Ai Reali di Venezia

Character and identity

Set in the 17th-century residence of the aristocratic Corner family, this 37-room palazzo hotel sits between the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco, both a few minutes on foot. A yearlong restoration completed in 2012 preserved original parquet and Venetian terrazzo floors, Aubusson-style carpets, lacquered 18th and 19th-century bureaus, and the family's carved stone wellhead just inside the entry. A two-flight white marble staircase anchors the public spaces, and a walled garden shaded by two heritage-listed palms opens off the ground floor. There's a canal water entrance, a comprehensive spa, a canal-view restaurant, and an intimate lounge-bar with live piano four nights a week.

Who's it for

Bottom line

The appeal here is residential intimacy: 37 rooms, real antiques, and the sense of staying in "the Venetian townhouse of refined but congenial relatives," all within a short walk of San Marco and Rialto. Book it if you want a palazzo experience over a hotel experience, ask for a room on the piano nobile, and request the canal-view restaurant for dinner.