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Venice · Hotel shortlist

High end hotels on the waterfront in Venice

Sofia Marchetti

Sofia Marchetti Italy

Updated 1 September 2026 · 15 Venice hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Venice, out of the 15 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.7 down to 4.6.

Palazzina Grassi is the one I would book myself.

Palazzina Grassi

Highest rated of the five

Palazzina Grassi

★★★★★4.7 from 557 reviews

Palazzina Grassi comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.7 from 557 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 5 star property, found under the beach and around $825 a night on the dates we checked.

15 hotels in Venice qualified for this list and five made it. Palazzo Venart Luxury Hotel is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
  • Restaurantdinner downstairs on the night you land
  • Bara drink without going back out
  • Family roomscots and larger rooms rather than a squeeze
  • Kitchenettebreakfast on your own schedule

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All five, ranked

  1. Palazzina Grassi1

    Palazzina Grassi

    ★★★★★4.7 from 557 reviews

    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Kitchen
    • Pet friendly
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning

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  2. Palazzo Venart Luxury Hotel2

    Palazzo Venart Luxury Hotel

    ★★★★★4.8 from 243 reviews

    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Pet friendly
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning

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  3. Carnival Palace3

    Carnival Palace

    ★★★★★4.7 from 1,595 reviews

    • Spa
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible

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  4. RUGA BELLA IN THE HEART OF VENICE4

    RUGA BELLA IN THE HEART OF VENICE

    ★★★★★4.9 from 394 reviews

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    • Maison Venezia | UNA Esperienze5

      Maison Venezia | UNA Esperienze

      ★★★★★4.6 from 700 reviews

      • Spa
      • Bar
      • Parking
      • Kid friendly
      • Air conditioning
      • Accessible

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    How this list was put together

    15 Venice hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

    Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

    The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

    What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

    Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

    Sofia Marchetti

    Sofia Marchetti Italy

    Refuses to fly anywhere reachable by rail. Four sleeper-train crossings of Europe, a collection of old transit maps, and building sketches drawn from carriage windows.

    Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.