Classic Revisited: The Gritti Palace

One of my favorite hotels in the world, The Gritti Palace, reopened this year following a 15-month, $50 million renovation. Enjoying a perfect location at the entrance to Venice’s Grand Canal, the palazzo dates to 1475 and was converted into a hotel in 1895. It is now part of the Starwood Luxury Collection. Since I have long regretted Starwood’s heavy-handed renovation of the once-charming Europa & Regina, I was concerned for the fate of The Gritti, but I must say that the project has been a great success. American designer Chuck Chewning, who is director of the furniture and fabrics company Donghia, has respected the hotel’s aristocratic elegance by using exquisite Rubelli fabrics and Murano lighting fixtures. The property now has 82 rooms instead of the previous 91, plus a wonderful new library and several new individually decorated suites overlooking the Grand Canal. My favorites are those named for writers — Ernest Hemingway, British novelist Somerset Maugham and the Victorian art critic John Ruskin — although for sheer extravagance, there is nothing like the top-floor Redentore Terrazza Suite, which has a huge private terrace. The quality of the workmanship throughout the new Gritti is spectacular. Oh, and the Bellinis (Prosecco and fresh peach juice) served on the terrace overlooking the Grand Canal are just as irresistible as ever.