A Grand Canal Stage
There is no shortage of waterfront hotels in Venice, but few can match the placement of The St. Regis Venice. Its cluster of historic palazzi unfurls along one of the widest stretches of the Grand Canal, directly facing the domes of Santa Maria della Salute and the island silhouette of San Giorgio Maggiore. From the terraces and gardens, the views feel cinematic, framing some of the city’s most iconic landmarks as if they were commissioned for the hotel itself. Guests sip prosecco or espresso while gondolas and motoscafi drift by. Yet here, the vantage feels unusually private, thanks to what is said to be the city’s most expansive waterfront terrace.
Palazzi Reimagined
The hotel’s footprint encompasses a constellation of noble residences, their Renaissance and Baroque bones carefully preserved. Within these walls once thrived salons and soirées that drew Europe’s cultural elite. And it was here, in the former Grand Hotel Britannia, that Claude Monet stayed in 1908, painting his celebrated views of San Giorgio Maggiore. The very windows through which he studied the Venetian light still frame that same panorama today. Today, a deliberate juxtaposition of heritage and modernity create an environ of stately furnishings, light-filled rooms, and a palette that echoes the Venetian sky at dawn. This layering of past and present infuses the property with resonance: every vista connects centuries, every corridor feels alive with stories.
In the Gran Salone, guests immediately notice White Chandelier by Ai Weiwei
What truly sets The St. Regis Venice apart is the way it integrates contemporary art into daily life. Through a partnership with Murano’s Berengo Studio, the hotel has become a showcase for major international artists as well as a champion of Venetian glassmaking.
In the Gran Salone, guests immediately notice White Chandelier by Ai Weiwei, a striking reinterpretation of a traditional Murano chandelier. Look closely and you’ll see unexpected details worked into the glass. It’s pure Weiwei, all crafted by Berengo’s artisans. Elsewhere in the hotel, sculptures by Jaume Plensa bring a modern counterpoint to the palatial architecture, while Swiss artist Simon Berger has created four large-scale portraits depicting figures tied to the St. Regis story and Venice itself, including Claude Monet (a former guest), Caroline Astor (mother of John Jacob Astor IV, who founded the original St. Regis New York in 1904), Carlo Scarpa (the Venetian modernist architect who redesigned parts of the hotel in the mid-20th century), and Marchesa Luisa Casati (the eccentric Italian heiress and muse who made Venice her stage).
What’s great about this collection is that it isn’t confined to a gallery or tucked away in a private room. Guests encounter these works as part of the everyday rhythm of the hotel: passing them in foyers or enjoying cocktails amongst them. The result makes the art approachable, even playful, and it adds a distinctive cultural layer to a stay at the hotel.
The Arts Bar features cocktail glasses made by Berengo Studio
The Silver Dreams cocktail arrives in a glass inspired by Andy Warhol’s Marilyn portraits
The Arts Bar at The St. Regis Venice is unlike any other cocktail lounge in the city. Here, the conversation isn’t just about what’s in your glass—it’s about the glass itself. Working again with Berengo Studio, the hotel has commissioned a collection of custom vessels, each designed in homage to a famous work of art.
Order Silver Dreams, for example, and your champagne-topped cocktail arrives in a vibrant pop-art glass inspired by Andy Warhol’s Marilyn portraits. Choose Through the Trees and you’re handed a jagged, almost trembling vessel that mirrors the anguish of Edvard Munch’s The Scream. A Picasso-themed cocktail called Canvas Temptation is served in a ruby-red geometric glass that looks like it’s been lifted from one of his Cubist canvases. Even Ai Weiwei’s White Chandelier, which glimmers overhead in the Gran Salone, has its liquid counterpart: AW Vision, poured into a glass adorned with tiny Murano glass claws.
Each glass is more than a visual pun. Berengo artisans considered how the vessel would interact with its contents—how light would refract through colored glass, how the lip would shape the way the drink is sipped, even how the weight would feel in hand. The result is a cocktail program where form and flavor are inseparable, and where guests can quite literally drink from a work of art.
The views from the hotel's many terraces are the best in Venice
Just beyond the Arts Bar, Gio’s unfolds like an extension of the Grand Canal itself. The restaurant’s terrace is one of the most coveted dining stages in Venice, where gondolas glide by at eye level and the domes of Santa Maria della Salute provide the evening’s backdrop. Guests dine almost afloat, with the water lapping close enough to make the city feel part of the table.
The elegant atmosphere is enhanced by the artistry of the table settings. Dishes arrive within and on Ginori 1735 porcelain, from the historic Florentine house whose heritage pieces once graced royal banquets across Europe. Every plate and bowl is of different and striking design, but each carries with it a lineage of Italian design and craftsmanship.
While Executive Chef Giuseppe Ricci and his team—Sous Chef Sirio Mignucci and Head Chef Iulian Colesnic—shape a menu that respects the Italian canon, the spirit of Gio’s lies less in its individual dishes and more in the way the experience captures Venice at its most luminous. It’s about rooted yet contemporary flavors, and about the simple joy of savoring them as church bells ring across the canal.
For those wishing to go deeper, the hotel also curates an immersive culinary experience: a morning with Chef Ricci at the lagoon markets, followed by a private cooking session and shared meal. But even for those who simply sit down for dinner, Gio’s is less about ceremony and more about atmosphere—a restaurant that distills Venetian elegance into an evening by the water.
A Grand Canal View Suite
The Presidential Suite living room
Modern Comforts, Venetian Soul
For all its reverence to history and art, the hotel is no museum. Rooms are outfitted with the conveniences of modern luxury: intuitive lighting, fresh flowers, luxe bedding, plush robes and slippers, Acqua di Parma bath amenities, and large soaking tubs. Service reflects the St. Regis brand’s reputation for ritual and refinement, from a discreet butler arriving with morning coffee to the evening champagne sabering in the lounge.
The St. Regis bar features more stunning views
Venice, Curated
What distinguishes The St. Regis Venice is its ability to be more than a place to sleep. It is a curator of Venice itself: of its views, its history, its art, and its evolving role as a global cultural crossroads. To stay here is to experience the city as both guest and participant—walking into a living gallery, dining on a canal’s edge, sipping from a work of Murano glass, and waking in rooms that once inspired Monet’s brush. For travelers seeking Venice at its most evocative, The St. Regis offers not just proximity but perspective: a front-row seat to the Grand Canal’s enduring performance, and a reminder that in Venice, luxury has always been an art form.
Photos courtesy of The St. Regis Venice
