Hotel Bauer/Bauer il Palazzo

Description:

• Don't let the modern lobby throw you. This inn, just a few blocks from Piazza San Marco, is one of the top deluxe hotels in town. In 1998, a massive hotel restructuring divided the hotel into two parts: the rather disappointing (especially at these prices) 1950s Hotel Bauer, with its standardized rooms and terrace on a side canal; and the Bauer il Palazzo. This 19th-century palace on the Grand Canal behind the modern wing enjoys views of Santa Maria della Salute across the way (arrive by water taxi for the best effect). The Palazzo is aiming for boutique-hotel status, with a more intimate reception area, a restaurant opening onto a terrace thrust over the Grand Canal, walk-in closets, and antique Venetian style (genuine 18th-century wherever possible). The higher the price, the classier the accommodations, up to about 3,500€ ($4,550) for royal suites, with patterned chipped-stone floors, elaborate stuccoed walls and ceilings, engraved mirrors, frescoed bedroom ceilings, and marble bathrooms.

  Facilities: 2 Venetian/Mediterranean restaurants; 2 bars; spa; Jacuzzi; sauna; concierge; tour desk; car-rental desk; business center; salon (basic hairdresser); 24-hr. room service; massage; babysitting; laundry service; dry cleaning (same day); nonsmoking rooms; executive-level rooms (the Palazzo suites)

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010