The 10 best romantic hotels in Venice, including hidden gardens and Grand Canal views

This 15th-century palazzo occupies one of the loveliest spots on the Grand Canal, looking across to the magnificent Salute church. It boasts sumptuous interiors with priceless antiques and frescoes, and a small but exquisite spa. All rooms are different but all are filled with precious antiques, paintings, frescoes, objets d’art and beautiful fabrics. Best of the eight Grand Canal-view suites and rooms are the Hemingway, Pisani and Somerset Maugham. The restaurant has one of the most beautiful dining rooms in the city. It looks out over the Grand Canal, with the option in summer of eating on an outdoor terrace on the Canal itself.

This is one of those places that turns a holiday into a special experience. In a quiet corner, just off a busy street leading to St Mark’s Square, you’ll be made to feel like a treasured guest. Rooms are supremely comfortable and decorated in richly glowing earthy colours with lovely fabrics, with a north African and Middle Eastern touch. There’s a warm, comfortable ambience in the public areas where exhibitions are often hosted, and the leafy little courtyard is a delight. The charming Romanelli family, which owns the hotel, extends the very warmest of welcomes which makes guests feel treasured from the word go.

The Clooneys celebrated their nuptials in this 16th-century Grand Canal palace. Yet there is much more to say about this incredible property. Guests can arrive by boat to enter by the formal ‘porta d’acqua’ into a vast, beamed reception with original frescos. The most impressive place to stay, though missing a canal view, is the Alcova Tiepolo suite, with a separate living room and gorgeous bedroom ceiling frescoes by 18th-century Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo; most other rooms come with a view of the canal. Dinner is served on the piano nobile where guests dine under frescoed ceilings, with windows overlooking the Canal.

A perfect mix of elegance and warmth, Cima Rosa offers five elegant rooms, three of them overlooking the Grand Canal. It’s the extremely stylish creation of an Italian architect and American decorator couple. Rooms are all beautifully decorated in Farrow & Ball pastels that pick up Venice’s water colours and enhance the classic-contemporary elegance. There’s a lovely courtyard by the entrance. The ground-floor living room – where breakfast is served in the morning – is filled with light reflecting off the Grand Canal right outside the windows. A kitchen for guests’ use means you can keep your wine chilled for evening aperitivi.

This hotel has its own private entrance, tucked away behind the church of Santa Maria della Salute in the pleasantly quiet, gallery-filled Dorsoduro sestiere. There’s an intimate, welcoming hush to this little place, which succeeds in blending sophistication with relaxed charm. The five concept rooms take Venetian themes to marvellously baroque extremes: the Sala Noire with its black Murano glass chandelier is deliciously decadent, while swathes of sumptuous scarlet brocade really make the Sala del Doge fit for a duke. Two delicious top-floor suites – one with a little balcony – have superb views over Venice’s rooftops.

A joyful pastiche of Venetian style both in its bedrooms (think lots of velvet and brocade) and in the central living room which gives on to a delightful balcony with a view over the Grand Canal and Rialto bridge. The little terrace, with views down the canal to the iconic bridge, is a great place for an evening aperitivo. Décor is exuberant throughout, from the padded reception desk to the lounge with its delightful banquettes, polished wood and gleaming brass coffee machine. Rooms are very heavy on the brocade (on walls, beds and windows) but the rooms are large by Venetian standards and some have lovely canal views.

This palazzo is located in pretty Santa Croce, the heart of Venetian action, with no steps or bridges to reach the San Stae vaporetto stop. There’s a laid-back, unstuffy grown-up feel to the place, to suit a clientele more interested in savouring neighbourhood Venice than ticking famous landmarks off a list. An inner courtyard shaded by magnolia trees and a pretty garden stretching down to the Grand Canal is a boon. Some rooms have original wall or ceiling frescoes, others have wonderful terrazzo flooring. The hotel is home to the two Michelin-starred GLAM, which offers fresh takes on Venetian classics.

Anyone who values great service and a dedication to style mixed with comfort comes here. Opera-goers couldn’t be closer to La Fenice, and art-lovers find the exhibitions in the lobby interesting. Attention to detail and friendly and well informed staff make this a stylish and relaxing place to stay. There’s a lovely roof terrace from which to survey the Venetian cityscape. On a canal by the La Fenice opera house, in the San Marco district, AD Place is generally blissfully quiet, except when opera crowds gather below, or gondoliers belt out songs as they pass.

For those who dream of an exclusive pied-à-terre on Venice’s Grand Canal, the staffed luxury apartments at Palazzo Ca’Nova offers the unique experience of living like a local while enjoying all the comforts of a hotel. Stately antiques are paired with updated minimalist accents and bold modern colors, creating a style that gives homage both to Venice’s aristocratic past and its chic present. The three apartments come with historic features, such as wood-beamed garrets and fireplaces. Beds are outfitted with Simmons mattresses and fine Italian linens. The palazzo’s shared outdoor terrace is ideal for dining and relaxing.

Oltre il Giardino is tucked away behind a high wall, just around the corner from the Frari basilica in the central historico. The six-room, two-suite hotel looks more country house than Venetian palazzo and boasts that Venetian rarity: a garden. Rooms in the main building are large by Venetian standards and delightfully airy and bright. Some overlook the garden, others the canals around. In warmer months, breakfast (a good spread of fresh fruit, homemade cakes and other treats) is served in the garden. You won’t feel you’re being overcharged for accommodation and service is of an excellent standard.