contact: info@bownsbest.com
contact: info@bownsbest.com
Beautiful Venice is not famous for bargains. But I have one for you. It is an hotel. In Serenissima you need your hotel to have a good location. That means being near both the piazza San Marco and the Grand Canal. And my recommendation - the delightful Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal - enjoys one of the very best positions in the city. For not only, as its name demands, does it have that all-important frontage on the Grand Canal: it is also (even at my crawling pace) only two minutes from St Mark’s Square. This is a location kissed by Heaven.
You will be surprised by the chic modernity of the entrance (pictured). A few years ago, this collection of fine old buildings underwent a vast restoration, so now you enter the new ‘join’ between the two main structures. Through glass doors a wide, uncluttered corridor will lead you to a spacious hallway with a glass roof. To the left, is the terrace restaurant overlooking the Canal (which has the technological wizardry to allow dining al fresco, even in cold weather), and, to the right, a wonderful, dark, Wizard of Oz tunnel, leads to the lifts up to the bedrooms.
Checking in is no chore here, for the members of staff throughout the establishment are courteous and helpful. They are headed by one of the most charming men you will meet in Venice, Enrico Mazzocco (with me in the photograph), who is here, there and everywhere - ensuring that all is well for his guests.
My ‘Exclusive’ room was on the fourth floor. (You should check the rates for specific dates on the hotel’s website. As long as you can avoid the highest points of the season, you will be most pleasantly surprised by their modesty.) Number 413 did not occupy a huge area, but it was so well planned and so carefully decorated in light colours that I immediately felt comfortable and ‘at home’. Upon its wooden floor stood a writing table, two easy chairs and a bed made wonderfully soft for me by the ladies of the housekeeping department. The air conditioning was controllable and the fitted wardrobes contained a private safe. The wall-mounting of the television saved
space, as did the sliding door into the bathroom. The latter was a chamber of white marble, with a bath tub of commendable size. A French window in the bedroom gave me access to my private terrace, which allowed an oblique view of the waters of St Mark’s basin.
I have mentioned the union of two ancient buildings. But I must be more precise. The hotel is really a marriage of two palaces: the Palazzetto Vallaresso Erizzo and the Palazzo Dandolo. In 1638 the latter was turned into the world’s first public casino. It survived as such until opponents had it closed in 1774. Thereafter it was used for dancing and theatricals, until its resurrection as an hotel. This means that you can find on the first floor the magnificent chamber where all the fun happened. It is the Sala del Ridotto (rough translation: the Withdrawing Room), and you should certainly seek out this Venetian gem, for it is a huge hall of stuccoes, marbles and frescoes (by artists of the stature of Tiepolo, Guardi and Bella).
The hotel’s dining room, the Grand Canal Restaurant, is one of the most highly regarded in Venice. Here Chef Sandro Traini sends out to the happy diners (sitting in the small connected rooms or on the long terrace) dishes which are based on first-class ingredients, expert culinary technique and Italian gastronomic tradition. And the service matches the standard of the food, for it is orchestrated by Patrizio Stoppa, as fine a maitre d’ as you will find this side of Heaven. (He is pictured, wearing spectacles, with your correspondent.) You will enjoy eating here.
My dinner began with an exquisite combination - beautifully presented on a large white plate - of fried langoustines, puréed cauliflower and cashew nuts. Tastes and textures were just right. Then, even further up the gastronomic ladder, was a plate of veal ravioli, parmesan fondue and black truffle - so astonishingly delicious with the bold vanilla of a glass of Jurosa chardonnay recommended by Mr Stoppa, that I purred like a pussy cat. My main course was pink rack of lamb, carved by the table. Gorgeous meat like this turns me into a determined trencherman, and I could not resist chewing the last morsels from the bones, thereafter cleansing my digits in the finger bowls carefully provided. The finale I chose from the sweet trolley: a rich and hugely satisfying tarte tatin. (Expect to pay around 100€ for four such courses.)
The wine list has 129 offerings. Most are from Italy or France. Prices run from 27€ for a prosecco from Villa Minelli to 580€ for Solaia. The grapes of individual wines are given, but the vintages are not (an omission which I hope will be rectified as soon as possible). Ornellaia is 350€, Tignanello is 200€, Mr Gaja’s barbaresco is 322€ and Krug Grande Cuvée is 295€. Poured into the good Schott glasses for me was that ever-reliable second wine of Ornellaia, Le Serre Nuove (110€) - just right for the lamb.
Each morning I returned to the restaurant to break my fast while gazing over the waters of the Grand Canal. From the buffet I secured particularly good brioche (warmed for me) and slices of cakes, as well as dishes of stewed pears and plates of bacon,scrambled eggs, sausages, mushrooms and tomatoes. It is my belief one should always leave the breakfast table with the feeling that one has - ever so slightly - over-eaten.
The Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal enjoys an enviable location, has a very fine restaurant, offers comfortable and stylish accommodation and is staffed and managed in an exemplary manner. And, on top of all this, its prices are genuinely friendly. Is there a bargain in Venice? Yes. And this is it.
Calle Vallaresso 1332, San Marco, Venice 30124, Italy.
Telephone +39 041 52 00 211
Fax +39 041 52 00 501
Email: mailbox@hotelmonaco.it
Check the rates for specific dates on the hotel’s website
Check for special offers