Why book?
For a Grand Canal-facing room, or more simply (and less damaging to the bank balance), a spritz in the garden. This freshly restored classic hotel provides the kind of panorama that you dreamt of when planning your Venice trip.
Set the scene
The stretch of Grand Canal frontage west of St. Mark's square hosts some of the city's most famously classic luxury hotels. The St. Regis, inaugurated in 2019, is a newly crowned queen among these, boasting more water-facing balconies than any other. If it's a close-up relationship with the superb basilica of Santa Maria della Salute you're seeking, this is the hotel for you. A massive pre-inauguration restoration removed traditional brocades and gloomy corners, clearly aiming to entice a younger, more culturally aware clientele by filling public spaces and suites with some excellent contemporary art, and a collection of pieces by top Venetian glass makers. Between the two canal-facing wings, a gorgeous garden is the perfect venue for aperitivi.
The backstory
The old Westin Europa and Regina was a pleasant enough hotel, its somewhat frayed edges offset by its unparalleled location on the Grand Canal: Its reinvention as the St. Regis Venice in 2019 changed all that, transforming the dowager grande dame into a sleeker, trimmer, more artsy player on La Serenissima's top-rung hotel stage. It's very much part of the Marriott empire, but sufficiently stand-alone and characterful to avoid any corporate same-ness.
The rooms
Those heart-melting pastel colors that glow as Venice and her lagoon move from daytime into evening have been collated here in room decor, which brings the outdoors inside and folds it into midcentury-modern style and comfort. The St. Regis spreads across four interconnected palazzi, with 130 generous-sized rooms and 39 suites. Inward-facing accommodations are well appointed, but nothing can beat the rooms along the hotel's wide Grand Canal-facing facade, many of which feature balconies and some of which, such as the Santa Maria Suite, have huge terraces that are simply to-die-for.
Food and drink
Executive Chef Nadia Frisina is Sicilian, although she has adapted seamlessly to Venetian specialities while also bringing Asian and northern European experiences into her seasonal cuisine, which is unfussy but sophisticated. Gio's Restaurant, which shares its Grand Canal-side spot with the St. Regis Bar (where manager Facundo Gallegos mixes spritzes in a range of tastes and colors to match Venice's sunset hues) stakes a good claim to be one of the city's best hotel eateries. Imbibe inside or in the adjoining garden-courtyard where passing gondolas send canal water lapping below the balustrade. It's all impossibly romantic.
The spa
Treatments in the spa are a fine antidote to sightseeing-induced stiffness. An exercise room with with Technogym equipment is also available to guests 24/7.
The neighborhood/area
The San Marco district is the heart and hub of historic Venice, for better and for worse. Streets are lined with designer delights and famous sights are close at hand, but it's tourist central on this thoroughfare towards St. Mark's square; stepping off of it and into a secluded little campo magicked into the coddled world of St. Regis feels pretty special.
The service
The St. Regis team under GM Patrizia Hofer is cordial, relaxed, very professional, and remarkably female-run for a hotel of this rank in the male-dominated accommodation sector. The hotel's butler service attends to guests' needs with a light touch. The concierge will arrange special tours and experiences; the hotel's generous public spaces are ideal for weddings and events.
For families
The top-rank suites stretch to two and even three bedrooms, but if you'd prefer something slightly less opulent, families with under-12s booking a room for their kids get a 50 percent discount on a second room.
Accessibility
There are accessible routes and elevators to accessibility-adapted guest rooms rooms.
Anything left to mention?
Take a seat in the garden and order a cocktail in the utterly unique scene before you: this is the Venice you dreamt of.
San Marco 2159, Venice
Italy
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/vcexr-the-st-regis-venice/