Splendid Venice - Starhotels Collezione

The relationship between Splendid Venice, the hotel, and splendid Venice, the city, goes back a long time. An inn was first built on this site in the sixteenth century, and the property has been almost continuously in use as hotel since, although a 21st-century renovation eradicated any traces of mustiness or fustiness in the accommodations. Can’t argue with the decision to keep the rosy façade with casement windows — splendid, indeed.

And who’d want to obscure the inescapable fact that you’re in Venice, anyway? You enter, for example, by water taxi or gondola onto a private dock, complete with characteristic candy-stripe mooring poles. The lobby opens onto a traditional campiello, or glass-topped atrium, from which you’ll have easy access to an elegant ground-floor complex of dining and lounging spaces, nearly all of it illuminated by sizable windows. Le Maschere is a definite highlight, its name recalling the neighborhood’s history as a mask district: feast on Venetian specialties, mostly seafood, then transition to the sumptuous, convivial bar for bellinis and gondola-watching. Plant yourself in the library with an Italian-strength coffee every morning — the comfy chairs, suitably worn volumes, and canal views all play a strong part in its cheery, adventuresome ambience. And the altana, or rooftop terrace, makes for a terrific view of St. Mark’s campanile, especially in the company of cocktails and candlelight.

The 165 rooms are hardly an afterthought, of course, marrying tasteful pastels and velvet accents with oak flooring for a timelessly luxurious appeal. House amenities abound — goose-feather “Starbeds,” “Starbeauty” bath products — and it’s tough to disappoint with an espresso machine and Italian marble bathrooms on hand. Exit the hotel and you’re halfway between the Ponte Rialto and Piazza San Marco, with plenty of little cafés along either route. Whichever you choose, the night will likely end with Pillowmania, the hotel’s incredibly detailed pillow menu.