact your preferred travel agency to reserve your accommodation at The Gritti Palace, Venice.

I look forward to welcoming you all back to your Venetian home in Venice and in the meantime invite you to keep following our restoration blog for more news on our progress, and for previews of our restored facilities.

Best regards,

Paolo Lorenzoni,
General Manager

Located on the piano nobile of the hotel, The Hemingway Suite boasts a corner position overlooking the Grand Canal. Its floor-to-ceiling window-doors open onto five step out balconies and the most extraordinary views of the city’s main waterway and the remarkable landmarks opposite: from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection along to Santa Maria Della Salute Church and the Punta Della Dogana Art Museum.

Composed of a spacious living room and bedroom, both of which face onto the water, a luxurious master bathroom in marble, and a powder room, The Hemingway Suite will continue to envelop its occupants in an atmosphere loyal to the heritage of the palace, rich in cultural references to its famous past guest, warm and relaxed in mood, and complete with contemporary comforts in which to feel at home.

We hope you will enjoy this virtual tour and preview of the restored Hemingway Suite.

Paolo Lorenzoni
General Manager