A luxury & gourmet getaway at Palazzo Venart in Venice, Italy
Stay & dine in style at a 5-star property with Michelin 2-star GLAM Restaurant:
Venice is the choice for millions of international holidaymakers and this not without reason. Its lagoon setting is second to none and the city is a one-of-a kind architectural masterpiece. Regrettably, Venice suffers from a matchless overtourism, too. Therefore, my husband and I had waited to visit it until these Corona times. As always, we looked for a place to stay and dine in style. And we were lucky to came across Palazzo Venart Luxury Hotel and its Michelin two star GLAM Restaurant.
In case you are interested in some facts and figures about Venice’s overtourism and how the appearance of Corona changed this, have a look at me latest blogpost. Now, more about an excellent luxury hotel in Venice that will not break the bank and its acclaimed restaurant (which is going to cost you a bit).
Luxury & gourmet Venice getaway at Palazzo Venart
My husband and I checked out what was on offer in terms of high-end hotels in Venice about two weeks before our arrival. The dazzling names in this city’s high end hotel industry just as The Gritti Palace,
Cipriani or Aman asked for rates that appeared as too high to us. While the former two charged around 1,000 SFR/US$ for standard rooms, the latter asked for even more. As we could not imagine that these hotels could be much in demand end of August/beginning of September in these Corona times, we discarded the option to lodge in one of those.
Instead we looked around for other upscale accommodation with fairer market prices and found Palazzo Venart Luxury Hotel.
Unlike Venice’s lodging grande dames it is boutique size with only 18 rooms. It is a member of the renowned hotel group The Leading Hotels of the World and was opened only four years ago. I think it is the ideal choice for luxury travelers with an eye for value for money, too!
Location
Palazzo Venart Luxury Hotel is located in the quiet Santa Croce district.
While this is not in the heart of the Venetian center of action between Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s Square, it is very conveniently situated directly at the Grand Canal within two minutes from the vaporetto (water bus) station of San Stae. You can reach the Rialto Bridge in about ten minutes by foot and the St. Mark’s Square is approx. a 20-minute walk, given the walkways are not too crowded. The location is also handy for the train station, the parking San Marco and the airport shuttle boat.
Facilities
If you value an arrival in in style, get a water taxi and pull up at the Venart’s private dock. From here you walk through a nice garden before reaching the rear entrance of the hotel building.
By traversing it, you come to the courtyard garden lined with big trees.
While the latter is the place where you have breakfast or dinner outdoors, both gardens are perfect for drinks and snacks at any time of the day. If the weather does not permit it, you can move to the salon on the second floor, which is equipped with antiques and custom furnishings.
Also on site you find the one and only two star Michelin restaurant – GLAM Restaurant – in the lagoon area. A report how it is to dine here – a must for gourmets – follows below. This is also the place where you have breakfast, and this really is a special affair. It is a la carte and served in several courses. The start makes a delicious croissant or danish, followed by a hot dish that you can be combine with cheese and/or cold cuts. The choice even includes spaghetti with tomato sauce! Next is a fruit salad and/or a tart. It is for sure the best breakfast I have ever had in Italy and also one of the most memorable ones I have had so far!
Rooms/Pricing
At Palazzo Venart Hotel, you get more than a whiff of luxury. There are 18 rooms including five suites. Each one has been individually decorated and is based on a certain aspect of Venetian history. Some of them even have a view of Venice’s Grand Canal. As to the double rooms, there are classic rooms with or without terrace as well as prestige rooms.
My husband and I opted for the deluxe suites, the least expensive ones in this room category. Out of the two suites, we got the Lord Byron Deluxe Suite.
And it is such a lovely accommodation! It features a stunning parquet flooring, walls clad in silk and a bathtub tucked away behind a partition by the bed.
There is a separate lounge area
with views of the Grand Canal through original arched windows, although you have to bend down to fully enjoy the vista.
The bathroom is superb, spacious and lined in beautiful Italian marble. And it is generously sized, offering 50 square meters in total.
Price wise, I found it provided good value for the cost. My husband and I could profit from a last minute offer including a discount of 30% and either a 30-minute gondola ride or a 50 euro credit at the GLAM Restaurant. Our rate amounted to 556 SFR/US$ per day complete with a (sumptuous) breakfast.
Ambiance/Staff
Palazzo Venart has a distinguished history. It was formerly an aristocratic residence where members of the city’s respectable society met. The property underwent a complete renovation and unfurls itself innewsplendor. Now you find here original 16th century frescos and artwork side by side with contemporary art items.
Due to the hotel’s boutique size, you feel like you are in your very own palace. A serene ambiance hangs in the air but without being stiff or lifeless. This spirit is underlined by staff who is attentive yet unobtrusive. This is true for the personnel at the restaurant (see my review below), too. My husband and I felt much at ease here, cared for by immaculate personnel.
