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The long-awaited overhaul of one of Venice's most prestigious hotels is finally over. The result is a hybrid of designer hotel and traditional Grand Canal
damask-and-gilt four-star. The party piece of the new-look Monaco - acquired by the Benetton group in 1992 - is the restored Teatro del Ridotto, a 17th-century gaming room where Casanova was a habitué. The main salone and the private rooms that radiate from it are a glory of apricot, white and grey stucco above a magnificent
terrazzo floor. Elsewhere, the Monaco is a battleground where innovation and
tradition fight it out. The lobby and the rooms radiating from it embrace modernity most convincingly.
A Venetian courtyard complete with a well has been glazed over to create a plant-filled lounge area; the dark, minimalist corridor that leads off it, with its sightlines converging on a gold-mosaic panel, is imaginatively conceived. The bedrooms on the calle Vallaresso side have ill-advised, gold-and-silver bathroom fittings; there are better rooms in the original, Grand Canal section of the hotel, above the restaurant with its waterside terrace. With their elaborate carved beds, silk wall-coverings and antique furniture, these rooms are sober Venetian classics. Best of all are the new rooms in the Palazzo Selvadego, an annexe occupying a former insurance office a minute's walk from the main hotel. The warm colours, funky fabrics and stylish lighting more than compensate for the lack of a lagoon view and the short walk to breakfast.
WHEN TO GO
Immediately after Carnevale (FebruaryMarch) for lower rates and breathing space.
ROOM TO BOOK
A third-floor, canal-view suite under the rafters.
CONTACT
Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal, San Marco 1332, Venice, Italy (00 39 041 520 0211; fax: 520 0501; www.hotelmonaco.it). Doubles from €170; suites from €620
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