Review: Palazzo Venart Luxury Hotel

Okay, set us up with an overview.
I'll start with a head's up: it is incredibly tough to find. But once you arrive, you enter through a gate, down a long courtyard, and into the hotel, which makes it feel like you're in your very own (and very private) palazzo. And though it's on the back end of the Grand Canal, it's incredibly hushed—totally different from Gritti or Danieli's vibe.

So what's the crowd like?
Very well-heeled, exquisite taste, polyglots...the types of travelers who would no doubt own their own palazzos, if they were actually Venetian. It's safe to assume it's not their first time in Venice; they knew exactly what they wanted by finding and booking Venart.

Tell us about check-in. How was it? Very simple. The place is small, and feels more like a grand home with a selection of bedrooms, which means you're never competing with a horde of guests for the attention of the (very attentive, professional) staff. They'll whisk you immediately upstairs to your room, which is unlocked by a heavy, utterly charming skeleton key, of course.

Tell us all about your room.
Mind-blowing. Luxurious. The type of rooms that feels like you've entered Casanova's lair. Tactile wallpapers, four-poster beds draped in maroon velvets, the sort of excess that feels just right. That said, there are enough modern touches throughout to make Venart feel decidedly right now, too, including the artwork and modern baths. It has the grandness of the grande dames, with none of the dust. Get the Grand Canal suite for views out over the back garden to the waterway.

Any other notes you want to make?
Wi-Fi was fast and free. Minibars were well-stocked. Nothing beyond the decor had serious wow factor, but it didn't need to.

How about the food, or the room service? Anything worth ordering?
The Michelin-starred GLAM restaurant does upscale pastas and salads. The space is small and refined, and not at all a scene the way, say, the Riva bar at Gritti is. Food is note-perfect, but you should only do dinner here one night; go somewhere with more atmosphere for the rest of your time. You can take tea in the garden and cocktails in the salon, but there's no bar to sit at, per se.

So, bottom line: worth it, and why?
Completely worth it. Private, luxurious...like you've entered a secret Venetian world, unknown to the crowds of travelers packing other parts of the city.