Aman Canal Grande, Venice, Italy
We’d expect only the best from a designer called Michelangelo Guggenheim; the 19th-century rococo master made his mark on the Palazzo Papadopoli when it changed hands some 200 years ago. Its then owners commissioned Guggenheim to transform the 16th-century palazzo’s living spaces with frescoes, mirrors, chandeliers and gilded flourishes that elevated the San Polo property to a model of neo-Renaissance style. Today, the palazzo’s grandest floor, the piano nobile, houses the public areas of Aman Resorts’ newest hotel, including a palatial lounge and three equally opulent dining areas, two of which feature ceilings painted by the 18th-century artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. The 24 suites are no less ornate, with protected frescoes and mosaic floors, which the restrained Maxalto furnishings do nothing to overshadow, and views of the Grand Canal which fronts the hotel, or the private garden to the back.
Palazzo Papadopoli, Calle Tiepolo 1364; Tel: 39.041 270 7333; www.amanresorts.com
Writer: Ellen Himelfarb
