Aman Venice Hotel

Aman Venice Hotel

Palazzo Papadopoli is one of eight monumental palazzos on Venice's Grand Canal, built in 1550 in San Polo, the city's smallest and quietest sestiere. Aman converted it in 2014 as their first city hotel. The Arrivabene family, Venetian aristocrats, still own the building and live in the floors above the hotel. Twenty-four rooms and suites, almost all facing the canal. Tiepolo frescoes on ceilings, Murano chandeliers, Rubelli silk walls. Aman paired the 16th-century architecture with their signature minimalism with B&B Italia furniture, white and taupe palette, contemporary restraint that respects rather than competes with the palazzo's history. The Canal Grande Suite overlooks the water directly above the main entrance. Arrival is by private water taxi through the porta d'acqua, the palazzo's original water gate. Two private gardens, rare for Venice, one opening onto the canal. This is the Venice most visitors don't access. The Blue and Yellow dining rooms on the piano nobile serve lagoon seafood and regional Italian cuisine. The garden restaurant opens to the canal in summer. The Red Room bar has Venice's most extensive gin collection. Bartender Susanna, voted best hotel bartender this year, makes cocktails worth staying in for. The Altana rooftop terrace overlooks the city's terracotta rooftops. The spa occupies a separate building with three treatment suites. Compact, private, effective. San Polo's position means distance from San Marco's crowds while staying walkable to everything that matters. The vaporetto stop is two minutes away. This is Aman applying their remote villa expertise to a Venetian palazzo, and it translates completely.