Hotel Indigo Venice Sant'Elena

The IHG group’s Hotel Indigo brand varies widely in style across its various locations, and it’s perhaps no surprise that in Venice, one of the world’s truly unique cities, the local Indigo should be a particularly special one. The Hotel Indigo Venice - Sant’Elena is named for the island that lies just across the bridge from the hotel, at the far end of the city proper. And it makes its home not in some purpose-built hotel building but in a 1930s convent, a short walk from the 11th-century Church of Sant’Elena — a perfect venue for a hotel that aims to offer an air of tranquil contemplation.

With 75 rooms and suites it’s substantial, by boutique-hotel standards, but thanks to its monastic character it feels rather smaller; the accommodations themselves are elegant, with Deco and Modernist echoes, and feel thoroughly Venetian while still practicing some admirable subtlety and restraint. There are wilder and more experimental boutique hotels in Venice, and more traditional luxury hotels as well; for many guests, though, this one gets the mixture just right. Savor, the restaurant and bar, is a welcome feature, given the hotel’s position in the corner of the city, but, given the wealth of options outside, far from required.