Belmond Hotel Cipriani Venice was the location for George Clooney’s recent marriage and is one of the best luxury hotels in Venice. We compare Belmond Cipriani Vs. Aman Vs. Gritti Palace Vs. Hotel Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel separately to help you decide which hotel will work best for you.
Wherever you decide to stay, book via our luxury travel concierge. We offer free upgrades, free breakfasts, and free perks at hotels, including the Four Seasons, Aman, Belmond, Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, InterContinental, and more. You also get your usual Marriott Bonvoy Hyatt, loyalty points, and status benefits when you book with our concierge.
Location
Nestled on the tip of Giudecca Island, the Belmond Hotel Cipriani is just 40 minutes by water taxi from Venice airport (around €150 EUR each way) and a short boat ride across the water from St Mark’s Square. But for me, Venice was largely inconsequential to my stay, once I’d stepped inside this glamorous Narnia and sampled its stunning rooms, exquisite gardens, and perfect pool – I had no intention of leaving its perimeter. This is an exclusive hideaway under the Mediterranean sunshine that also happens to enjoy dreamy views across Venice.
It’s not that I go out of my way to avoid the sights of Venice, a quick trip across the water in the stylish, teak Belmond Hotel Cipriani shuttle, (complete with its Top Gun style driver in his Raybans and white Navy inspired suit), is certainly not to be missed.
However, the maze of iffy scented canals, tiny passageways, pushy selfie stick vendors, stifling heat, and the crazy kamikaze pigeons in St Marks Square can all be hard to bear for prolonged periods. So it is a relief when the hotel’s shiny mahogany motorboat picks you up from the hotel’s jetty just off St Marks Square, whisking you back to the gated solace of the hotel. You can request this complimentary pickup at absolutely any time of the day or night by just picking up the phone on the jetty, a stylish way to escape the madness that is Venice.
Style & Character
Unlike many of the historic palatial hotels in Venice, Hotel Cipriani offers a more modern, classic hotel design. The staff here, in particular, gives the hotel a unique character. They have the time to share stories of their families as they meet and get to know yours. Many of the regular guests here have become more like family members and are remembered and treated exceptionally well. This is a place you will return to.
Service & Facilities
The gardens at the Belmond Hotel Cipriani are beautiful. You can stroll underneath archways of roses and sweet-smelling white flowers, find a place on the lawns to laze or stroll through the kitchen garden. Tennis players can play a game or two on the secluded clay court, whereas parents can shuffle children off to the kids club and enjoy the Spa and Wellness center. There’s wildlife too, the garden being home to a beautiful rabbit who helps the robot lawnmower keep the grass tended and a chicken and some friendly ducks too. It was fun at dusk to sit and watch them all go about their business.
A highlight of the hotel is, of course, the pool. It’s huge, surrounded by gardens and a waterside restaurant, and a separate bar that’s open through the day and into the evening. In the evening, the hotel has overcome the Venice pigeon problem with its very own falcon and trainer, who terrorize the local pigeons away from the lucky guests residing at the hotel and enjoying the bar.
The pool area itself is under the command of a lovely serving team who will do their best to find you an ideal spot to while away your day poolside. Loungers are arranged by deck boys who will set up your sunbed with just the right amount of shade and provide as many Evian spritzers as you can use. Other than the size of this saltwater pool, what is noteworthy was the space around it. There are plenty of loungers available, and you could always find a little bit of peace and quiet if you wish.
Rooms
We chose the Junior Suite Pool room (around €2,500 EUR per night in season), which was ideal for our little boy as it opened up to a patio that backed straight onto our reserved loungers at the pool. Meaning we could go for a dip without the indecency of having to trawl along corridors and down lifts in dressing gowns. The room was the epitome of classic elegance, adorned with handcrafted Murano Glass features, including a handsome blue chandelier that looked somewhat like an octopus. The marble floors were softened with Turkish silk rugs, and the bathroom was large, with a huge walk-in shower and a double basin sporting lovely smelling designer Hermes amenities. The whole room felt fresh, light, and airy, a pleasure to call home for the duration of our stay.
Food & Drink
Once the sun started to drop, the majority of residents at the pool bar ambled over to the bar to continue their Bellinis. This bar is where we spent our evenings. I can’t think of a more romantic setting than being served drinks overlooking the pool with the Venetian lagoon in the distance. In fact, while my husband and I munched on the generous bar nibbles (fresh olives, almonds, and amuse bouches), we plotted ways to extend our stay at this gorgeous hotel.
We had dinner at the Cip restaurant, which is everything a Venetian restaurant should be. The staff care for and deliver exquisite food with panache on an alfresco pontoon-type structure that juts out into the water. The constant flow of boats chugging up and down the waterway in front of the restaurant area is something I’d never tire of watching.
Breakfast was also located at the Oro restaurant, with the same mesmerizing views. The staff will share their local stories with you over breakfast – I learned that gondolas get towed in and out of Venice for repairs by barges, that the lagoon is so shallow that, at times, the center becomes a massive mud flat, and that lost dolphins have very occasionally found their way into the lagoon. The choice at breakfast was extensive and beautiful quality, lovely muesli, cheeses, cold meats, fresh bread and pastries, piles of fruit and eggs however you liked them.
Conclusion
On our last day, we had some hours to waste following check-out and found the famous Michael Winner’s bench in the main garden, where we sat in the dappled sunlight pondering the unfairness that such a charismatic gent with impeccable taste had to leave this mortal coil early.
It’s very easy to understand why he loved the Belmond Hotel Cipriani, our stay was superb, but we inevitably had to deal with the sadness of leaving our Narnia with its wonderful characters, fantastic views, and the most relaxing pool.
I miss the toll of the church bells, the splish sploshes of the lagoon water, and the swimmers powering up and down the pool. I miss wandering under rose-laden archways and watching the lizards scoot into the undergrowth. I miss the joy of waking up and knowing all you have to do that day is amble over to the pool to take a cooling dip and enjoy endless refreshments. However long you stay at the Belmond Hotel Cipriani, be warned, you will be heartbroken when you leave.
COPYRIGHT 2014 - 2023 LUXURY TRAVEL DIARY. DUPLICATION OUTSIDE OF LUXURYTRAVELDIARY.COM IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN.
Note: Benefits offered correct at the time of writing but may be amended at discretion of the vendor. Posts may be sponsored by the proprietor or brand being appraised. All opinions remain our own & are in no way influenced.