After all this information on the hotel now to the dinner experience at the Michelin starred in-house restaurant GLAM.
Dining at the two Michelin starred GLAM restaurant
In case you are here for a luxury & gourmet Venice trip, then dining here – at the one and only Michelin two star restaurant in historic Venice – is a must!
About the chef
Resident chef here is Donato Ascani, who received his first Michelin star in 2017 and his second in 2020. GLAM Restaurant is managed by Enrico Bartolini, a multi Michelin starred Michelin chef from the Tuscany. He is in charge of Restaurant Mudec in Milan, a three Michelin stars establishment, and several others in Italy and abroad.
Location/Ambiance
As mentioned, GLAM Restaurant is part of the Palazzo Venart Luxury Hotel. It is housed in a property’s side wing with view of the marvelous courtyard garden where you can dine in style al fresco (weather permitting). When entering you come to an anteroom with a bar. The dining room itself is very elegant and rather small with about eight tables. The walls are slightly reflective. This gives the room together with the minimalist lamp (difficult for food shots) and the empty, white-clothed tables a special aura.
Food concept
On offer here is an a la carte menu, divided in starters, first courses and main courses. As always in Italian restaurants it remains unclear to me, whether you should choose three courses or four of them as it is the Italian way. In the latter case, the second course is usually pasta or risotto and the main course comes with vegetables only. Be it as it may, my husband and I opted for a tasting menu instead.
There are two of them, one is Art, Gardens and Lagoon, the other Nature and Origins. Both of them have nine courses (including snacks and pre dessert). While you know what to expect from the first one, the second one is a surprise menu. We decided to give the former a try.
The cuisine focuses on fish specialties plus Venetian cuisine, creatively interpreted by Donato Ascani. The chef is a culinary virtuoso who has a knack for unusual dishes which surprise at every bite!
– I lost a bit the overview and even missed taking a shot of the fish burger – , one of the chef’s signature dishes is served. It is a colorful palette dotted by small Adriatic fishes and a myriad of unusual sauces.
We were at a loss how to savor them as it was not accompanied by cutlery. Without further ado we asked for a small spoon to finish it to its very end.
Next was a flavorful cream of potatoes paired with spider crab,
one of my favorites at this evening. Then it was up to another fish course, a perfect blend of sea bass and eggplant.
Yet time for another seafood dish, smoked cuttlefish with myrtle.
This one did not exactly meet my taste, I considered the sepia as too raw and slimy, but to each his own.
We proceeded with pasta, lukewarm spaghetti, accompanied by marinated shallots and tarragon.
I was very much in favor it but would have liked a bigger portion!
The main course was called “not just fish”, what I wrongly thought to be fish and something more. But my husband was right, it was a meat course. After all these fish and seafood dishes a much appreciated change, at least for me. It was aromatic lamb in two variations paired with polenta & cauliflower.
We ended the feast with a great dessert, an homage to Venice, Marocchino. If you order a caffè marocchino (a Moroccan coffee) in Venice, you get melted chocolate topped with espresso and milk foam. And it was exactly that in form of a dessert, a melange of coffee ice cream, chocolate sauce, grappa foam and crumble.
It was a treat for dessert lovers just as me!
The sweat highlight was framed by a pre dessert, lemon sorbet with olive oil and licorice, and an array of refined petits-fours.
On balance, a true epicurean experience!
Pricing
As you would expect, dining at a two star Michelin restaurant does not come inexpensive. While I found the two tasting menus adequately priced (162 SFR/US$ for Art, Gardens and Lagoon resp. 194 SFR/US$ for Nature and Origins), the a la carte dishes come with a hefty price tag. They cost on average a bit less than 60 SFR/US$ per item and this independent of being a starter, a first course or a main course.
If you want value for money, opt for one of the both tasting menus. And skip the bubbles to start the dinner and the wine pairing – go for a bottle of wine instead!
Overall
Visiting Venice in Corona times is a great thing to do because you can encounter this wonderful lagoon city as it was before overtourism started. And if you fancy a luxury & gourmet Venice getaway, then Palazzo Venart Luxury Hotel is a perfect choice. It has the grandness of the city’s famous hotels but without the dust. And you find here the GLAM Restaurant on site, the one and only two star Michelin dining-spot in historic Venice!
The Palazzo Venart Luxury Hotel is a recently up modeled Venetian palace with two gardens. One of them is even located directly on the Grand Canal. And though it is on the back end of the city’s main waterway, all the important sites are in easy reach. While you should eat at the in house restaurant as lover of fine dining, do not miss going to a more casual eatery, too. Estro,
a modern wine bar offering creative and well-made Mediterranean cuisine, too, is a good place to go!
Date of stay: September 2020
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